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National name: República Dominicana
President: Leonel Fernández Reyna (1996)
Area: 18,704 sq. mi. (48,730 sq. km)
Population (1999 est.): 8,129,734 (average annual rate of natural increase: 2.03%); birth rate: 26.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 42.5/1000; density per sq. mi.: 435
Capital and largest city (1993): Santo Domingo, 2,100,000
Other large city (1993): Santiago de los Caballeros, 690,000
Monetary unit: Peso
Languages: Spanish, English widely spoken
Ethnicity/race: white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
Religion: 90% Roman Catholic
Literacy rate: 84%
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (1998 est.): $39.8 billion; $5,000 per capita. Real growth rate: 7%. Inflation: 6%. Unemployment: 16% (1997 est.). Arable land: 21%. Agriculture: sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs. Labor force: (1991 est.), 2.32.6 million; agriculture, 50%; services and government, 32%; industry, 18% (1991 est.). Industry: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco. Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver. Exports: $997 million (1997 est.): ferronickel, sugar, gold, coffee, cocoa. Imports: $3.6 billion (1998): foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Major trading partners: U.S., EU, Canada, South Korea,Venezuela, Netherlands Antilles, Mexico, Japan.