PROFILE
Geography
Area: 48,442
sq. km. (18,704 sq. mi.), about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire
combined.
Cities:
Capital--Santo Domingo (pop. 2.25 million).
Other
city--Santiago de los Caballeros (942,509).
Terrain:
Mountainous.
Climate: Maritime tropical.
People
Nationality:
Noun and adjective--Dominican(s).
Population (2012 est.): 10.09
million.
Annual population growth rate (2012 est.): 1.3%.
Ethnic groups:
Mixed 73%, European 16%, African origin 11%.
Religion: Roman Catholic
95%.
Language: Spanish.
Education:
Years compulsory--6.
Attendance--70%.
Literacy--84.7%.
Health:
Infant mortality
rate--19/1,000.
Life expectancy--75.28 years for men, 79.69 years for
women.
Work force: 60.2% services (tourism, transportation, communications,
finances, others), 15.5% industry (manufacturing), 11.5% construction, 11.3%
agriculture, 1.5% mining.
Government
Type: Representative
democracy.
Independence: February 27, 1844. Restoration of independence,
August 16, 1863.
Constitution: November 28, 1966 (amended July 25, 2002);
2010.
Branches:
Executive--president (chief of state and head of
government), vice president, cabinet.
Legislative--bicameral Congress
(Senate and House of Representatives).
Judicial--Supreme Court of
Justice.
Subdivisions: 31 provinces and the National District of Santo
Domingo.
Political parties: Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Dominican
Revolutionary Party (PRD), Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), and several
others.
Suffrage: Universal and compulsory, over 18 or
married.
Economy (2011)
Nominal GDP: $54.4 billion.
Real GDP
growth rate: 4.5%.
Per capita nominal GDP (est.): $5,780.
Agriculture
(7.3% of real GDP):
Products--rice, poultry, sugar, cacao, tobacco,
coffee.
Non-manufacturing industry (4.5% of real GDP): Construction and
mining.
Manufacturing industry (21.3% of real GDP): Beverages and tobacco,
free trade zone (FTZ) textiles and wearing apparel, sugar, coke and refined
petroleum products, grains.
Services (64.7% of real GDP): Communications,
commerce, tourism, real estate, transport and storage.
Trade:
Exports--U.S. $7.792 billion (f.o.b.), including free trade zones: FTZ
exports (textiles, electronic products, jewelry, tobacco, pharmaceuticals,
shoes), cacao, sugar, tobacco, coffee.
Markets--U.S. (52.3%, including
Puerto Rico) Haiti, Western Europe.
Imports--U.S. $18.38 billion
(f.o.b.), including free trade zones: petroleum and petroleum-derived products,
durable consumer goods (automobiles, etc.), foodstuffs.
Suppliers--U.S.
(44%, including Puerto Rico), Venezuela, Taiwan, China, Mexico,
Colombia.
PEOPLE
Slightly fewer than half of
Dominicans live in rural areas; many are small landholders. Haitians form the
largest foreign minority group. All religions are tolerated; the state religion
is Roman Catholicism.
HISTORY
The island of
Hispaniola, of which the Dominican Republic forms the eastern two-thirds and
Haiti the remainder, was originally occupied by Tainos, an Arawak-speaking
people. The Tainos welcomed Columbus in his first voyage in 1492, but subsequent
colonizers were brutal, reducing the Taino population from about 1 million to
about 500 in 50 years. To ensure adequate labor for plantations, the Spanish
brought African slaves to the island beginning in 1503.
In the next
century, French settlers occupied the western end of the island, which Spain
ceded to France in 1697, and which, in 1804, became the Republic of Haiti. The
Haitians conquered the whole island in 1822 and held it until 1844, when forces
led by Juan Pablo Duarte, the hero of Dominican independence, drove them out and
established the Dominican Republic as an independent state. In 1861, the
Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire; in 1865, independence was
restored. Economic difficulties, the threat of European intervention, and
ongoing internal disorders led to a U.S. occupation in 1916 and the
establishment of a military government in the Dominican Republic. The occupation
ended in 1924, with a democratically elected Dominican Government.
In
1930, Rafael L. Trujillo, a prominent army commander, established absolute
political control. Trujillo promoted economic development--from which he and his
supporters benefited--and severe repression of domestic human rights.
Mismanagement and corruption resulted in major economic problems. In August
1960, the Organization of American States (OAS) imposed diplomatic sanctions
against the Dominican Republic as a result of Trujillo's complicity in an
attempt to assassinate President Romulo Betancourt of Venezuela. These sanctions
remained in force after Trujillo's death by assassination in May 1961. In
November 1961, the Trujillo family was forced into exile.
In January
1962, a council of state that included moderate opposition elements with
legislative and executive powers was formed. OAS sanctions were lifted January
4, and, after the resignation of President Joaquin Balaguer on January 16, the
council under President Rafael E. Bonnelly headed the Dominican
Government.
In 1963, Juan Bosch was inaugurated president. Bosch was
overthrown in a military coup in September 1963. Another military coup, on April
24, 1965, led to violence between military elements favoring the return to
government by Bosch and those who proposed a military junta committed to early
general elections. On April 28, U.S. military forces landed to protect U.S.
citizens and to evacuate U.S. and other foreign nationals.
Additional
U.S. forces subsequently established order. In June 1966, President Balaguer,
leader of the Reformist Party (now called the Social Christian Reformist
Party--PRSC), was elected and then re-elected to office in May 1970 and May
1974, both times after the major opposition parties withdrew late in the
campaign. In the May 1978 election, Balaguer was defeated in his bid for a
fourth successive term by Antonio Guzman of the Dominican Revolutionary Party
(PRD). Guzman's inauguration on August 16 marked the country's first peaceful
transfer of power from one freely elected president to another.
The PRD's
presidential candidate, Salvador Jorge Blanco, won the 1982 elections, and the
PRD gained a majority in both houses of Congress. In an attempt to cure the
ailing economy, the Jorge administration began to implement economic adjustment
and recovery policies, including an austerity program in cooperation with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). In April 1984, rising prices of basic
foodstuffs and uncertainty about austerity measures led to
riots.
Balaguer was returned to the presidency with electoral victories
in 1986 and 1990. Upon taking office in 1986, Balaguer tried to reactivate the
economy through a public works construction program. Nonetheless, by 1988 the
country had slid into a 2-year economic depression, characterized by high
inflation and currency devaluation. Economic difficulties, coupled with problems
in the delivery of basic services--e.g., electricity, water,
transportation--generated popular discontent that resulted in frequent protests,
occasionally violent, including a paralyzing nationwide strike in June
1989.
In 1990, Balaguer instituted a second set of economic reforms.
After concluding an IMF agreement, balancing the budget, and curtailing
inflation, the Dominican Republic experienced a period of economic growth marked
by moderate inflation, a balance in external accounts, and a steadily increasing
GDP that lasted through 2000.
The voting process in 1986 and 1990 was
generally seen as fair, but allegations of electoral board fraud tainted both
victories. The elections of 1994 were again marred by charges of fraud.
Following a compromise calling for constitutional and electoral reform,
President Balaguer assumed office for an abbreviated term and Congress amended
the constitution to bar presidential succession.
Since 1996, the
Dominican electoral process has been seen as generally free and fair. In June
1996, Leonel Fernandez Reyna of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) was elected
to a 4-year term as president. Fernandez's political agenda was one of economic
and judicial reform. He helped enhance Dominican participation in hemispheric
affairs, such as the OAS and the followup to the Miami Summit. On May 16, 2000,
Hipolito Mejia, the PRD candidate, was elected president in another free and
fair election, defeating PLD candidate Danilo Medina and former president
Balaguer. Mejia championed the cause of free trade and Central American and
Caribbean economic integration. The Dominican Republic signed a free trade
agreement (CAFTA-DR) with the United States and five Central American countries
in August 2004, in the last weeks of the Mejia administration. During the Mejia
administration, the government sponsored and obtained anti-trafficking and
anti-money-laundering legislation, sent troops to Iraq for Operation Iraqi
Freedom, and ratified the Article 98 agreement it had signed in 2002. Mejia
faced mounting domestic problems as a deteriorating economy--caused in large
part by the government's measures to deal with massive bank fraud--and constant
power shortages plagued the latter part of his administration.
During the
Mejia administration, the constitution was amended to permit an incumbent
president to seek a second successive term, and Mejia ran for re-election. On
May 16, 2004, Leonel Fernandez was elected president, defeating Mejia 57.11% to
33.65%. Eduardo Estrella of the PRSC received 8.65% of the vote. Fernandez took
office on August 16, 2004, promising in his inaugural speech to promote fiscal
austerity, to fight corruption and to support social concerns. Fernandez said
the Dominican Republic would support policies favoring international peace and
security through multilateral mechanisms in conformity with the United Nations
and the OAS. On May 16, 2008, President Fernandez was re-elected president with
53.8% of the vote. The Fernandez administration works closely with the United
States on law enforcement, immigration, and counterterrorism
matters.
Congressional and municipal elections were held in May 2010,
with Fernandez’s PLD winning a slim majority of seats in the House of
Representatives and 31 of 32 Senate seats, as well as a plurality of mayoral
seats. President Fernandez’s role in the victorious congressional campaign led
his supporters to promote his candidacy for re-election in 2012. The new
constitution promulgated in January 2010 would seem to prohibit this, and
ultimately Fernandez announced that he would not run in the 2012 elections.
Following primary contests, the 2012 presidential race is divided between the
ruling PLD's candidate, Danilo Medina, and the opposition PRD's candidate,
former President Hipolito Mejia.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The Dominican
Republic is a representative democracy with national powers divided among
independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president
appoints the cabinet, executes laws passed by the legislative branch, and is
commander in chief of the armed forces. The president and vice president run for
office on the same ticket and are elected by direct vote for 4-year terms.
Legislative power is exercised by a bicameral Congress--the Senate (32 members)
and the House of Representatives (178 members).
The Dominican Republic
has a multi-party political system that until 2010 held national elections every
2 years (alternating between presidential elections and congressional/municipal
elections). The 2010 constitution adjusted the terms of the 2010 elections on a
one-time basis to 6 years, so that beginning in 2016 the presidential,
congressional, and municipal elections will be held simultaneously every 4 years
in years evenly divisible by four. International observers have found that
presidential and congressional elections since 1996 have been generally free and
fair. Elections are supervised by a Central Elections Board (JCE) of 9 members
chosen for a 4-year term by the newly elected Senate. JCE decisions on electoral
matters are final.
Under the constitutional reforms negotiated after the
1994 elections, the 16-member Supreme Court of Justice is appointed by a
National Judicial Council, which is comprised of the president, the leaders of
both houses of Congress, the president of the Supreme Court, and an opposition
or non-governing-party member. One other Supreme Court Justice acts as secretary
of the Council, a non-voting position. The Supreme Court has sole authority over
managing the court system and in hearing actions against the president,
designated members of his cabinet, and members of Congress when the legislature
is in session.
The Supreme Court hears appeals from lower courts and
chooses members of lower courts. Each of the 31 provinces is headed by a
presidentially appointed governor. Mayors and municipal councils to administer
the 124 municipal districts and the National District (Santo Domingo) are
elected at the same time as congressional representatives.
Principal
Government Officials
President--Leonel Fernandez Reyna
Foreign
Minister--Carlos Morales Troncoso
Ambassador to the United States--Anibal de
Castro
Ambassador to the United Nations--Virgilio Alcantara
Ambassador to
the Organization of American States--Roberto Saladin
The Dominican
Republic maintains an
embassy in the
United States at 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel.
202-332-6280)
DEFENSE
Congress authorizes a combined military force
of 44,000 active duty personnel. Actual active duty strength is approximately
32,000. However, approximately 50% of those are used for non-military activities
such as security providers for government-owned non-military facilities, highway
toll stations, prisons, forestry work, state enterprises, and private
businesses. The commander in chief of the military is the president. The
principal missions are to defend the nation and protect the territorial
integrity of the country. The army, larger than the other services combined with
approximately 20,000 active duty personnel, consists of six infantry brigades, a
combat support brigade, and a combat service support brigade. The air force
operates two main bases, one in the southern region near Santo Domingo and one
in the northern region near Puerto Plata. The navy operates two major naval
bases, one in Santo Domingo and one in Las Calderas on the southwestern coast,
and maintains 12 operational vessels. In the Caribbean, only Cuba has a larger
military force.
The armed forces have organized a Specialized Airport
Security Corps (CESA), a Specialized Port Security Corps (CESEP), and a
Specialized Border Security Corps (CESFRONT) to meet international security
needs in these areas. Additionally, the armed forces provide 75% of personnel to
the National Investigations Directorate (DNI) and the Counter-Drug Directorate
(DNCD).
The Dominican National Police force has 32,000 agents. The police
are not part of the Dominican armed forces, but share some overlapping security
functions. Sixty-three percent of the force's members serve in areas outside
traditional police functions, similar to the situation of their military
counterparts.
ECONOMY
After a decade of little
to no growth in the 1980s, the Dominican Government initiated a program of
economic reform in the early 1990s, adopting sound macroeconomic policies and
opening the country to foreign investment. The economy grew at an average rate
of 7.6% annually from 1996 to 2000. Growth faltered in the early 2000s as
several of the Dominican Republic’s main trading partners suffered recessions,
reducing demand for manufactured goods. The economy contracted in 2003 (-0.3%)
in the wake of a domestic banking crisis. The Mejia administration negotiated an
IMF standby agreement in August 2003, though failed to comply with fiscal
targets. The Fernandez administration signed the agreement in January 2005,
after securing required tax legislation. Fernandez successfully renegotiated
official bilateral debt with Paris Club member governments, commercial bank debt
with London Club members, and sovereign debt with a consortium of lenders.
Growth recovered, averaging 7.8% from 2004 to 2007. The standby agreement
concluded in January 2008 with fiscal and financial targets largely met but
reform in the electricity sector and financial markets unrealized.
The
global economic crisis, and in particular the U.S. recession, started to impact
the Dominican economy in 2008. Remittances, exports, and tourism fell, and
continued to fall throughout 2009, driving down government revenue. In October
2009, seeking to shore up dwindling revenues and improve its ability to secure
more favorable rates with private lenders, the Fernandez administration
negotiated a new 28-month, U.S. $1.7 billion IMF standby agreement; it was
approved by the IMF in November 2009. Among other goals, the agreement aimed to
address the unrealized reform from the previous agreement by addressing
electricity sector inefficiencies and improving fiscal management. In February
2012, the Dominican Government announced it was discontinuing the agreement due
to the IMF’s demands to increase electricity rates
further.
Trade
The Dominican Republic's most important trading
partner is the United States. Other markets include Haiti, Western Europe, and
China. The country exports goods manufactured in free trade zones (FTZs), such
as textiles, electronic products, jewelry, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals, as well
as cacao, sugar, tobacco, and coffee. Aside from inputs into FTZs, it imports
petroleum and petroleum-derived products, durable consumer goods (automobiles,
etc.), and food and foodstuffs.
On September 5, 2005, the Dominican
Congress ratified the free trade agreement with the U.S. and five Central
American countries known as CAFTA-DR. The CAFTA-DR agreement entered into force
for the Dominican Republic on March 1, 2007. U.S. direct investment in the
Dominican Republic is primarily in the manufacturing sector. Remittances were
over $3 billion in 2011.
FTZs accounted for an estimated U.S. $4.08
billion in Dominican exports for 2010 (61.8% of total exports). FTZ exports
rebounded after a slump in 2009, though they are still roughly 15% lower than
they were at their peak in 2000. The textiles sector--which constituted 53.6% of
FTZ exports in 2000--has increasingly played a smaller role in the FTZ sector.
It experienced an estimated 17% drop since 2008 (and a 62% drop since 2000) due
in part to the appreciation of the Dominican peso against the dollar, Asian
competition following expiration of the quotas of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement,
and a government-mandated increase in salaries. In 2009, the largest category of
FTZ exports was the aggregate of non-traditional FTZ exports followed by
textiles and electric products.
Electricity
An ongoing concern
in the Dominican Republic is the inability of participants in the electricity
sector to establish long-term financial viability for the system. The sector is
divided between privately-owned electricity generators and state-owned
electricity distributors. Installed generation capacity is currently adequate,
but a steadily increasing demand coupled with anemic recapitalization in
generation point toward a looming shortage. Baseline demand is projected to
overtake installed capacity by 2014. The investment climate remains unattractive
due to late payment to generators by the government-owned distribution companies
and the worries that generators have about fair competition. In 2009, the World
Bank recorded that electricity distribution losses totaled about 40%, a rate of
loss exceeded in only two other countries. Estimates continue to place total
losses in the range of 35% to 42% due to low collection rates, theft,
infrastructure problems, and corruption. As a result, the government is always
in arrears to the generators, and timely payments remain a challenge. An
estimated 85% of Dominican citizens receive a subsidized billing rate, which was
projected to cost the government U.S. $1 billion in 2011. In response, the
government announced an across-the board 8% increase in electricity rates in
2011, citing the relentless rise in oil prices. This followed an 11% rate
increase on December 1, 2010.
FOREIGN
RELATIONS
The Dominican Republic has a close relationship with the United
States and with the other states of the inter-American system. It has accredited
diplomatic missions in most Western Hemisphere countries and in principal
European capitals. The Dominican Government has regularly appealed for
international support for its island neighbor, Haiti. There is a sizeable
Haitian migrant community in the Dominican Republic, many of whom lack residence
permits and citizenship documentation.
The Dominican Republic is a
founding member of the United Nations and participates in many of its
specialized and related agencies, including the World Bank, International Labor
Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency, and International Civil
Aviation Organization. It is a member of the OAS and of the Inter-American
Development Bank.
U.S.-DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
RELATIONS
The U.S. has a strong interest in a democratic, stable, and
economically healthy Dominican Republic. The country's standing as the largest
Caribbean economy, second-largest country in terms of population and land mass,
with large bilateral trade with the United States, and its proximity to the
United States and other smaller Caribbean nations make the Dominican Republic an
important partner in hemispheric affairs. The Embassy estimates that 100,000
U.S. citizens live in the Dominican Republic; many are dual nationals. An
important element of the relationship between the two countries is the fact that
more than 1 million individuals of Dominican origin reside in the United States,
most of them in the metropolitan Northeast and some in Florida.
U.S.
relations with the Dominican Republic are excellent, and the U.S. has been an
outspoken supporter of the country's democratic and economic development. The
Dominican Government has been supportive of many U.S. initiatives in the United
Nations and related agencies. The two governments cooperate in the fight against
the traffic in illegal substances. The Dominican Republic has worked closely
with U.S. law enforcement officials on issues such as the extradition of
fugitives and measures to hinder illegal migration.
The United States
supports the Fernandez administration's efforts to improve Dominican
competitiveness, to attract foreign private investment, to fight corruption, and
to modernize the tax system. Bilateral trade is important to both countries.
U.S. firms, mostly manufacturers of apparel, footwear, and light electronics, as
well as U.S. energy companies, account for much of the foreign private
investment in the Dominican Republic.
U.S. goods exports to the Dominican
Republic in 2010 were U.S. $6.5 billion, up 24.4% from 2009, 8% from 2006
(pre-CAFTA-DR), and 134% from 1994 (the year prior to the Uruguay Round). The
Dominican Republic was the United States' 35th-largest goods export market in
2008. The Dominican Republic's exports to the U.S. in 2010 were U.S. $3.46
billion, an increase of 6% over 2009. The U.S. Embassy works closely with U.S.
business firms and Dominican trade groups, both of which can take advantage of
the new opportunities in this growing market. At the same time, the Embassy is
working with the Dominican Government to resolve a range of ongoing commercial
and investment disputes.
The Embassy counsels U.S. firms through its
Country Commercial Guide and informally via meetings with business persons
planning to invest or already investing in the Dominican Republic. This is a
challenging business environment for U.S. firms, especially for small to medium
businesses.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (
USAID)
mission is focused on improving access of underserved populations to quality
health care and combating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB); promoting economic
growth through policy reform, support for CAFTA-DR implementation, and technical
assistance to small producers and tourism groups; environmental protection and
policy reform initiatives; improved access to quality primary, public education
and assistance to at-risk youth; a model rural electrification program; and
improving participation in democratic processes, while strengthening the
judiciary and combating corruption across all sectors.
Principal U.S.
Officials
Ambassador--
Raul H.
Yzaguirre
Deputy Chief of Mission--Christopher Lambert
USAID
Mission Director--James Watson (Acting)
Consul General--William
Weissmann
Economic and Political Counselor--Alexander Margulies
Public
Affairs Adviser--Todd Haskell
Senior Regional Commercial Officer
(DOC/FCS)--Robert Jones
Defense Attache--David M. O'Connell (U.S. Marine
Corps)
The
U.S.
Embassy is located at the corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle
Leopoldo Navarro, Gazcue District, Santo Domingo (tel.
809-221-2171).
Other Contact Information
U.S. Department of
Commerce
International Trade Administration
Trade Information
Center
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Tel:
1-800-USA-TRADE
Internet:
http://trade.gov/
Caribbean/Latin
American Action
1818 N. Street, NW, Suite 310
Washington, DC 20036
Tel:
(202) 466-7464
Fax: (202)
822-0075
American Chamber of Commerce in the Dominican Republic
Torre
Empresarial, 6to.
Piso, Ave. Sarasota No. 25,
Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic
Tel: (809) 381-0777
Fax: (809) 381-0303
E-mail:
amcham@codetel.net.do
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
Travel
Alerts, Travel Warnings, Trip Registration
The U.S. Department of
State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing
abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings.
Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes
information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health
conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the
addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
Travel Alerts are
issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other
relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the
security of American travelers.
Travel Warnings are issued when the State
Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because
the situation is dangerous or unstable.
For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad
should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet
web site at
http://travel.state.gov,
where current
Worldwide
Caution,
Travel
Alerts, and
Travel
Warnings can be found. The travel.state.gov website also includes
information about
passports,
tips for
planning a
safe trip abroad and more. More travel-related information also is
available at
http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.
Passports
The
National Passport
Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single,
centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information.
Telephone:
1-877-4-USA-PPT
(
1-877-487-2778);
TDD/TTY:
1-888-874-7793
Passport
information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a
representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal
holidays.
