Sosua, near Puerto Plata, and La Romana and Punta Cana, at the eastern end of the island, all have growing resort populations. The rest of the nations's six-million plus population live in or around a dozen or so smaller towns and villages. If you have the opportunity to travel through the countryside, you will notice that for a country with an area of 19,000 square miles, the Dom. Rep. is sparesely populated, particularly it's eastern region. The economy is still dominated by agriculture, with 56 percent of the country used for crops or pasture.
Agricultural products account for two thirds of export earnings.
The rest comes largely from minerals, especially bauxite, nickel, and gold. The Dominican Republic is among the top ten gold-producing countries of the world and has the largest single gold mine in the Western Hemisphere. The income from the export of these metals is about equal to the amount spent on imported petroleum. Most of the remaining imports are manufactured goods such as machinery, chemicals, and foodstuffs. In recent years the government has made great efforts to improve the economy by stimulating the tourist industry.