Dominican Republic

• tropical maritime;
• little seasonal temperature variation;
• seasonal variation in rainfall

total:

3.39 cu km/yr (32%/2%/66%)

per capita:

381 cu m/yr (2000)

• lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October;
• occasional flooding;
• periodic droughts

• water shortages;
• soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs;
• deforestation

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria

water contact disease:

leptospirosis (2008)

noun:

Dominican(s)

adjective:

Dominican

conventional long form:

Dominican Republic

conventional short form:

The Dominican

local long form:

Republica Dominicana

local short form:

La Dominicana

name:

Santo Domingo

geographic coordinates:

18 28 N, 69 54 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• based on French civil codes;
• Criminal Procedures Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory system;
• accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

• 18 years of age, universal and compulsory;
• married persons regardless of age;
• note - members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote

chief of state:

• 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

head of government:

President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004)

cabinet:

Cabinet nominated by the president

elections:

• president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second consecutive term);
• election last held 16 May 2008 (next to be held in May 2012)

election results:

Leonel FERNANDEZ reelected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ 53.6%, Miguel VARGAS 41%, Amable ARISTY less than 5%

• Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna];
• Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Ramon ALBURQUERQUE];
• National Progressive Front [Vincent CASTILLO, Pelegrin CASTILLO];
• Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ANTUN]

• Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania);
• Collective of Popular Organizations or COP;
• Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Flavio Dario ESPINAL Jacobo

chancery:

1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 332-6280

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-8057

consulate(s) general:

Anchorage, Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

chief of mission:

Ambassador P. Robert FANNIN

embassy:

corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo

mailing address:

Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500

telephone:

[1] (809) 221-2171

FAX:

[1] (809) 686-7437

• 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

agriculture:

17%

industry:

24.3%

services:

58.7% (1998 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.4%

highest 10%:

41.1% (2004)

general assessment:

relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network

domestic:

fixed telephone line density is about 10 per 100 persons; multiple providers of mobile cellular service with a subscribership of roughly 60 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 1-809;
• landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and US;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)

total:

517 km

standard gauge:

375 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

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 (2006)

total:

19,705 km

paved:

9,872 km

unpaved:

9,833 km (2002)

total:

1

by type:

cargo 1

registered in other countries:

1 (Panama 1) (2008)

males age 16-49:

2,440,203

females age 16-49:

2,326,694 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

2,020,490

females age 16-49:

1,883,875 (2008 est.)

male:

96,971

female:

93,116 (2008 est.)

• Haitian migrants cross the porous border into the Dominican Republic to find work;
• illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find better work

current situation:

• the Dominican Republic is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor;
• a large number of Dominican women are trafficked into prostitution and sexual exploitation in Western Europe, Australia, Central and South America, and Caribbean destinations;
• a significant number of women, boys, and girls are trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year, the Dominican Republic is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly in terms of not adequately investigating and prosecuting public officials who may be complicit with trafficking activity, and inadequate government efforts to protect trafficking victims;
• the government has taken measures to reduce demand for commercial sex acts with children through criminal prosecutions (2008)

• 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;
• significant amphetamine consumption