Dominican Republic Lulu Laush

Population 9,956,648 people One of the highest rates of pop. increase in it’s region. 1.331% Diversity: Mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11% Spanish is the official language Age distribution: 0-14 years: 29.5% (male1,493,251/female 1,441,735) 15-64 years: 64% (male 3,251,419/female 3,120,540) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 300,245/female 349,458)

Economy Unemployment Rate: 13.3% Wealth distribution: Lowest 10%= 1.5% Highest 10 %= 38.7% Economic Growth Rate: 7.8% Gini Coefficient: 49.9 Rank: 24 Below Poverty Line: 42.2%

Industries Sugar Ferronickel Cocoa Hispaniola was used as a sugar plantation by French colonists, and that tradition of sugar has lived on until today. Ferronickel This is a sort of alloy used in making nickel steels. It is 45 % nickel. This can also be made into stainless steel Cocoa While many other Latin American countries make cocoa beans, the Dominican Republic is one of the largest exporters, it exports more cocoa beans than Brazil

Government Democratic Republic Independence from Haiti, 27 February 1844 Current Government Officials President: Leonel Fernández Reyna Foreign Minister: Carlos Morales Troncoso Ambassador to U.S.: Anibal de Castro Ambassador to U.N.: Virgilio Alcántara Ambassador to the Organization of American States: Roberto Saladín

Making the Headlines Overthrow of the King of Spain- 1810 After a on and off battle for 15 years for Hispaniola Napoleon overtook Spain Hispaniola became a colony of France Trujillo’s Reign- 1930-1961 His Presidency ended with his assassination During his time in office, he was responsible for the deaths of 50,000 people Corrupt leadership throughout his time as President The Peasant's Revolt-1983 Unfair treatment of poorer citizens during the election led to revolt

A Star of the Dominican Republic Julia Alvarez Author of In the Time of The Butterflies Born in New York but at 3months old moved to D.R. Both parents were natives to the Dominican Republic When she was 10 she moved back to the U.S. She trained herself to be a writer because when she first came to the U.S. she didn’t understand English. She had to listen closely and pay attention to language.

Current Events Tourism is up 14% Drug trafficking Hurricane Irene More tourism is always better for the economy, this is one current event with a positive effect. Tourism is one of the best ways for the D.R.’s economy to improve. Drug trafficking As it is an issue in many Latin American countries, the Dominicans have become very skilled in their ways of trafficking, using wheelchairs and bicycle frames for example. This has a negative effect because the operations are becoming more and more successful, meaning more criminal activity and issues for the law Hurricane Irene This effects the life of many people especially since the brunt of it’s force is in Santo Domingo, the capitol of the D.R.,as well as a highly populated area. 7000 people are currently out of their homes

Culture The Merengue A type of dance and music which uses 2/2 and 2/4 time Combines African and European sounds The three main instruments used are the melodean (accordion-like instrument) Guïra(washboard) and a tambora(drum) This dance is a well-known art form as well as a past-time

Speaking Terms The U.S. supports the D.R. because they are a democracy and have the largest Caribbean economy. The U.S. supports them to prosper Many of the residents have duel citizenship with U.S. U.S. exports to the D.R. were $6.6billion in 2008 The U.S. wants to modernize and continue to improve on the D.R.’s economic, political, and social systems