Dominican Republic 
Facts
Population:
8,581,477 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
34.11% (male 1,495,477; female 1,431,406)
15-64 years:
60.99% (male 2,664,679; female 2,569,398)
65 years and over:
4.9% (male 199,240; female 221,277) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.63% (2001 est.)
Birth rate:
24.77 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate:
4.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate:
-3.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.9 male(s)/female
total population:
1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
34.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
73.44 years
male:
71.34 years
female:
75.64 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.97 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
2.8% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
130,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
4,900 (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Dominican(s)
adjective:
Dominican
Ethnic groups:
white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 95%
Languages:
Spanish
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
82.1%
male:
82%
female:
82.2% (1995 est.)
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $48.3 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $5,700 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
11.3%
industry:
32.2%
services:
56.5% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line:
25% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
1.6%
highest 10%:
39.6% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7.9% (2000 est.)
Labor force:
2.3 million - 2.6 million
Labor force - by occupation:
services and government 58.7%, industry 24.3%, agriculture 17% (1998 est.)
Unemployment rate:
13.8% (1999 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$2.3 billion
expenditures:
$2.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $867 million (1999 est.)
Industries:
tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate:
8% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production:
7.29 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
87.19%
hydro:
12.4%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0.41% (1999)
Electricity - consumption:
6.78 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs
Exports:
$5.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities:
ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats
Exports - partners:
US 66.1%, Netherlands 7.8%, Canada 7.6%, Russia 7.4%, UK 4.5% (1999 est.)
Imports:
$9.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners:
US 25.7%, Venezuela 9.2%, Mexico 4%, Japan 3%, Panama 2.6% (1999 est.)
Debt - external:
$4.7 billion (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$239.6 million (1995)
Currency:
Dominican peso (DOP)
Currency code:
DOP
Exchange rates:
Dominican pesos per US dollar - 16.888 (January 2001), 16.415 (2000), 16.033 (1999), 15.267 (1998), 14.265 (1997), 13.775 (1996)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Statistics: CIA World Factbook.
Press
(Independent), Santo Domingo
http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/frontpage.a...
(Independent), Santo Domingo
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/
(Independent), Santo Domingo
http://www.elnacional.com.do/app/frontpage.as...
(Independent), Santo Domingo
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/frontpage...
(Independent), Santo Domingo
http://www.elviajero.com.do/
(N/A), Santo Domingo
http://Hoy.com.do/
Santo Domingo
http://www.listin.com.do/
Dominican Republic in the News
The 2006 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award was recently awarded to Sonia Pierre.
As the largest exporter of immigrants to New York City, the Dominican Republic is represented by approximately 10 percent of the 1.1 million students within the New York City public school system.
In an unsigned editorial, the Dominican newspaper Hoy lambastes governments and aid organizations for talking a good line on Haiti, but not doing enough.
Americas 
