Explored and claimed by Christopher 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 followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo from 1930-61. Juan Bosch was elected president in 1962, but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the United States led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore Bosch.

In 1966, Joaquin Balaguer defeated Bosch in an election to become president. Balaguer 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.

Former President (1996-2000) Leonel Fernandez Reyna won election to a second term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 9,365,818 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 32.1% (male 1,532,813/female 1,477,033) 15-64 years: 62.2% (male 2,971,620/female 2,851,207) 65 years and over: 5.7% (male 247,738/female 285,407) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 24.5 years male: 24.3 years female: 24.6 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 1.5% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 22.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: -2.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.868 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 27.94 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.07 years male: 71.34 years female: 74.87 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 2.81 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.7% (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 88,000 (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 7,900 (2003 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican

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Ethnic groups: mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%

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Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%

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Languages: Spanish

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87% male: 86.8% female: 87.2% (2002 census)

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 (purchasing power parity): $77.09 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $20.55 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 10.7% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $8,400 (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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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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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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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.2% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 15.5% of GDP (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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Public debt: 45.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

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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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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 - 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: 116,700 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 130 million cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 130 million cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$1.124 billion (2006 est.)

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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 72.8%, UK 3.2%, Belgium 2.4% (2006)

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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 48.6%, Colombia 6.5%, Mexico 6.1% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.106 billion (2006 est.)

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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): Dominican peso (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