Economy - overview Economic reforms launched in late 1994 contributed to exchange ratestabilization, reduced inflation, and strong GDP growth in 1995-96. In 1996,there was increased mineral and petroleum exploration, and a new investmentlaw that allows for repatriation of capital dividends has drawn more investmentto the island. Upon coming to power in August 1996, President FERNANDEZ neverthelessinherited a trouble-ridden economy hampered by a pressured peso, a large externaldebt, nearly bankrupt state-owned enterprises, and a manufacturing sectorhindered by daily power outages. In December, FERNANDEZ presented a bold economicreform package - including such reforms as the devaluation of the peso, incometax cuts, a 50% increase in sales taxes, reduced import tariffs, and increasedgasoline prices - in an attempt to create a market-oriented economy that cancompete internationally. The legislature, however, has been slow to act onseveral of the economic measures.

GDP purchasing power parity - $29.8 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 7.3% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $3,670 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 13%
industry: 32%
services: 55% (1995)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 12.5% (1995)

Labor force 2.3 million to 2.6 million
by occupation : agriculture 50%, services and government 32%, industry 18% (1991 est.)

Unemployment rate 30% (1996 est.)

Budget
revenues : $1.8 billion
expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)

Industries tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement,tobacco

Industrial production growth rate 6.3% (1995 est.)

Electricity - capacity 2,450,400 kW (1995)

Electricity - production 6.506 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 613 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn,bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, meat, eggs

Exports
total value: $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: ferronickel, sugar, gold, coffee, cocoa
partners : US 45%, EU 34%, Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico (1995)

Imports
total value: $5.3 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
partners: US 44%, EU 16%, Venezuela 11%, Netherlands Antilles, Mexico, Japan (1995)

Debt - external $3.6 billion (1997)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $21 million (1993)

Currency 1 Dominican peso (RD$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates Dominican pesos (RD$) per US$1 - 14.206 (January 1997), 13.775 (1996),13.597 (1995), 13.160 (1994), 12.676 (1993), 12.774 (1992)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Dominican Republic on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Dominican Republic Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Dominican Republic Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.