World Atlas: Dominican Republic. On this page you can see the map, country flag and many detailed information about the people, history and economy of Dominican Republic.
Here you can find online selected information about the geography, inhabitants, government, economy and history of Dominican Republic. Included are selected statistics, an overview map and the detailed map of Dominican Republic. But let's start with the flag of Dominican Republic here:
Dominican Republic - Overview:
What you should know about Dominican Republic? Let's start with this: The Taino - indigenous inhabitants of Hispaniola prior to the arrival of the Europeans - divided the island into five chiefdoms and territories. Christopher Columbus explored and claimed the island on his first voyage in 1492; it 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 to 1961. Juan Bosch was elected president in 1962 but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the US led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore Bosch. In 1966, Joaquin Balaguer defeated Bosch in the presidential election. Balaguer 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. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. Former President Leonel Fernandez Reyna (first term 1996-2000) won election to a new term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term, and was later reelected to a second consecutive term. In 2012, Danilo Medina Sanchez became president; he was reelected in 2016.
Geography of Dominican Republic
Where on the globe is Dominican Republic? The location of this country is Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti. Total area of Dominican Republic is 48,670 sq km, of which 48,320 sq km is land. So this is not a large country. How could we describe the terrain of the country? This way: rugged highlands and mountains interspersed with fertile valleys. The lowest point of Dominican Republic is Lago Enriquillo -46 m, the highest point Pico Duarte 3,098 m. And the climate is tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall.
Inhabitants of Dominican Republic
Let's take a look how many people live in Dominican Republic. The number is: 10,734,247 (July 2017 est.). So this is not very populous country. Who lives here? mixed 70.4% (mestizo/indio 58%, mulatto 12.4%), black 15.8%, white 13.5%, other 0.3%. What are the languages in Dominican Republic? Spanish (official). And the religions: Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%. How old are the people in average? 28.1 years. We have to add that this number is the median - so one half of the people is older than this, one half is younger. And what is their life expectancy (at birth)? This: 78.3 years. Where the people live in Dominican Republic? Here: coastal development is significant, especially in the southern coastal plains and the Cibao Valley, where population density is highest; smaller population clusters exist in the interior mountains (Cordillera Central). The major urban areas of Dominican Republic are: Santo Domingo (capital) 2.945 million (2015).
Government and Economy of Dominican Republic
The capital of Dominican Republic is Santo Domingo and the government type presidential republic. Let's take a look at the administrative divisions - 10 regions (regiones, singular - region); Cibao Nordeste, Cibao Noroeste, Cibao Norte, Cibao Sur, El Valle, Enriquillo, Higuamo, Ozama, Valdesia, Yuma. Regarding the economy of Dominican Republic, important industrial products are tourism, sugar processing, gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco, electrical components, medical devices. Important agricultural products are cocoa, tobacco, sugarcane, coffee, cotton, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs. The most important export commodities are gold, silver, cocoa, sugar, coffee, tobacco, meats, consumer goods and the most important export partners are US 47.3%, Haiti 12%, Canada 7.8%, India 6.2% (2016). The most important import commodities are petroleum, foodstuffs, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals and the most important import partners are US 40.4%, China 12.5%, Mexico 5.2% (2016). How rich is Dominican Republic and how rich are people in this country? The most important number here is GDP per capita (PPP): $17,000 (2017 est.). This is quite good. Let's add that this means Gross Domestic Product per person, which is recalculated with respect to the relative cost of local goods and services. And one more important number - population below poverty line: 30.5% (2016 est.).