page_title: Economy of the Dominican Republic
hierarchical_section_title: Economy of the Dominican Republic
caption_attribution_description: English: SantoDomingo2
context_page_description: The economy of the Dominican Republic is the eighth largest
  in Latin America, and is the largest in the Caribbean and Central American region. The Dominican Republic is an
  upper-middle income developing country primarily dependent on mining, agriculture, trade, and services. The country is the site of the single largest gold mine in Latin America, the Pueblo Viejo mine.
  Although the service sector has recently overtaken agriculture as the leading employer of Dominicans, agriculture remains the most important sector in terms of domestic consumption and is in second place in terms of export earnings. Tourism accounts for more than $1 billion in annual earnings. free-trade zone earnings and tourism are the fastest-growing export sectors. According to a 1999 International Monetary Fund report, remittances from Dominican Americans, are estimated to be about $1.5 billion per year. Most of these funds are used to cover basic household needs such as shelter, food, clothing, health care and education. Secondarily, remittances have financed small businesses and other productive activities.
  The Dominican Republic’s most important trading partner is the United States.
context_section_description: The economy of the Dominican Republic is the eighth largest
  in Latin America, and is the largest in the Caribbean and Central American region. The Dominican Republic is an
  upper-middle income developing country primarily dependent on mining, agriculture, trade, and services. The country is the site of the single largest gold mine in Latin America, the Pueblo Viejo mine.
  Although the service sector has recently overtaken agriculture as the leading employer of Dominicans (due principally to growth in tourism and free-trade zones), agriculture remains the most important sector in terms of domestic consumption and is in second place (behind mining) in terms of export earnings. Tourism accounts for more than $1 billion in annual earnings. free-trade zone earnings and tourism are the fastest-growing export sectors. According to a 1999 International Monetary Fund report, remittances from Dominican Americans, are estimated to be about $1.5 billion per year. Most of these funds are used to cover basic household needs such as shelter, food, clothing, health care and education. Secondarily, remittances have financed small businesses and other productive activities.
  The Dominican Republic’s most important trading partner is the United States (about 40% of total commercial exchange). Other major trade partners are China, Haiti, Canada, Mexico, India, Spain, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan, in that quantitative order. The country exports free-trade-zone manufactured products (garments, medical devices, and so on), gold, nickel, protection equipment, bananas, liquor, cocoa beans, silver, and sauces and seasonings. It imports petroleum, industrial raw materials, capital goods, and foodstuffs. On 5 September 2005, the Congress of the Dominican Republic ratified a free trade agreement with the U.S. and five Central American countries, the Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). CAFTA-DR entered into force for the Dominican Republic on 1 March 2007. The total stock of U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Dominican Republic as of 2006 was U.S. $3.3 billion, much of it directed to the energy and tourism sectors, to free trade zones, and to the telecommunications sector. Remittances were close to $2.7 billion in 2006.
  An important aspect of the Dominican economy is the Free Trade Zone industry (FTZ), which made up U.S. $4.55 billion in Dominican exports for 2006 (70% of total exports). Reports show, however, that the FTZs lost approximately 60,000 between 2005 and 2007 and suffered a 4% decrease in total exports in 2006. The textiles sector experienced an approximate 17% drop in exports due in part to the appreciation of the Dominican peso against the dollar, Asian competition following expiration of the quotas of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement, and a government-mandated increase in salaries, which should have occurred in 2005 but was postponed to January 2006. Lost Dominican business was captured by firms in Central America and Asia. The tobacco, jewelry, medical, and pharmaceutical sectors in the FTZs all reported increases for 2006, which somewhat offset textile and garment losses. Industry experts from the FTZs expected that entry into force of the CAFTA-DR agreement will promote substantial growth in the FTZ sector for 2007.
  An ongoing concern in the Dominican Republic is the inability of participants in the electricity sector to establish financial viability for the system. Three regional electricity distribution systems were privatized in 1998 via sale of 50% of shares to foreign operators; the Mejía administration repurchased all foreign-owned shares in two of these systems in late 2003. The third, serving the eastern provinces, is operated by U.S. concerns and is 50% U.S.-owned. The World Bank records that electricity distribution losses for 2005 totaled about 38.2%, a rate of losses exceeded in only three other countries. Industry experts estimate distribution losses for 2006 will surpass 40%, primarily due to low collection rates, theft, infrastructure problems and corruption. At the clos
caption: Santo Domingo is the capital and financial center of Dominican Republic
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot SD450", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.6.6", "Image DateTime": "2014:05:19 08:14:34", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.6.5", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "2314", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "6528", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "10223", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/400", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:12:11 23:40:29", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:12:11 23:40:29", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "5", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "277/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "159/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2359", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1325", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "11520", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "81000/7", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "75DBCA4508E94289842E3E6BC769F9CB", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4144"}