Portal:Dominican Republic
Introduction
The Dominican Republic is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with Haiti, making Hispaniola one of only two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that is shared by two sovereign states. It is the second-largest nation in the Antilles by area (after Cuba) at 48,671 square kilometers (18,792 sq mi), and second-largest by population, with approximately 11.4 million people in 2024, of whom approximately 3.6 million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city. The Dominican Republic has the largest economy (according to the U.S. State Department and the World Bank) in the Caribbean and Central American region and is the seventh-largest economy in Latin America. Over the last 25 years, the Dominican Republic has had the fastest-growing economy in the Western Hemisphere – with an average real GDP growth rate of 5.3% between 1992 and 2018. GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 reached 7.3 and 7.0%, respectively, the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Recent growth has been driven by construction, manufacturing, tourism, and mining. The country is the site of the third largest (in terms of production) gold mine in the world, the Pueblo Viejo mine. The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The year-round golf courses and resorts are major attractions. A geographically diverse nation, the Dominican Republic is home to both the Caribbean's tallest mountain peak, Pico Duarte, and the Caribbean's largest lake and lowest point, Lake Enriquillo. The island has an average temperature of 26 °C (78.8 °F) and great climatic and biological diversity. The country is also the site of the first cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress built in the Americas, located in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, a World Heritage Site. (Full article...) Selected article -The economy of the Dominican Republic is the seventh largest in Latin America, and is the largest in the Caribbean and Central American region. The Dominican Republic is an upper-middle income developing country with important sectors including mining, tourism, manufacturing (medical devices, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals), energy, real estate, infrastructure, telecommunications and agriculture. The Dominican Republic is on track to achieve its goal of becoming a high-income country by 2030, and is expected to grow 79% in this decade. The country is the site of the single largest gold mine in Latin America, the Pueblo Viejo mine.Although the service sector is currently the leading employer of Dominicans (due principally to growth in tourism and free-trade zones), agriculture remains an important sector in terms of the domestic market and is in second place (behind mining) in terms of export earnings. Tourism accounts for more than $7.4 billion in annual earnings in 2019. Free-trade zone earnings and tourism are the fastest-growing export sectors. A leading growth engine in the Free-trade zone sector is the production of medical equipment for export having a value-added per employee of $20,000 USD, total revenue of $1.5 billion USD, and a growth rate of 7.7% in 2019. The medical instrument export sector represents one of the highest-value added sectors of the country's economy, a true growth engine for the country's emerging market. Remittances are an important sector of the economy, contributing $8.2 billion in 2020. Most of these funds are used to cover household expenses, such as housing, food, clothing, health care and education. Secondarily, remittances have financed businesses and productive activities. Thirdly, this combined effect has induced investment by the private sector and helps fund the public sector through its value-added tax. The combined import market including the free-trade-zones amounts to a market of $20 billion a year in 2019. The combined export sector had revenues totaling $11 billion in 2019. The consumer market is equivalent to $61 billion in 2019. An important indicator is the average commercial loan interest rate, which directs short-term investment and stimulates long-term investment in the economy. It is currently 8.30%, as of June 2021. The Dominican Republic's most important trading partner is the United States (over 40% of total commercial exchange; over $12 billion in trade). Other major trade partners are China (over $3 billion in trade), Switzerland (over $1 billion), Puerto Rico (over $800 million), Mexico (over $700 million), Haiti (over $700 million), Spain (over $700 million), the Netherlands (over $700 million), Canada (over $600 million), Brazil (over $500 million), and Germany (over $500 million), in that quantitative order. The country exports free-trade-zone manufactured products (medical devices, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals), gold, nickel, agricultural products, liquor, cocoa beans, silver, and sauces and seasonings. It imports petroleum, industrial raw materials, capital goods, and foodstuffs. On 5 September 2005, the Congress of the Dominican Republic ratified a free trade agreement with the U.S. and five Central American countries, the Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). CAFTA-DR entered into force for the Dominican Republic on 1 March 2007. The total stock of U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Dominican Republic as of 2019 was U.S. $42 billion, much of it directed to the energy, tourism, real estate, manufacturing, infrastructure and the telecommunications sectors. In 2019 the foreign direct investment stock amounted to $42 billion a significant growth in the last decade and a half. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign direct investment flows in the Dominican Republic had remained strong at $2.5 billion added to the stock in that year. Having grown to an estimated $44.5 billion, and growing more than ten-fold since 2006 when the liberalization efforts began. (Full article...)General images -The following are images from various Dominican Republic-related articles on Wikipedia.
Selected picture - Credit: Tamas Iklodi A beach on Saona Island, a tropical island located a short distance from the mainland on the south-east tip of the Dominican Republic.
Selected biography - Yuderqui Maridalia Contreras (born March 27, 1986), also known as Yudelkis Contreras, is a Dominican Republican weightlifter. She went to the 2008 Summer Olympics where she was 5th. After the Games, she was accused of failing a doping control, but the case ended with her name cleared. She was one of the two athletes that represented her home country in weightlifting at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She failed her three attempts in the snatch stage ending with no mark. Contreras is a two-time bronze medal winner at the World Weightlifting Championships: 2005 and 2010. She was awarded Dominican Republic Athlete of the year in 2005, and as of 2012, she have been awarded Female Weightlifting Athlete of the Year six times. She is two-time gold medal winner in Pan American Games, in 2007 and 2011, and silver medalist in 2003. She is the record holder of these games, which she set in the 2007 edition and improved in the snatch in 2011. She is also a Central American and Caribbean Games two-time gold medal winner, in 2006 and 2010 and record holder, set in 2010. (Full article...)Related portalsTopics
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