Dominican Republic

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

The geography of the Dominican Republic is quite diverse with densely forested areas, large sand plains and low-lying mountains. As a semi-island state, it shares its only border with Haiti which is the only state that borders the Dominican Republic. 

Known for its alcoholic beverages as well as its beautiful beaches, the Dominican Republic has had a profound history within the Caribbean Sea. Explored by Christopher Columbus in 1492, it became a Spanish settlement in 1496 where it became a central trading hub as well as a part of the European slave trade. When Spain ceded the territories to France at the end of the 18th century, it became a short-lived colony under French rule. When neighbouring Haiti conquered the Dominican Republic, the Spanish Empire reconquered it in 1840. After several uprisings the territory was once again lost and in 1844 the Dominican Republic declared its independence. Since then, attempts by Spain to reconquer the Dominican Republic, military interventions by the United States as well as the establishment of a dictatorship have plunged the Dominican Republic into turmoil until 1962. Since then, it has become a relatively stable representative democracy.  

With a total surface of 48,914 square kilometers or 18,886 square miles it is the 128th largest state in the world being slightly larger than Estonia and slightly smaller than Slovakia. 

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

It has a total water surface of 352 square kilometers or 141 square miles which makes it the 123rd state with the largest amount of water. 

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Most of its drinking water is extracted from water basins and groundwater which is being processed by its government and the quality of the water is relatively low and is non-drinkable. 

Its climate is characterized by being tropical, but it experiences a mild tropical climate. The average temperature is 24.7 degrees Celsius or 76.4 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it the 68th warmest state in the world. 

Temperature

Its warmest temperature occurs from June to August and reaches an average temperature of 29 degrees Celsius 84.2 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Its low temperature is during its winter period from December to February and has an average temperature of 21.4 degrees Celsius or 70.5 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

As the 62nd state with the highest amount of precipitation, its rainfall mainly occurs during night time and is around 136 centimetres or 54 inches per year. 

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

The capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo has a population of 2.5 million people. The capital that is closest located is Port au Prince Haiti with a distance of 167.2 miles or 296 kilometers. The capital that is furthest removed is Jakarta Indonesia with a distance of 18,621 kilometers or 11,571 miles. 

The economy of the Dominican Republic is mainly based on the export of agricultural products. Around 45 percent of its imported goods come from the United States while it also exports more than 55 percent to the United States. Because of the high dependency on the United States, its economy rises and declines with the economy of the United States.  Other sources of income are from tourism, manufacturing and its mining sector. 

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

 

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

In total, Haiti is a member of 13 international economic organizations which makes it the 74th most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • Caribbean Development Bank 

  • Inter-American Development Bank 

  • International Monetary Fund 

  • World Bank Group 

  • World Customs Organization 

  • World Trade Organization 

  • Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States 

  • Central American Bank for Economic Integration 

  • Central American Integration System 

  • International Renewable Energy Agency 

  • International Solar Alliance 

  • Group of 77 

  • Advisory Centre on World Trade Organization Law 

Below, you will find the graph that displays the states and their amount of memberships

Its GDP is estimated to be just over $83 billion which makes it the 69th highest in the world. 

Its GDP per capita is US$7760 which is the 80th highest in the world. 

The figure below displays the average amount that inhabitant of other states earn for every 1$ that an average Dominican citizen makes.

Its GDP per square kilometer is US$1.7 million and per square mile it is US$4.4 million making it the 54th highest in terms of surface area. 

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Its purchasing power is US$18,337 which is the 73rd highest in the world. 

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of the Dominican Republic with the rest of the world.

 

 

 

The graph on the left displays the purchasing power parity of the rest of the world in relation to the purchasing power of 1$ in the Dominican Republic. 

It has a population of 10.7 million people which makes it the 85th most populous state in the world. The official language of the Dominican Republic is Spanish which is spoken by the majority of its population. With only small black and white minorities, the majority of its population is a mix between Europeans and Africans. 

Population

Population density

Its population density is 218 people per square kilometer or 564 people per square mile. This makes the Dominican Republic the 46th most densely populated state in the world. 

Emigration

Around 1.5 million people, or 14.3 percent of the population has emigrated from the Dominican Republic. The majority of these people have emigrated to the United States and a smaller portion has emigrated to Spain and Italy. 

Immigration

Immigration to the Dominican Republic can be obtained through legal immigration process or by investing in the Dominican Republic. Virtually all of 550,000 immigrants originate from Haiti. This is mainly due to the political and economic turmoil since 2004. 

Literacy

The literacy rate in the Dominican Republic stands at 92.4 percent which makes it the 110th most literate state in the world. Funding for its educational system has fluctuated heavily in recent decades. This has led to an inconsistent quality of its educational system. 

Health

With an average life expectancy of 74.7 years, the Dominican Republic has the 85th highest life expectancy in the world. Women reach an average age of 77.9 years while men reach the average age of 71.6 years. Some health risks for the population are communicable diseases such as the Zika virus, Chikungunya virus, HIV AIDS and dengue. 

 

Below, the global rank of each state is displayed

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Despite having Catholicism as its state religion, the Dominican Republic provides freedom of religion towards all religions and gives tax exemption towards all registered religions. 

With 87.2 percent of the population adhering to Christianity, it is the 27th most Christian state in the world. 

 

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed 

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Less than 5000 people adhere to Islam which represents 0.002 percent of the total population. Most Muslims are located in the capital where a mosque has been erected near the center. 

 

On the left, the global spread of Islam is displayed per state.

Around 0.1 percent of the population adheres to Buddhism. There are no official organizations related to Buddhism, but its practitioners are located throughout its territory. 

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Around 0.03 percent of the population adheres to Hinduism which mainly consists of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. 

 

On the left, the share of adherents to Hinduism globally is displayed.

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Around 0.03 percent of the population is Jewish. These Jews first arrived along with the Spanish settlers. During this period, many Jews hid of their religious beliefs. During the second world war the Dominican Republic had accepted several hundred Jews to which it gave refuge. The number of Jews declined at the end of the 20th century when migration started to the United States. 

Other religions (share of the total population)

Other religions can be mainly found in indigenous South American religions as well as indigenous African religions such as voodoo and represents 7.3 percent of the population. 

 

 

 

On the left, the share of other religions in other states is displayed.

Non-religious (share of the total population)

A small population of the Dominican Republic does not adhere to any religion which represent 0.67 percent of the total population. 

 

 

On the right, other states and their share of non-religious citizens is displayed

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

It has a total budget of US$615 million which represent 0.79 percent of its total GDP and is the 88th highest military budget in the world. 

 

Below, the absolute and relative military expenditure is displayed.

The military of the Dominican Republic, which is its official name, has its main task in defending the territorial integrity and national security. This is mainly done with the intervention of drug trafficking activities that are highly present in the Dominican Republic. Other military activities are the prevention of illegal migration from Haiti to the Dominican Republic and from the Dominican Republic to the United States. Its army consists of ground forces, the Navy and Air Force.

Military membership

It is also a member of five international military organizations which makes it the 65th most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • System of Cooperation Among the American Air Forces 
  • Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 
  • Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 
  • International Atomic Energy Agency 
  • Non-Aligned Movement 

Military membership

International wars

The Dominican Republic has participated in five international wars. These are:  

  • Dominican War of Independence 1844-1849 
  • Dominican Restoration War 1863-1865 
  • Cuban invasion of the Dominican Republic 1959-1959 
  • United States invasion of the Dominican Republic 1956-1956 
  • American occupation of the Dominican Republic 1956-1966 

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

It is a member of 15 international political organizations which makes it the 41st most politically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

 

  • Member state of the United Nations 
  • International Labour Organization 
  • Organization of American States 
  • Association of Caribbean States 
  • Community of Latin American and Caribbean States 
  • International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and
  • Restoration of Cultural Property 
  • Organization of Ibero-American States 
  • International Criminal Court 

 

 

Below, the amount of political memberships of each state is displayed.

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

With regular elections being held every four years, as well as a relatively stable political climate, it is the 73rd most democratic state in the world. Some drawbacks of the Dominican republic’s democracy are that the inefficiency of government as well as the misallocations of the government’s budget. 

 

The global rating of each state is displayed below.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of the Dominican Republic is in the form of a representative democracy. The president of the Dominican Republic serves as head of state, head of government as well as its military. 

  • Interpol 
  • Permanent Court of Arbitration 
  • Alliance of Small Island States 
  • Association of World Election Bodies 
  • International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance 
  • South Centre (organization) 
  • World Organization for Animal Health 

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If you want to know more about other states, click on the flag on the right to discover Ecuador.