]! ^! Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin BALAGUER became president. He maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past decade. 
]" ^" Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti ^# 19 00 N, 70 40 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 48,730 sq km `" 48,380 sq km `# 350 sq km ^& slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire ^' `! 360 km `U Haiti 360 km ^( 1,288 km ^) `$ 6 nm `H 24 nm `I 200 nm `J 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin ^* tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall ^+ rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed ^, `% Lago Enriquillo -46 m `& Pico Duarte 3,175 m ^- nickel, bauxite, gold, silver ^. `' 22.65% `( 10.33% `) 67.02% (2001) ^/ 2,590 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts ^1 water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution `L Law of the Sea ^2 shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti 
]# ^3 8,950,034 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 32.9% (male 1,505,964/female 1,438,809) `+ 61.7% (male 2,815,544/female 2,703,012) `, 5.4% (male 226,372/female 260,333) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 23.88 years `- 23.68 years `. 24.09 years (2005 est.) ^6 1.29% (2005 est.) ^7 23.28 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -3.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.05 male(s)/female `+ 1.04 male(s)/female `, 0.87 male(s)/female `1 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 32.38 deaths/1,000 live births `- 34.81 deaths/1,000 live births `. 29.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 71.44 years `- 69.94 years `. 73.03 years (2005 est.) ^= 2.86 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 1.7% (2003 est.) ^? 88,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 7,900 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Dominican(s) `3 Dominican ^B white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73% ^C Roman Catholic 95% ^D Spanish ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 84.7% `- 84.6% `. 84.8% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Dominican Republic `5 The Dominican `V Republica Dominicana `W La Dominicana ^H representative democracy ^I Santo Domingo ^J 31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde ^K 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) ^L Independence Day, 27 February (1844) ^M 28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002 ^N based on French civil codes; undergoing modification in 2004 towards an accusatory system ^O 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age note: members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote ^P `6 President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `7 President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `8 Cabinet nominated by the president `9 president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 16 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2008) `: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ (PLD) 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA (PRSC) 8.7% ^Q bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) `9 Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006) `: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 29, PLD 2, PRSC 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 73, PLD 41, PRSC 36 ^R Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by a the National Judicial Council comprised of the President, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the President of the Supreme Court, and an opposition or non-governing party member) ^S Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Vicente Sanchez BARET]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ATUN] ^T Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Foundation for Institution-Building (FINJUS) ^U ACP, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador-designate Flavio Dario Espinal JACOBO `O 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 332-6280 `Q [1] (202) 265-8057 `R Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) ^W `N Ambassador Hans H. HERTELL `Z corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo `[ Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500 `P [1] (809) 221-2171 `Q [1] (809) 686-7437 ^X a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon 
]% ^Y The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy which enjoyed GDP growth of more than 7% in 1998-2000. Growth subsequently plummeted as part of the global economic slowdown. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 85% of export revenues), but recovered slightly in 2004. Resumption of a badly needed IMF loan, slowed due to government repurchase of electrical power plants, is basic to the restoration of social and economic stability. Newly elected President FERNANDEZ in mid-2004 promised belt-tightening reform. His administration has passed tax reform and is working to meet preconditions for a $600 IMF standby arrangement to ease the country's fiscal situation. ^Z $55.68 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 1.7% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2004 est.) ^] `; 10.7% `< 31.5% `= 57.8% (2003) ^^ 2.3 million - 2.6 million (2000 est.) ^_ agriculture 17%, industry 24.3%, services and government 58.7% (1998 est.) ^` 17% (2004 est.) ^a 25% _! `> 2.1% `? 37.9% (1998) _d 47.4 (1998) _" 55% (2004 est.) _P 18.9% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $2.625 billion `A $3.382 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2004 est.) _Q 61.1% of GDP (2004 est.) _$ sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs _% tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco _& 2% (2001 est.) _' 9.583 billion kWh (2002) _( 8.912 billion kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 129,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. 129,900 bbl/day (2003) _X $762.2 million (2004 est.) _/ $5.446 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods _1 US 80%, South Korea 2.1%, Canada 1.9% (2004) _2 $8.093 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals _4 US 48.1%, Venezuela 13.5%, Colombia 4.8%, Mexico 4.8% (2004) _Y $426 million (2004 est.) _5 $7.745 billion (2004 est.) _6 $239.6 million (1995) _7 Dominican peso (DOP) _8 Dominican pesos per US dollar - 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002), 16.952 (2001), 16.415 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 901,800 (2003) _; 2,120,400 (2003) _< `B NA `C relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network `D country code - 1-809; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _= AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998) _> 25 (2003) _? .do _@ 64,197 (2003) _A 500,000 (2003) 
]' _e `! 1,743 km `b 375 km 1.435-m gauge `c 142 km 0.762-m gauge note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076-m, 0.889-m, and 0.762-m gauges (2004) _B `! 12,600 km `E 6,224 km `F 6,376 km (1999) _C Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, Rio Haina, Santo Domingo _K `! 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 11,230 GRT/17,011 DWT by type: cargo 3 (2005) _D 31 (2004 est.) _E `! 13 `] 3 `G 3 `^ 3 `_ 3 `T 1 (2004 est.) _L `! 18 `^ 3 `_ 5 `T 10 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Army, Navy, Air Force _M 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001) _] males age 18-49: 2,108,197 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,420,693 (2005 est.) _^ `` 91,597 (2005 est.) _N $180 million (1998) _O 1.1% (1998) 
]) _H increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find work _I transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions 