| Key Demographic
Features of Dominican Republic* |
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Geography
Location: Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island
of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North
Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
People
Population: 8,088,881 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 34% (male 1,401,322; female 1,355,530)
15-64 years: 62% (male 2,541,356; female 2,460,509)
65 years and over: 4% (male 156,238; female 173,926)
(July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.73% (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 47.7 deaths/1,000 live births
(1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.06 years
male: 66.89 years
female: 71.34 years (1996 est.)
Ethnic divisions: white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995
est.)
total population: 82.1%
male: 82%
female: 82.2%
Government
Country Abbreviation: DR
Type of government: republic
Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Constitution: 28 November 1966
Legal system: based on French civil codes
Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory;
married persons regardless of age
note: members of the armed forces and police cannot
vote
Economy
Economic overview: Economic reforms launched in late
1994 contributed to exchange rate stabilization, reduced
inflation, and relatively strong GDP growth in 1995. Output
growth was concentrated in the tourism and free trade zone (ftz)
sectors while sugar and non-ftz manufacturing declined last
year. Drought in early 1995 hurt agricultural production but
favorable world prices for export commodities helped mitigate
the impact. Sugar refining was devastated by a disastrous
harvest resulting from the drought and ongoing problems at the
state-owned sugar company. Unreliable electric supplies
continue to hamper expansion in manufacturing; small and
medium-sized retail firms also suffer due to the dismal power
situation. A presidential election scheduled for May 1996
could lead to increased government spending before and in the
immediate aftermath of the vote, raising the potential for
rising inflation and increased pressure on the Dominican peso.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $26.8 billion (1995
est.)
GDP real growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $3,400 (1995 est.)
Unemployment rate: 30% (1995 est.)
Communications
Telephones: 190,000 (1987 est.)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 120, FM 0, shortwave 6
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 18 (1987 est.)
Televisions: 728,000 (1993 est.)
*Source: World Factbook 1996, U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency
The World Factbook contains many additional demographic
variables that may be of interest to persons who wish to
examine a particular country in more depth. To access the
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