ing enforcement is weak,
making the country particularly vulnerable to money laundering

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

======================================================================

@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 boundaries:
total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km

Coastline:
1,288 km

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