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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The Dominican Republic
 Area:
48,730 sq km (18,704 sq mi)
Population: 8,895,000 (2005 UN est.)
Capital City: Santo Domingo (pop. approx. 3 million).
Second largest city: Santiago de los Caballeros (pop. 500,000)
People: Mixed 73%, European 16%, African origin 11%
Language(s): Spanish
Religion(s): Roman Catholic 95%
Basic Economic Facts:
Currency: Peso
GDP:
purchasing power parity -
$52.71 billion (2003 est.)
Per Capita GDP: purchasing power parity - $6000 (2003
est.)
Annual Growth: 5.8% GDP growth in first half of 2005.
Major Industries: (Industry = 17% of GDP). Sugar
refining, pharmaceuticals, cement, ferronickel and gold mining,
light manufacturing, construction, services (including offshore
assembly operations, especially textiles), and transportation
Non Fuel Minerals (3% of GDP): Nickel, Gold, and Silver
Agriculture (13% of GDP): Products - sugar, coffee, cocoa,
bananas, tobacco, rice, plantains, beef, and flowers
Trade: Exports ($5.5 billion 2003 est. excluding
processing zones): commodities - ferronickel, sugar, gold,
silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats. Imports ($7.9 billion,
2003 est.): foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals
and pharmaceuticals.
Major political parties: Social
Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), Dominican Revolutionary Party
(PRD), Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), and several other minor
parties.
Government: Representative Democracy
Head of State: Dr. Leonel Fernandez Reyna
Prime Minister/Premier: Not applicable
Foreign Minister: Carlos Morales Troncoso
DID YOU
KNOW?
- The Dominican Republic was conquered
and ruled by Haiti for 22 years.
-
Remittances from Dominicans living abroad are estimated
to be about $3 billion per year.
-
The Dominican
Republic holds the record as the country with the most Spanish
language rock bands in
Latin America.
MEDIA AND
COMMUNICATIONS:
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