Private guides and guided tours in Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

CAPITAL CITY OF Dominican Republic: Santo Domingo
LANGUAGE OF Dominican Republic: Spanish
CURRENCY OF Dominican Republic: Dominican peso (DOP)
COMMENTS ABOUT Dominican Republic:

The Dominican Republic is a Latin American country that occupies the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island called Hispaniola.
Cities : Santo Domingo (capital), Santiago de los Caballeros, Barahona, La Romana, Manzanillo, Puerto Plata, San Pedro de Macoris, Punta Cana, Sosua, Cabarete, Santa Barbara, De Samana, Juan Dolio, Villas del Mar
Best PlacesBonao, Cabarete, Jarabacoa, Constanza, Miches, Playa bonita
Electricity : 110/60Hz (USA plug)
Calling Code : +1-809
Time Zone : UTC-4, GMT-5
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.

CLIMATE OF Dominican Republic: The country is a tropical, maritime nation. Wet season is from May to November, and periodic hurricanes between June and November. Most rain falls in the northern and eastern regions. The average rainfall is 1346 mm, with extremes of 2500 mm in the northeast and 500 mm in the west.
RELIGION OF Dominican Republic: Roman Catholic 95%
POPULATION OF Dominican Republic: 8,833,634 (July 2004 est.)>>
ECONOMY OVERVIEW OF Dominican Republic: 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 87% of export revenues. Resumption of a badly needed IMF loan was slowed due to government repurchase of electrical power plants.