LOCATED IN THE Caribbean, the Dominican Republic occupies the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola, the other part the Republic of Haiti. It has a land area of 18,810 sq. mi. (48,442 sq. km.), with a population of 9,183,984 (2007 est.), and a population density of 474 people per sq. mi. (182 people per sq. km.). The capital, Santo Domingo, makes up for about a quarter of the population of the country, which remains extremely poor, with a Gross Domestic Product per capita of $2,776 per year.

In the Dominican Republic, sugar cane crops are being repurposed to make ethanol to blend with gasoline.

About 21 percent of the land is arable, with a further 43 percent used for meadow or pasture. Historically, the mainstay of ...