Dominican Republic
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The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries, Saint Martin being the other. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean island nation, after Cuba.
Its major environmental issues include water shortages, soil eroding into the sea damaging coral reefs, and deforestation.
Explored and claimed by Christopher 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 followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo from 1930-61. Since 1996, there have been regular competitive elections.
Geography
Location: Eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Geographic Coordinates: 19 00 N, 70 40 W
Area: 48,730 sq km (48,380 sq km of land, 350 sq km of water)
arable land: 22.49%
permanent crops: 10.26%
other: 67.25% (2005)
Land Boundaries: 360 km border with Haiti
Coastline: 1,288 km
Maritime Claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines) Territorial sea to 6 nautical miles; contiguous zone to 24 nautical miles; exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles; continental shelf to 200 nautical miles or to the edge of the continental margin.
Natural Hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Terrain: Rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys intersperse. The lowest point is Lago Enriquillo (-46 meters) and the highest point is Pico Duarte (3,175 meters).
Climate: Tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall.
Capital: Santo Domingo
Ecology and Biodiversity
The Caribbean Islands hotspot consists mainly of three large groups of islands between North and South America: the Bahamas, the Lesser Antilles, and the Greater Antilles (Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, and Hispaniola, which includes the Dominican Republic and Haiti).
Terrestrial ecoregions
The wet forests of Hispaniola originally occupied more than half (~60%) of the original vegetation on the island of Hispaniola, from the lowlands particularly on the eastern coast of the island (Haiti) to the valleys, plateaus, slopes and foothills of the many mountain ranges, up to an altitude of about 2,100 meters. In the Dominican Republic, moist forest frequently occur covering most of the eastern half of the country all along these shores till ending at the higher elevations of the mountains. Between the slopes of the eastern range and along the northern range in Haiti, the moist forests continue across the entire island of Hispaniola only lacking distinct presence in the southern extension of the island.
Despite their degradation, these wet forests still maintain an exceptionally diverse insular biota with many endemic regional and insular species belonging to a large number of taxons. These forests have been isolated from the contiguous continents and have thus maintained relict taxons. In the mountains of Selle-Bahoruco alone there are five endemic genera of plants. This ecoregion is found in the five most important centers of plant diversity and endemism on the island. In the Dominican Republic, these centers correspond to Los Haitises, with characteristic forests over karstic limestone (mogotes), more than 500 species of plants and about 30% insular endemisms. The central mountain range has a total of 1,500 plant species and about 25% insular endemisms in its lowland and mountain forests. The Sierra de Neiba with 350 plant species and 25% endemisms in its low mountain forests. In Sierra de Bahoruco National Park alone 166 or 52% of the orchids existing in the country are represented, and 32 of these or 10% are species endemic to the mountains.
The pine forests of Hispaniola Island are located on slopes with shallow soils and higher elevations of the mountain systems of both Dominican Republic and Haiti. Located primarily in the central Dominican mountain range with the highest point in the Antilles then continuing in the northern massif of Haiti. This ecoregion is mainly in mountainous areas of the Cordillera Caentral, the Sierra de Bahoruco and other small patches of both countries.
The pine forests of Hispaniola Island contain various endemic species of plants and animals, including numerous specialist species in limestone and serpentine soils that are among those listed in the Global 200 ecoregions that have been assigned the highest conservation priority. This ecoregion is found in four of the five most important centers of plant diversity and endemism on the island. In the Dominican Republic, there are centers in the central mountain range with a total of 1,500 plant species and between 15% to 30% of endemisms on the island in its low montane and montane forests, and the Sierra de Neiba area there are 350 plant species listed with between 25% and 30% of endemics for the island in its low montane forests. In Haiti, we find the low montane forests of Morne la Visite area listed with 335 plant species and 30% of endemisms on the island and those of the Pic Macaya area are listed with 665 species and 30% of endemics. Represented in the Sierra de Bahoruco National Park alone are 166 or 52% of the orchids existing in the country, 32 or 10% of which are endemic species.
In the Dominican Republic, this ecoregion is protected in parts of the Armando Bermúdez National Park (766 km2), the José del Carmen Ramírez National Park (764 km2), the Valle Nuevo Scientific Reserve (409 km2), the Ébano Verde Natural Scientific Reserve (23 km2), the Sierra de Neiba National Park (407 km2), and the Sierra Bahoruco National Park (1,027 km2I).
Marine and wetland ecoregions
Consisting of a series of lagoons, the Enriquillo wetlands ecoregion corresponds to the remains of an old marine channel that divided the island of Hispaniola into two paleoislands more than 5,000 years ago. The largest lake in this ecoregion, Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic is the largest and most hypersaline lake in all of the Antilles. It consists of a depression that is approximately 44 meters (m) below sea level, surrounded by thorny subtropical mountains and dry forests of great biological interest. This lake is home to the largest population of American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), although currently its populations are at risk. It is also the habitat for the iguana cornuda (Cyclura cornuta), which is endemic to the island of Hispaniola and the iguana de Ricord (C. ricordi), the latter being at risk of extinction due to its limited distribution. In addition, it is a resting, feeding, and reproductive location for the flamenco (Phoenicopterus ruber) and many other species of migratory birds. There are three islands on the lake: Cabritos Island, Islita, and Barbarita Island. There are also other smaller lakes near Enriquillo, with highly valuable biota, including the manatí in Lake Saumatre and the island's endemic Hispaniolan slider (Trachemys decorata), particularly in Lake Rincón .
It is estimated that the Dominican Republic has about 325 km2of mangroves that are part of the Greater Antilles mangroves ecoregion and it also is home to much biodiversity.
National Parks
The Domininican Republic has numerous National Parks, including:
- Del Este National Park (Parque Nacional Del Este)
- El Choco National Park (Parque Nacional El Choco)
- Jaragua National Park (Parque Nacional Jaragua)
- Armando Bermúdez National Park (Parque Nacional Armando Bermúdez) in the mountains of the Cordillera Central.
- José del Carmen Ramírez National Park (Parque Nacional José Del Carmen Ramírez): in the center of the island
- Los Haitises National Park (Parque Nacional Los Haitises) at Samaná bay
- Monte Cristi National Park (Parque Nacional Monte Cristi) iin the north-west, close to Haiti border.
- Isabel De Torres National Park (Parque Nacional Isabel De Torres)
- Isla Cabritos National Park (Parque Nacional Isla Cabritos) on Cabritos Island in the Enriquillo Lake, in the south-west close to Haiti.
- Sierra De Baoruco National Park (Parque Nacional Sierra De Baoruco)
- Perez Rancier National Park (Parque Nacional Pérez Rancier)
- Cueva de las Maravillas National Park (Cueva de las Maravillas) - "Cave of miracles"
International Environmental Agreements
The Dominican Republic is party to international agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, and Wetlands.
People and Society
Population: 9,650,054 (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 31.4% (male 1,543,141/female 1,488,016)
15-64 years: 62.7% (male 3,087,351/female 2,960,319)
65 years and over: 5.9% (male 264,476/female 306,751) (2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 1.489% (2009 est.)
Birthrate: 22.65 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 5.3 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -2.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 73.7 years
Total Fertility Rate: 2.76 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: 87%
The Human Development Index for the Dominican Republic is 0.751, which gives Dominican Republic a rank of 94th out of 177 countries with data. See Dominican Republic's Human Development Index for 2004.
Economy
The Dominican Republic has enjoyed strong Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth since 2005, and continued to post sound gains through mid-2008. The global recession, however, had a significant impact on GDP growth in the latter half of the year as tourism and remittances, two of the Dominican Republic's most important economic contributors, showed signs of slowing. The economy is highly dependent upon the US, the source of nearly three-fourths of exports, and remittances represent about a tenth of GDP, equivalent to almost half of exports and three-quarters of tourism receipts. The country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, but in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. Although 2007 saw inflation rates averaging around 6%, inflation rates in 2008 grew to over 11% on average for the first 3 quarters. High food prices, driven by the effects of consecutive tropical storms on agricultural products, and education prices were significant contributors to the jump. The effects of the global financial crisis and the US recession are projected to negatively affect GDP growth in 2009, with a rebound expected in 2010. Although the economy is growing at a respectable rate, high unemployment and underemployment remains an important challenge. 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. The Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) came into force in March 2007, which should boost investment and exports and reduce losses to the Asian garment industry.
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $77.43 billion (2008 est.)
GDP: (Official Exchange Rate): $45.69 billion (2008 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 4.5% (2008 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $8,100 (2008 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 11.3%
industry: 23.5%
services: 65.2% (2008 est.)
Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
Natural Resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Currency: Dominican pesos (DOP)Energy
The Dominican Republic's frequent blackouts, lasting at times up to 20 hours per day, have sparked public demonstrations, some of which have been violent. The current situation arises from a lack of investment in generating capacity. The government has opened the sector to foreign companies, but many have liquidated their investments there due to chronic payment arrays from the government-owned electricity distribution company. As a result, the government has begun to re-nationalize generation assets. It remains unclear whether the situation will improve in the near-term, particularly when the government reportedly owes power companies over $400 million. The devalued peso, in particular, continues to hurt the solvency of private companies, which receive payments in pesos, but pay debts and other services in U.S. dollars.
See Energy profile of Caribbean
Further Reading
Return to Dominican Republic's country profile
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