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Dominican Republic:
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Other pages in this profile of the Dominican Republic:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
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Background |
Explored and claimed by Christopher COLUMBUS on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola 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 1930-61. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962, but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the United States led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966, Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in an election to become president. 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 (1996-2000) Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna won election to a second term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term. |
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Location |
Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti |
Geographic coordinates |
19 00 N, 70 40 W |
Map references |
Central America and the Caribbean |
Area |
total: 48,730 sq km land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km |
Area - comparative |
slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire |
Land boundaries |
total: 360 km border countries: Haiti 360 km |
Coastline |
1,288 km |
Maritime claims |
territorial sea: 6 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Climate |
tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall |
Terrain |
rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed |
Elevation extremes |
lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m |
Natural resources |
nickel, bauxite, gold, silver |
Land use |
arable land: 22.49% permanent crops: 10.26% other: 67.25% (2005) |
Irrigated land |
2,750 sq km (2003) |
Natural hazards |
lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts |
Environment - current issues |
water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Geography - note |
shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti |
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