rable to
money laundering

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

@Dominican Republic:Introduction

Background: A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for
much of the 20th century was brought to an end in 1996 when free and
open elections ushered in a new government.

@Dominican Republic:Geography

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: 275 km
border countries: Haiti 275 km

Coastline: 1,288 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 6 nm

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: 21%
permanent crops: 9%
permanent pastures: 43%
forests and woodland: 12%
other: 15% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 2,300 sq km (1993 est.)

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; Hurricane Georges damage

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern
two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti)

@Dominican Republic:People

Population: 8,442,533 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 34% (male 1,486,902; female 1,422,977)
15-64 years: 61% (male 2,609,934; female 2,518,330)
65 years and over: 5% (male 192,254; female 212,136) (2000 est.)

Population growth rat