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Official name: República Dominicana (Dominican Republic)
Head of State: President Leonel Fernández Reyana (PLD) (sworn in 16 Aug 2004)
Head of government: President Leonel Fernández Reyana
Ruling party: Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD) (Dominican Liberation Party) (the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) (Dominican Revolutionary Party) dominates Congress)
Area: 48,400 square km
Population: 8.79 million (2004)
Capital: Santo Domingo de Guzmán
Official language: Spanish
Currency: Dominican Republic peso (RD$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rate: RD$25.50 per US$ (Nov 2004) (devalued from RD$20 per US$ in Jan 2003)
GDP per capita: US$2,400 (2003)
GDP real growth: -0.40% (2003)
Unemployment: 15.50% (2003)
Inflation: 42.50% (2003)
Balance of trade: -US$3.40 billion (2003)
Foreign debt: US$4.80 billion (2003)
Visitor numbers: 3.60 million (2003)
Annual FDI: US$621.00 million (2003)

Historical profile

The island was inhabited by a group of Arauaco Indians known as Tainos.

1492 Land was sighted by Christopher Columbus. His brother Bartolomeo founded Santo Domingo and his son Diego was the first governor of the Spanish colony, naming the island Hispaniola.

1797 Ceded to France.

1808 Regained by Spain.

1821 Gained independence.

1822–44 Ruled by Haiti.

1844 Became independent as Dominican Republic.

1905 The US assumed control of the country's finances to ensure the collection of the public debt.

1916–24 US armed forces invaded and occupied the island.

1930–1961 Rafael Trujillo ruled Dominican Republic directly as dictator between 1930–47 and indirectly until 1961 (through his brother and then close colleagues).

1962 Democratic election of Juan Bosch in the first free election for 38 years.

1965 Civil revolt caused another intervention of the US armed forces.

1966 The presidential election was won by Joaquín Balaguer (a president during the Trujillo era) of the Partido Reformista Social Cristiana (PRSC) (Social Christian Reform Party). Balaguer was re-elected in 1970 and 1974, during which period he survived several coup attempts.

1978 Silvestre Antonio Guzmán of the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) (Dominican Revolutionary Party) defeated Balaguer in the presidential election – the first time an elected president yielded power to an elected successor.

1994 The consitution was established, setting out the duties and powers of the president.

1996 Leonel Fernández Reyana of the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD) (Dominican Liberation Party) narrowly won the presidential election.

1998 The PRD gained most seats in the congressional elections, leaving the PLD in a minority in both houses. After the election, the PRSC, headed by Joaquín Balaguer, which had previously supported the PLD, transferred support to the PRD. In order to pass legislation, the PLD had to reach agreement with the PRD.

2000 Rafael Hipólito Mejía Domínguez of the centre-left PRD was declared winner of the presidential elections.

2002 The PRD won the parliamentary elections.

2003 US troops worked among the poor mountain farming community of Constanza. Air Force doctors conducted free medical check-ups and dispensing free medicines and a Navy team built a three-room school.

2004 A two-day general strike was held in January. Eight people died as workers protested because of the peso's sharp devaluation, soaring inflation, and persistent power cuts. Dominican Republic acceded to the Central American Parliament in February. Leonel Fernández Reyana (PLD) won the 16 May presidential elections. In the May hurricane, which hit the island Hispaniola, shared between Haiti and Dominican Republic, over 400 people died in Dominican Republic and the town of Jimani was inundated. On 16 August, Leonel Fernández took office as president.

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