ollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Dominica

Disputes - international:
joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves
Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which
permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large
portion of the Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe;
minor cannabis producer; anti-money-laundering enforcement is weak,
making the country particularly vulnerable to money laundering

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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@Dominican Republic

Introduction Dominican Republic

Background:
Explored and claimed by 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 for much of
its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin
BALAGUER became president. He 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. The Dominican economy has had
one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past
decade.

Geography Dominican Republic

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 bo