Dominican Republic Economy - 2005

Economy - overview:
The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy which enjoyed GDP growth of more than 7% in 1998-2000. Growth subsequently plummeted as part of the global economic slowdown. 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. 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. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 85% of export revenues), but recovered slightly in 2004. Resumption of a badly needed IMF loan, slowed due to government repurchase of electrical power plants, is basic to the restoration of social and economic stability. Newly elected President FERNANDEZ in mid-2004 promised belt-tightening reform. His administration has passed tax reform and is working to meet preconditions for a $600 IMF standby arrangement to ease the country's fiscal situation.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $55.68 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.7% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 10.7%
industry: 31.5%
services: 57.8% (2003)

Labor force:
2.3 million - 2.6 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 17%, industry 24.3%, services and government 58.7% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate:
17% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
25%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 37.9% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
47.4 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
55% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
18.9% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.625 billion
expenditures: $3.382 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2004 est.)

Public debt:
61.1% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs

Industries:
tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate:
2% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production:
9.583 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption:
8.912 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
129,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
129,900 bbl/day (2003)

Current account balance:
$762.2 million (2004 est.)

Exports:
$5.446 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods

Exports - partners:
US 79.7%, Canada 1.8%, Haiti 1.7% (2004)

Imports:
$8.093 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Imports - partners:
US 49%, Venezuela 13.8%, Mexico 4.6%, Colombia 4.2% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$426 million (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$7.745 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$239.6 million (1995)

Currency (code):
Dominican peso (DOP)

Exchange rates:
Dominican pesos per US dollar - 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002), 16.952 (2001), 16.415 (2000)