Dominican Republic

LOCATED BETWEEN THE Caribbean Sea and the north Atlantic Ocean, the Dominican Republic comprises the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, while Haiti covers the western third of the island. For most of the latter half of the 20th century, the Dominican Republic was under the authoritarian rule of Joaquin Balaguer. After Balaguer was forced out of office, a representative democracy was instated.

Historically, the Dominican economy has been tied to the export of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, but only 17 percent of the labor force is now involved in agriculture. The Dominican Republic suffers from water shortages caused by periodic droughts. In response to increasing tourism and free trade, some 59 percent of Dominicans work in service and government jobs. In the last two years of the 20th century, the Dominican Republic became one of the fastest-growing economies in the western hemisphere. The economy has since slowed.

One-fourth of the population is poor in this lower-middle-income nation, and 27 percent of the people are malnourished. There is a 17 percent unemployment rate. Vast inequality exists in the Dominican Republic, and the poorest 20 percent of Dominicans subsist on 5.1 percent ofthe country's resources while the richest 20 percent claim 53.3 percent. The Dominican Republic is ranked 47.4 on the Gini Index of Human Inequality.

The Dominican population of 8,950,034 experiences a projected life span of 67.26 years, with women living an average of three years longer. The median age is 23.88 years. Almost one-third of the population is under the age of 14, and 5.4 percent have reached the age of 65. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is becoming a threat to the Dominican Republic, with a prevalence rate of 1.7 percent. Some 88,000 people are living with the disease, and 7,900 have died. About 14 percent of Dominicans lack access to safe water, and one-third of the population lacks access to proper sanitation. There are 190 physicians for every 100,000 residents, and 50 to 79 percent can afford essential drugs.

Childhood mortality has declined drastically in the Dominican Republic since the 1970s, when 91 deaths occurred out of every 1,000 live births. That number has been reduced to 32.38 per 1,000. In 1970, the mortality rate of children under the age of 5 was 128 per 1,000. It is currently 35 per 1,000. Five percent of all children under the age of 5 are malnourished, and 14 percent of babies are underweight at birth. Nine percent of children under the age of 5 suffer from moderate to severe stunting and two percent experience moderate to severe wasting. Infant immunizations against measles and tuberculosis are in the 90 percent range, but rates for immunizations against polio and DPT are reported at 73 and 72 percent respectively. In 2003, immunization rates for children between the ages of 12 and 23 months were recorded at 79 percent against measles and 65 percent against DPT.

On the average, Dominican women have 2.86 children each. Total fertility has declined steadily since 1970 when 5.6 children per woman was the average. Among adolescents, the fertility rate is 81 per 1,000 births. Data collected by the Population and Health Census in the Dominican Republic indicate that 23.3 percent of all adolescent girls have conceived at some point.

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