News - Country profile: Dominican Republic
The Caribbean nation is a major tourist destination. Tourism, and the DR’s free-trade zones, have become major employers and key sources of revenue. Sugar, coffee and tobacco are among the main exports.
OVERVIEW |
 OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS MEDIA |
The largely mountainous country includes Pico Duarte - the highest point in the West Indies, the fertile Cibao Valley, swathes of desert, and Lake Enriquillo - the lowest point in the region.
 |
AT-A-GLANCE
Politics: President Leonel Fernandez has made economic recovery a priority; presidential elections are set for May 2008
Economy: The DR has entered a free trade accord with the US and Central American nations; President Fernandez has cut spending, restructured debt and secured IMF funds
International: Hundreds of thousands of Haitians live and work illegally in the DR
|
The DR is inhabited mostly by people of mixed European and African origins. Western influence is seen in the colonial buildings of the capital, Santo Domingo, as well as in art and literature. African heritage is reflected in music. The two heritages blend in the popular song and dance, the merengue.
No blending of fortunes, however, is evident in the distribution of wealth between ethnic groups.
The DR is one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean. There is a huge gap between the rich and the poor, with the richest being the white descendants of Spanish settlers, who own most of the land, and the poorest comprising people of African descent. The mixed race majority controls much of the commerce.
Mutual distrust has soured relations between the DR and its troubled neighbour, Haiti. Up to one million Haitians live in the DR, many of them illegally. The government has carried out mass online dating canada
.
- Full name: Dominican Republic
- Population: 9 million (UN, 2005)
- Capital:
Santo Domingo - Area: 48,072 sq km (18,696 sq miles)
- Major language: Spanish
- Major religion: Christianity
- Life expectancy:
69 years (men), 75 years (women) (UN) - Monetary unit: 1 Dominican peso = 100 centavos
- Main exports:
Ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats - GNI per capita:
US$2,460 (World Bank, 2007) - Internet domain: .do
- International dialling code: +1809
LEADERS |
|
President: Leonel Fernandez
Leonel Fernandez began his second non-consecutive term as president in August 2004, after winning May’s elections. Campaigning amid economic turmoil, he pledged to reduce inflation, stabilise the exchange rate and restore investor confidence.
Leonel Fernandez promised to tackle soaring inflation
|
Upon taking office he introduced austerity measures, including cuts to state spending. The moves helped to secure lending from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
But he struggled to persuade parliament to back economic measures intended to meet IMF loan obligations and to enable the DR’s entry into a free trade pact with the US.
In March 2007, Mr Fernandez announced his intention to run again in the next presidential election, due in 2008.
The lawyer and former university professor joined the Dominican Liberation Party as a young man and was a running mate of the party’s founder Juan Bosch in 1990. He successfully ran for president in 1996.
During his first term the DR experienced economic growth of 7% a year. But his successor, Hipolito Mejia, oversaw rampant inflation, a plummeting currency and high unemployment.
The Hipolito government accused Mr Fernandez of corruption whilst in office. He denied the charges and said they were part of a smear campaign by the opposition.
Born in 1953, the son of an army officer, the young Leonel Fernandez moved to New York with his family. He returned to the Dominican Republic and attended the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. Active in student politics, he obtained a doctorate in 1978.
He speaks Spanish, French and English, and is married with three children.
MEDIA |
OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS MEDIA |
Ownership of TV channels, radio stations and newspapers is concentrated in a few economically or politically-powerful hands.
There are several terrestrial TV channels and many multichannel cable TV operators. More than 200 radio stations are on the air, most of them commercial. The government operates TV and radio networks.
Press freedom is guaranteed by law and media outlets carry diverse political views. Some subjects, such as the Catholic Church and the army, are generally avoided.
The press
Television
Radio
Internet