Country Profile: Dominican Republic

Language(s):	Spanish
Government:	Representative Democracy
Head of State:	President Leonel Fernandez Reyna
Currency:	Dominican Peso (DOP)
Population:	9.7 Million (estimated)
Density:	201/km² - 523/sq mi
Time zone:	Atlantic (UTC-4)
Calling code:	1- (809) and 1- (829)
Internet TLD:	do
Independence:	27 February 1844

Geography:

The Dominican Republic is a Latin American country located in the Greater Antilles archipelago on the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola. It shares the island with the Republic of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are split by two countries; the other is Saint Martin. Hispaniola is the second largest of the Greater Antilles, and lies west of Puerto Rico and east of Cuba and Jamaica.

Climate:

The country is a tropical, maritime nation. Wet season is from May to November, and periodic hurricanes between June and November. Most rain falls in the northern and eastern regions. The average rainfall is 1346 mm, with extremes of 2500 mm in the Northeast and 500 mm in the west. The main annual temperature ranges from 21 °C in the mountainous regions to 25 °C on the plains and the coast. The average temperature in Santo Domingo in January is 25 °C and 30 °C in July.

Population:

In 2007, the population of the Dominican Republic was estimated by the United Nations at 9,760,000 which placed it as number 82 in population among the 193 nations of the world.

Economic Overvie:

The Dominican Republic is a 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 Zone industry, agriculture remains the most important sector in terms of domestic consumption and is in second place, behind mining in terms of export earnings.

Economic Indicators of the Dominican Republic

GDP Growth

• 2005 – 9.3%
• 2006 – 11.0%
• 2007 – 8.2% (January – September)

GDP Growth in Key Sectors from 2004 – 2006 (US$Million)

*Preliminary Figures
**Accumulate

Foreign Direct Investment by Countries of Origin 2001 – 2006 (US$ Million)

Dominican Republic Trade and Investment with the UK

The Dominican Republic is UK's 5th largest export market in the Caribbean (2006). In 2006 UK Exports to the Dominican Republic (in £ thousands) were 51,449, on specialised industrial machinery, road vehicles and beverages and the UK Imports from the Dominican Republic (in £ thousands) were 113,994, mainly vegetables and fruits.

Top UK Exports to the Dominican Republic in 2006 (£000s)

Top UK Imports from Dominican Republic in 2006 (£000s)

Turism

• 4.1 million foreign tourists visited in 2006
• 1.4 from Europe
• 1.6 from North America
• Average occupancy rate of 73.0% in 2006

Free Zones

• 56 Operational Industrial parks.
• 555 Export firms in sectors such as textiles, shoes, tobacco products, jewellery, electronics and communications.
• High quality, efficient and productive workforce available, trained in all areas at very competitive rates.
• Excellent air and ocean transportation services.
• More than 30 years of expertise in international trade.