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Embassy of India
Havana |
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Country Note on Dominican Republic |
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Geography |
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The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. With an area of 48,730 sq.m. the Dominican Republic is the second largest country in the Caribbean (after Cuba) and has a 1288 km. coastline. Four almost parallel mountain ranges, covered with thick vegetation, cross the country from east to west. The largest is the Cordillera Central, which divides the republic into almost equal parts. The highest peak in the West Indies, Pico Duarte (10,206 feet), is in this range. The country abounds in gold and silver, ferronickel, bauxite, coal, tin, marble, salt, gypsum and limestone. It is also the second-largest gold producer in the Western Hemisphere. Dominican amber mines are a national treasure. They are famous for producing some of the best fossils and gem quality nuggets in the world.
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Last updated March 2010 |
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Explored and claimed by 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 then know 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. Although the country gained its independence from Haiti in 1844, its political history is littered with frequent colonial administrations, most notably that of Spain in the 1860s and the US during the early 1900s. After the long dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, which lasted for 31years from 1930 to 1961, political institutions consolidated and an era of relative peace ensued when the exiled political activist Juan Bosch Gavino became president after getting a sweeping majority in the 1962 elections. In 1966, Joaquin Balaguer became President and he maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. The current president, Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Liberation Party, was elected in 1996, 2004 elections and was re-elected for the third time in 2008.
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The Dominican Republic has a population of 9.65 million (2009) with a growth rate of 1.29%. It is a multi-racial and multi-cultural society with Spanish predominance (Caucasians 16%, Blacks 11% and mixed 73%). Life expectancy is about 67 years and the literacy rate stands at 84.6%. Official language is Spanish but English is widely spoken. About 50% of the people live in rural areas; many are small landholders. In Dominican Republic, Haitians form the largest foreign minority group, with Spaniards, West Indians and Cubans, the other important country groups. All religions are tolerated; but the state religion is Roman Catholicism (95% population), recognized formally in 1954, when a “concordat” with the Vatican was signed.
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GOVERMENT AND POLITICS CONDITIONS
The Dominican Republic is a representative democracy whose national powers are 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 a 4-year term. Legislative power is exercised by a bicameral congress – the Senate (32 members), and the Chamber of Deputies (178) members, elections to which are held every four years. The President is the Head of State and Head of the Government. Dr Leonel Fernandez, the incumbent President, won the Presidential election held on 16th May with 54 percent votes cast in his favour. Though not consecutive, this is his third term in office.
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The Dominican Republic is a middle-income developing country primarily dependent on agriculture, trade, and services, especially tourism. Although the service sector has recently overtaken agriculture as the leading employer of Dominicans (due principally to growth in tourism and Free Trade Zones), agriculture remains the most important sector in terms of domestic consumption and is in second place (behind mining) in terms of export earnings. Tourism accounts for more than $3 billion in annual earnings. Free Trade Zone earnings and tourism are the fastest-growing export sectors. Remittances from Dominicans living abroad are estimated to be about $3 billion per year. The effects of the global financial crisis and the US recession have affected the GDP growth in 2009(3.5%), however a rebound is expected in 2010. High unemployment and underemployment remains an important challenge to the economy. 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. In 2009 , during the third trade policy review the World Trade Organization (WTO) congratulated Dominican Republic for its process to liberalize the trade regime applied since 2002.
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The Dominican Republic has close relationship with the United States and with the other states of the inter-American system. The D.R. government supported the U.S. – led military action in Iraq and had sent a small military contingent there. It has accredited diplomatic missions in most Western Hemisphere countries and in principal European capitals.
Dominican relations with its closest neighbour, the Republic of Haiti, have been unstable. Political instability in Haiti and strong Haitian migratory pressure on DR has been obstructing the development of closer relations between the two neighbours.
The Dominican Republic is member of UN and many of its specialized and related agencies, including the World Bank, International Labor Organization, Internal Atomic Energy Agency, and International Civil Aviation Organization. It also is a member of the OAS,Rio Group, the Inter-American Development Bank, INTELSAT and NAM. The present PLD government has tried to widen the horizons of its international relations. DR was one of the candidates for the temporary seats of the UN Security Council from Latin America for the year 2008-09 in which it lost to Costa Rica. In 2006 in opened embassies in India and Russia and established diplomatic relations with Vietnam and Malaysia in Asia and Mali in Africa. DR recognizes the government of Taiwan and therefore has no diplomatic relations with People´s Republic of China. There is, however, a Chinese trade office in Santo Domingo. DR is an associate member of the Central American Integration System (SICA).President Leonel Fernandez has played a very proactive role in the conflict resolution between Columbia & Ecuador, Columbia &Venezuela and the safe passage of ousted President Zelaya of Honduras to Dominican Republic in 2010.
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