| Economy - overview | The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy that enjoyed strong GDP growth until 2003. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 80% of export revenues), but recovered in 2004-06. With the help of strict fiscal targets agreed in the 2004 renegotiation of an IMF standby loan, President FERNANDEZ has stabilized the country's financial situation. Although the economy continues to grow at a respectable rate, high unemployment and inflation remain important challenges. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. The Dominican Republic's development prospects improved with the ratification of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) in September 2005. |
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| GDP | 0.8% (2006) |
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| GDP - real growth rate | 10.7% (2006 est.) |
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| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11.2%
industry: 30.6%
services: 58.2% (2005 est.) |
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| Population below poverty line | 25% |
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Household income or consumption
by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 37.9% (1998) |
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Distribution of family income
- Gini index | 47.4 (1998) |
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| Labor force | 3.896 million (2006 est.) |
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| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 17%
industry: 24.3%
services: 58.7% (1998 est.) |
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| Unemployment rate | 16% (2006 est.) |
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| Budget | revenues: $5.852 billion
expenditures: $5.947 billion; including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2006 est.) |
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| Industries | tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco |
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| Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2001 est.) |
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Electricity -
production | 15.02 billion kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
production by source | fossil fuel: 92%
hydro: 7.6%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.4% (2001) |
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Electricity -
consumption | 13.96 billion kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
exports | 0 kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
imports | 0 kWh (2004) |
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| Oil - production | 12 bbl/day (2004) |
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| Oil - consumption | 127,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
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| Oil - exports | NA bbl/day |
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| Oil - imports | 129,900 bbl/day (2003) |
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| Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs |
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| Exports | $6.495 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
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| Exports - commodities | ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods |
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| Exports - partners | US 78.9%, Netherlands 2.4%, Mexico 1.9% (2005) |
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| Imports | $11.39 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
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| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals |
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| Imports - partners | US 50%, Colombia 6.2%, Mexico 5.8% (2005) |
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| Debt - external | $8.634 billion (2006 est.) |
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| Economic aid - recipient | $571.6 million (2004) |
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| Currency code | DOP |
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| Exchange rates | Dominican pesos per US dollar - 33.406 (2006), 30.409 (2005), 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002) |
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| Fiscal year | calendar year |
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