Welcome ! - Dominican Republic - Economy

A fertile country : The Dominican Republic is a fertile, well-watered, mountainous country. About 80 percent of the country is covered with a series of massive mountain ranges, extending in a northwestern to southeastern direction. Pico Duarte (3175 m/10,417 ft) is the highest mountain in the country and in the West Indies. Between the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Septentrional, a parallel range to the north, is the Valley of Cibao, one of the most fertile and best-watered areas of the country. The coastal plain in the southeast is another fertile region. Among the numerous streams of the Dominican Republic are the Yaque del Norte, Yuna, and Camú rivers in the north and the Yaque del Sur, Ozama, and Soco rivers in the south. The principal lake is the saltwater Lago Enriquillo, about 43 km (about 27 mi) long, situated in the southwest. The coastline of the Dominican Republic, about 1633 km (about 1015 mi) in length, is irregular and indented by many bays forming natural harbors, notably Calderas Bay in the south and the Bay of Samaná in the northeast.

The main resources of the Dominican Republic are agricultural. The fertile soil in the valleys is conducive to farming, and many of the mountain slopes are covered with forests. The country also has valuable deposits of nickel, gold, and silver.

The economy of the Dominican Republic is predominantly agricultural, and nearly half of the work force is employed in farming. The country also has an important mining sector. In the late 1980s the estimated national budget included about $796 million in revenue and about $898 million in expenditure. The Dominican Republic hasn't had a reputation for tourism like that of other Caribbean countries, but this is changing rapidly. Because destructive hurricanes have damaged many of the famous vacation spots in the Caribbean, in recent years, tourism has expanded greatly, proving to be an extremely successful and profitable auxilary for the country.

In 2003, started a period of recession and the GDP per capita and per annum, passed of more than 2 500 US$ to less than 2 000 US$ (-24%). Year 2004 will undoubtedly end in an equivalent fall of the GDP but seems to be announced as a end of this period because the new confidence of the IMF for the new president Lionel Fernandez

The principal exports of the Dominican Republic typically are sugar, ferronickel, gold, coffee, cocoa, and tobacco. Sugar and sugar products usually make up more than one-third of all export earnings. Machinery, iron and steel, foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, and chemicals are leading imports. In the late 1980s the total value of exports was about 893.50 US$ million per year and of imports about 1.60 US$ billion. The United States is the leading trade partner of the Dominican Republic, followed by Venezuela, Mexico, and Japan.

The wage labor force of the Dominican Republic exceeded 2.3 million workers in the mid-1980s. An estimated 49 percent of all Dominican workers engaged in agriculture, 18 percent in industry, and 33 percent in services. The Confederación de Trabajadores Dominicanos, and the Unión General de Trabajadores Dominicanos, two of the nation's leading labor unions, merged in 1988.

The principal cash crops of the Dominican Republic are raised on large plantations. Most farmers, however, engage in subsistence cultivation. Sugarcane is the main cash crop; the largest plantations are in the southeast. In the late 1980s some 8.3 million metric tons of sugarcane were produced. Sugar refining is a leading industrial activity in the Dominican Republic; output of refined sugar in the early 1990s was about 93,500 metric tons. (Also produced were textiles, cement, cigars, cigarettes, fertilizer, molasses, refined petroleum, and processed wheat and rice.) Other important crops were rice (463,000 metric tons), bananas (391,000), coffee (54,000), cacao (39,000), and tobacco (30,000). Cattle, hogs, and poultry are raised primarily for local consumption.

Government programs : In 1964 the government of the Dominican Republic inaugurated a program aimed at raising health standards. Drainage systems, garbage disposal plants, and aqueducts were built in all of the larger cities. Several government agencies were established for the purpose of increasing water facilities in rural and urban areas. Government programs provide some health services, but the republic has no comprehensive system for welfare. The country had more than 3100 physicians in the mid-1980s.

The armed forces of the Dominican Republic comprise of an army of about 15,000, a navy of about 3000, and an air force of about 4200. Military service is voluntary. Fuerzas Militares Dominicanas

Banks : The republic has several commercial banks like, the Banco de Reservas, government controlled, and the Banco Central de la Republica Dominicana.