Dominican Republic (capital Santo Domingo) on the island of Hispaniola with its neighboring nation-state, Haiti
World Factbook as of November 2014: "The Dominican Republic 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 telecommunications, tourism, and free trade zones. The economy is highly dependent upon the US, the destination for approximately half of exports. Remittances from the US amount to about 5% of GDP, equivalent to about a third of exports and two-thirds of tourism receipts. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GDP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of GDP. High unemployment and underemployment remains an important long-term challenge."
Unemployement rate
2009: 41.5 % of GDP
Export commodities
ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods, baseball players
Export partners
2010: US 52%, Haiti 13.6%
Export-import ratio
2011: Exports less than half of imports in cash value
Ranks 27th among 140 countries (lower rank number is less equal). Less equal than Britain, which ranks 94th, and the US, which ranks 45th.
2009: 6.1% of GDP
Population: 10,349,741 (July 2014 est.)
Net migration rate:
2014: -1.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate:
2014: 19.63 deaths/1,000 live births
2014: 77.8 years
Density: 206 persons per square kilometer
mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%
Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
2012: Net loss of 1.98 persons per 1,000 population per year.
In the Caribbean Sea. The eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. 28 percent of the Domincan Republic is forest (compared to 1 percent for Haiti, on the western side of the island).
Democratic republic. Capital: Santo Domingo