Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic
Status	Independent State
Capital	Santo Domingo
Land Area	48 320km21
Location	North America, The Americas, Caribbean
Groupings	Small Islands
Population	10.2m (2011)2
Life Expectancy	73.65yrs (2017)3
GNI	$12 756 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	DO, DOM, 2145
Internet Domain	.do6
Currency	Peso (DOP)7
Telephone	+8

1. Overview
2. Dominican Republic National and Social Development
3. Population and Demographics
4. Politics and Freedom
5. Gender Equality
6. Peace Versus Instability
7. Religion and Beliefs
8. The Internet
9. Public Health Issues
10. Children's Health
11. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries
12. Links

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1. Overview

#france #spain #USA

“The Taino - indigenous inhabitants of Hispaniola prior to the arrival of the Europeans - divided the island into five chiefdoms and territories. Christopher COLUMBUS explored and claimed the island on his first voyage in 1492; it became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821 but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas TRUJILLO from 1930 to 1961. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962 but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the United States led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966, Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in an election to become president. BALAGUER maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. Former President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (first term 1996-2000) won election to a new term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term, and was since reelected to a second consecutive term.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“Much more than beach resorts, the Dominican Republic is one of the Caribbean´s most geographically diverse countries, with an evocative colonial history and warm welcoming people. The Dominican Republic (DR) is defined by its hundreds of miles of coastline - some with picturesque white-sand beaches shaded by rows of palm trees, other parts lined dramatically with rocky cliffs. Symbolizing both limits and escapes, the sea is the common denominator across fishing villages, where the shoreline is used for mooring boats, indulgent tourist playgrounds, small towns, and cities like Santo Domingo - the Caribbean´s largest and the site of New World firsts.

Beyond the capital, much of the DR is distinctly rural. Further inland are vistas reminiscent of the European alps: four of the Caribbean´s five highest peaks rise above the fertile lowlands surrounding Santiago. Remote deserts extend through the southwest, giving the DR a complexity not found on other islands. The country´s roller-coaster past is writ large in the diversity of its ethnicities, not to mention the physical design of its towns and cities.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

2. Dominican Republic National and Social Development

#human_development

UN HDI (2016)11
Pos.		Lower is better Rank11
1	Norway	1
2	Australia	2
3	Switzerland	2
	...
96	Dominica	96
97	Suriname	97
98	Tunisia	97
99	Dominican Rep.	99
100	St Vincent & Grenadines	99
101	Tonga	101
102	Libya	102
103	Belize	103
	World Avg	94.3
q=188.

Social & Moral Development Index12
Pos.		Higher is better Points12
1	Denmark	83.6
2	Finland	83.1
3	Sweden	82.6
	...
86	Guatemala	55.0
87	Thailand	54.8
88	Jordan	54.7
89	Dominican Rep.	54.5
90	Vietnam	54.5
91	Belarus	54.4
92	San Marino	54.3
93	Bolivia	54.2
	World Avg	55.4
q=198.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life.

3. Population and Demographics

#birth_control #demographics #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #overpopulation #population

Old-Age Dependency Ratio (2016)13
Pos.		Lower is better Per 10013
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3	Chad	04.7
	...
97	Fiji	15.3
98	Mexico	15.4
99	Peru	15.5
100	Dominican Rep.	15.6
101	Venezuela	15.6
102	Kazakhstan	15.6
103	Ecuador	16.0
104	Morocco	16.1
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

Emigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Dominica	104.8%
2	Palestine	68.4%
3	Samoa	67.3%
	...
65	Liberia	10.5%
66	Uruguay	10.5%
67	Hong Kong	10.2%
68	Dominican Rep.	10.1%
69	Zimbabwe	9.9%
70	Haiti	9.9%
71	San Marino	9.9%
72	Burkina Faso	9.7%
	World Avg	11.5%
q=192.

Fertility Rate (2013)15
Pos.		2.0 is best15
1	N. Korea	2.00
2	Brunei	1.99
3	St Vincent & Grenadines	2.01
	...
79	Czechia	1.50
80	Spain	1.50
81	Croatia	1.49
82	Dominican Rep.	2.51
83	Lithuania	1.49
84	Kazakhstan	2.52
85	Ukraine	1.48
86	Nicaragua	2.52
	World Avg	2.81
q=180.

The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

Immigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Qatar	86.5%
2	Monaco	71.6%
3	UAE	70.0%
	...
78	Samoa	5.0%
79	Rwanda	4.5%
80	Czechia	4.4%
81	Dominican Rep.	4.2%
82	Uzbekistan	4.2%
83	Finland	4.2%
84	Tajikistan	4.0%
85	Kyrgyzstan	4.0%
	World Avg	9.2%
q=192.

Life Expectancy (2015)16
Pos.		Higher is better Years16
1	Hong Kong	84.16
2	Japan	83.68
3	Italy	83.34
	...
88	Jordan	74.18
89	St Kitts & Nevis	73.98
90	Samoa	73.67
91	Dominican Rep.	73.65
92	Grenada	73.56
93	Cape Verde	73.54
94	Lithuania	73.50
95	Honduras	73.33
	World Avg	71.27
q=190.

Population (2012)17
Pos.		Population17
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.3b
3	USA	315.8m
	...
81	Guinea	10.5m
82	Haiti	10.3m
83	Bolivia	10.2m
84	Dominican Rep.	10.2m
85	Hungary	9.9m
86	Serbia	9.8m
87	Somalia	9.8m
88	Belarus	9.5m
	World Avg	36.0m
q=195.

The Dominican Republic's population is predicted to rise to 12.06 million by 2030. This country has a fertility rate of 2.51. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

• The Population of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception

4. Politics and Freedom

#antisemitism #burundi #christianity #corruption #democracy #eritrea #france #freedom #germany #human_development #human_rights #indonesia #israel #jordan #judaism #laos #mass_media #morocco #netherlands #pakistan #peace #philippines #politics #religion #religious_violence #saudi_arabia #slavery #spain #sweden #turkey #UK #vietnam

Anti-Semite Opinions (2014)18
Pos.		Lower is better %18
1	Laos	0
2	Philippines	3
3	Sweden	4
	...
70	Peru	38
71	Colombia	41
72	Hungary	41
73	Dominican Rep.	41
74	Serbia	42
75	Bulgaria	44
76	Mauritius	44
77	Poland	45
	World Avg	36.8
q=101.

Anti-Semitism is the world given to irrational racism against Jews. It is not the same as anti-Judaism (involving arguments against the religion) nor the same as anti-Zionism (arguments against Israel). In history, influential Christian theologians concocted the arguments against Jews that led, very early on, to widespread Christian action against Jews_19,20,21,22. As Christianity rose to power in the West and presided over the Dark Ages, there were widespread violent outbursts against Jews of the most persistent and horrible kind. The Crusades were frequently aimed at them and the feared Spanish Inquisition paid Jews particular attention. The horror of the holocaust instigated by German Nazis in the 1940s was followed (finally) by the era of European human rights and a movement against racism in general.

The places that are the least anti-Semitical are a few countries of south-east Asia (Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam) and some of the secular liberal democracies of Europe (Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK). The worst countries for antisemitism are Islamic states of the Middle East₂₃, which are undergoing their own Dark Age. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey see the most oppressive and violent actions towards Jews_24,25. Jews in Muslim countries face a host of restrictions and "ceaseless humiliation and regular pogroms"₂₆. In 2004 the European Union Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia reported on violent anti-Jew crimes in the EU and found that that largest group of perpetrators were young Muslim males₂₇.

Corruption (2012-2016)28
Pos.		Higher is better Avg Score28
1	Denmark	90.8
2	New Zealand	90.6
3	Finland	89.4
	...
117	Mali	32.2
118	Tanzania	32.2
119	Vietnam	31.4
120	Dominican Rep.	31.4
121	Ivory Coast	30.8
122	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	30.8
123	Togo	30.4
124	Sierra Leone	30.2
	World Avg	43.05
q=176.

Corruption is the abuse of public office for private gain₂₉. There are many forms of corruption. Politicians can sometimes (1) steal money (theft or embezzlement), (2) accept bribes (such as backhanders for awarding government contracts to companies), (3) give bribes (i.e., for electoral support or support in the mass media), (4) improperly coerce others (extortion), (5) give positions of power to friends and family without fairly seeking other applicants for those jobs (cronyism), or (6) grant favours to friends and family (nepotism) such as buying services from them at inflated prices (graft). The least corrupt countries between 2012-2016 were Denmark, New Zealand and Finland₂₈ and the worst were Somalia, N. Korea and Afghanistan₂₈.

Global Peace Index (2012)30
Pos.		Lower is better30
1	Iceland	1.11
2	New Zealand	1.24
3	Denmark	1.24
	...
87	Equatorial Guinea	2.04
88	USA	2.06
89	China	2.06
90	Dominican Rep.	2.07
91	Bangladesh	2.07
92	Guinea	2.07
93	Papua New Guinea	2.08
94	Trinidad & Tobago	2.08
	World Avg	2.02
q=157.

"The 2012 Global Peace Index is the sixth edition of the world's leading study on global levels of peacefulness. The GPI ranks 158 nations using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, which gauge three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society; the extent of domestic or international conflict; and the degree of militarisation. By generating new information on the state of peace at the national and global level, the Institute for Economics and Peace hopes to make a valuable contribution to better understanding how civil society, researchers, policymakers, and government can create a more peaceful society"₃₀. The most peaceable countries in the world are Iceland, New Zealand and Denmark₃₀ and the worst are Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan₃₀.

Nominal Commitment to HR (2009)31
Pos.		Higher is better Treaties31
1	Argentina	24
2	Chile	23
3	Costa Rica	23
	...
109	Cape Verde	15
110	Bangladesh	15
111	Mozambique	15
112	Dominican Rep.	14
113	Kenya	14
114	Japan	14
115	Jamaica	14
116	Jordan	14
	World Avg	15.1
q=194.

There are many international agreements on human rights, and, many mechanisms by which countries can be brought to account for their actions. Together, these have been the biggest historical movement in the fight against oppression and inhumanity. Or, putting it another way: these are rejected mostly by those who wish to oppress inhumanely. None of them are perfect and many people object to various components and wordings, but, no-one has come up with, and enforced, better methods of controlling the occasional desires that states and peoples have of causing angst for other states and peoples in a violent, unjust or inhumane way. Points are awarded for the number of human rights agreements ratified by the country, plus the acceptance of the petition mechanisms for disputes. The maximum possible score in 2009 was 24.

Personal, Civil & Economic Freedom (2014)32
Pos.		Lower is better Rank32
1	Hong Kong	1
2	Switzerland	2
3	New Zealand	3
	...
60	Jamaica	60
61	Haiti	61
62	Fiji	61
63	Dominican Rep.	63
64	Cambodia	64
65	Madagascar	65
66	Brunei	66
67	Serbia	67
	World Avg	79.7
q=159.

The Human Freedom Index published by the Fraser Institute is...

“... a broad measure of human freedom, understood as the absence of coercive constraint. It uses 79 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom in the following areas: Rule of Law, Security and Safety, Movement, Religion, Association, Assembly, and Civil Society, Expression, Relationships, Size of Government, Legal System and Property Rights, Access to Sound Money, Freedom to Trade Internationally, Regulation of Credit, Labor, and Business. [...]

The highest levels of freedom are in Western Europe, Northern Europe, and North America (Canada and the United States. The lowest levels are in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. [...]

Countries in the top quartile of freedom enjoy a significant higher per capita income ($37,147) [compared with] the least-free quartile [at] $8,700). The HFI finds a strong correlation between human freedom and democracy.”

"The Human Freedom Index" by The Fraser Institute (2016)₃₃

Press Freedom (2013)34
Pos.		Lower is better34
1	Finland	638
2	Netherlands	648
3	Norway	652
	...
76	Kuwait	2828
77	Nicaragua	2831
78	Benin	2833
79	Dominican Rep.	2834
80	Lesotho	2836
81	Bhutan	2842
82	Togo	2845
83	Greece	2846
	World Avg	3249
q=178.

The freedom to investigate, publish information, and have access to others' opinion is a fundamental part of today's information-driven world. Scores on the Press Freedom Index are calculated according to indicators including pluralism - the degree to which opinions are represented in the media, media independence of authorities, self-censorship, legislation, transparency and the infrastructure that supports news and information, and, the level of violence against journalists which includes lengths of imprisonments. The index "does not take direct account of the kind of political system but it is clear that democracies provide better protection for the freedom to produce and circulate accurate news and information than countries where human rights are flouted".

It must be noted that press freedom is not an indicator of press quality and the press itself can be abusive; the UK suffers in particular from a popular brand of nasty reporting that infuses several of its newspapers who are particularly prone to running destructive and often untrue campaigns against victims. The Press Freedom Index notes that "the index should in no way be taken as an indicator of the quality of the media in the countries concerned".

Slavery (2018)35
Pos.		Lower is better % Victims35
1	Japan	0.03
2	Canada	0.05
3	Taiwan	0.05
	...
77	Cuba	0.38
78	Israel	0.39
79	Latvia	0.39
80	Dominican Rep.	0.40
81	Kosovo	0.40
82	Cape Verde	0.41
83	Kyrgyzstan	0.41
84	Cyprus	0.42
	World Avg	0.65
q=167.

The taking of slaves has been an unwholesome feature of Human cultures since prehistory₃₆. Private households and national endeavours have frequently been augmented with the use of slaves. The Egyptian and Roman empires both thrived on them for both purposes. Aside from labourers they are often abused sexually by their owners and their owners' friends₃₇. The era of colonialism and the beginnings of globalisation changed nothing: the imprisonment and forced movements of labour continued to destroy many lives except that new justifications were invented based on Christian doctrine and the effort to convert non-Christians. By 1786 over 12 million slaves had been extracted from Africa and sent to colonial labour camps, with a truly atrocious condition of life₃₈. But they were not the only ones to blame; in Africa internal nations such as the Asantes sold and bought tens of thousands of slaves₃₉.

The abolition of the slave trade was a long and slow process. Until a relatively modern time, even philosophers, religious leaders and those concerned with ethics justified, or ignored, the problem of slavery₄₀. The first abolitionists were always the slaves themselves. Their protests and rebellions caused the industry to become too expensive to continue. After that, it was the economic costs of maintain slave colonies that led the British to reject and then oppose the slave trade globally. Finally, the enlightenment-era thinkers of France encouraged moral and ethical thinking including the declaration of the inherent value of human life and human dignity₄₁. A long-overdue wave of compassionate and conscientious movements swept across the West, eliminating public support for slavery, until the industries and churches that supported it had no choice but to back down.

'Modern slavery' includes forced labour (often of the under-age), debt bondage (especially generational), sexual slavery, chattel slavery and other forms of abuse, some of which can be surprisingly difficult to detect, but often target those fleeing from warzones and the vulnerable.₄₂. Some industries (diamond, clothing, coal) from some countries (Burundi₃₅, Eritrea₃₅, Indonesia₄₃) are a particular concern. The Walk Free Foundation, say that in 2016, 40.3 million people were living in modern slavery₄₄.

5. Gender Equality

#christianity #gender #gender_equality #human_rights #misogyny #politics #women

Gender Inequality (2015)45
Pos.		Lower is better45
1	Switzerland	0.04
2	Denmark	0.04
3	Netherlands	0.04
	...
104	Paraguay	0.46
105	Indonesia	0.47
106	Laos	0.47
107	Dominican Rep.	0.47
108	Namibia	0.47
109	Burundi	0.47
110	Bhutan	0.48
111	Jordan	0.48
	World Avg	0.36
q=159.

The UN Human Development Reports include statistics on gender equality which take into account things like maternal mortality, access to political power (seats in parliament) and differences between male and female education rates. Gender inequality is not a necessary part of early human development. Although a separation of roles is almost universal due to different strengths between the genders, this does not have to mean that women are subdued, and, such patriarchialism is not universal in ancient history. Those cultures and peoples who shed, or never developed, the idea that mankind ought to dominate womankind, are better cultures and peoples than those who, even today, cling violently to those mores.

Year Women Can Vote46
Pos.		Lower is better Year46
1	New Zealand	1893
2	Australia	1902
3	Finland	1906
	...
43	Myanmar (Burma)	1935
44	Philippines	1937
45	Uzbekistan	1938
46	Dominican Rep.	1942
47	Bulgaria	1944
48	France	1944
49	Bermuda	1944
50	Jamaica	1944
	World Avg	1930
q=189.

Women now have equal rights in the vast majority of countries across the world. Although academic literature oftens talks of when a country "grants women the right to vote", this enforces a backwards way of thinking. Women always had the right to vote, however, they were frequently denied that right. The opposition to women's ability to vote in equality with man was most consistently and powerfully opposed by the Catholic Church, other Christian organisations, Islamic authorities and some other religious and secular traditionalists.

The Dominican Rep. is an unequal country, with male rights dominating those of women.

See:

• "Religion Versus Womankind" by Vexen Crabtree (2007)

6. Peace Versus Instability

#extremism #human_development #peace #politics #religious_violence #terrorism

Peacekeeping and Security (2017)47
Pos.		Lower is better Rank47
1	Samoa	1
2	S. Africa	2
3	Tunisia	3
	...
126	Barbados	126
127	Chad	127
128	Montenegro	128
129	Dominican Rep.	129
130	Papua New Guinea	130
131	Syria	131
132	Belarus	132
133	Portugal	133
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Refugees and UN Treaties (2017)47
Pos.		Lower is better Rank47
1	Austria	1
2	Germany	2
3	Netherlands	3
	...
48	Czechia	48
49	Argentina	49
50	Brazil	50
51	Dominican Rep.	51
52	Slovakia	52
53	UAE	53
54	Macedonia	54
55	Zambia	55
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Global Peace Index (2012)30
Pos.		Lower is better30
1	Iceland	1.11
2	New Zealand	1.24
3	Denmark	1.24
	...
87	Equatorial Guinea	2.04
88	USA	2.06
89	China	2.06
90	Dominican Rep.	2.07
91	Bangladesh	2.07
92	Guinea	2.07
93	Papua New Guinea	2.08
94	Trinidad & Tobago	2.08
	World Avg	2.02
q=157.

"The 2012 Global Peace Index is the sixth edition of the world's leading study on global levels of peacefulness. The GPI ranks 158 nations using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, which gauge three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society; the extent of domestic or international conflict; and the degree of militarisation. By generating new information on the state of peace at the national and global level, the Institute for Economics and Peace hopes to make a valuable contribution to better understanding how civil society, researchers, policymakers, and government can create a more peaceful society"₃₀. The most peaceable countries in the world are Iceland, New Zealand and Denmark₃₀ and the worst are Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan₃₀.

Impact of Terrorism (2019)48
Pos.		Lower is better Score48
1	Togo	0.00
2	Mongolia	0.00
3	Swaziland	0.00
	...
28	Estonia	0.12
29	New Zealand	0.14
30	Uruguay	0.17
31	Dominican Rep.	0.18
32	Hungary	0.18
33	Switzerland	0.19
34	Latvia	0.23
35	S. Korea	0.30
	World Avg	2.78
q=150.

7. Religion and Beliefs

#belief #buddhism #christianity #god #hinduism #islam #judaism #religion

Religiosity (2009)49
Pos.		Lower is better %49
1	Estonia	16
2	Sweden	17
3	Denmark	19
	...
59	S. Africa	85
60	Tajikistan	85
61	Malta	86
62	Dominican Rep.	87
63	Brazil	87
64	Lebanon	87
65	Ivory Coast	88
66	Guatemala	88
	World Avg	75.1
q=114.

Disbelief In God (2007)50
Pos.		Higher is better %50
1	Vietnam	81
2	Japan	65
3	Sweden	64
	...
41	USA	10
42	Trinidad & Tobago	9
43	Albania	8
44	Dominican Rep.	7
45	Croatia	7
46	Kyrgyzstan	7
47	Cambodia	7
48	Moldova	6
	World Avg	9.9
q=137.

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₅₁:

Christian	88%
Muslim	0.1%
Hindu	0.1%
Buddhist	0.1%
Folk Religion	0.9%
Jew	0.1%
Unaffiliated	10.9%

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states simply: Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%₅₂.

Links:

• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
• Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?

8. The Internet

#internet #the_internet

Internet Users (2016)53
Pos.		Higher is better53
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
	...
94	China	52%
95	Vietnam	52%
96	S. Africa	52%
97	Dominican Rep.	52%
98	Uzbekistan	51%
99	Armenia	50%
100	Iran	49%
101	Tunisia	48%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

IPv6 Uptake (2017)54
Pos.		Higher is better Ratio54
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
	...
47	Russia	1.3
48	Bulgaria	1.3
49	S. Korea	1.2
50	Dominican Rep.	1.1
51	Slovakia	0.8
52	Hong Kong	0.7
53	Spain	0.6
54	St Kitts & Nevis	0.6
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

Internet access has become an essential research tool. It facilitates an endless list of life improvements, from the ability to network and socialize without constraint, to access to a seemingly infinite repository of technical and procedural information on pretty much any task. The universal availability of data has sped up industrial development and personal learning at the national and personal level. Individuals can read any topic they wish regardless of the locality of expert teachers, and, entire nations can develop their technology and understanding of the world simply because they are now exposed to advanced societies and moral discourses online. Like every communications medium, the Internet has issues and causes a small range of problems, but these are insignificant compared to the advantages of having an online populace.

9. Public Health Issues

#alcohol #genetics #health #mental_health #obesity #organ_donation #public_health #smoking #sociology #suicide #UK

The Dominican Republic has some poor policies and cultural issues which cause some public health problems. The Dominican Rep. comes in the best 20 in its suicide rate₅₅. It does better than average for its smoking rate₅₆ and in its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance₄₇. The Dominican Rep. does not succeed in everything, however. It does worse than average when it comes to its alcohol consumption rate₅₇, its immunizations take-up₅₈, the prevalence of overweight adults₅₉ and in its adolescent birth rate₄₅ (the worst in The Americas). And finally, it falls into the worst 20 in number of organ donors₆₀ (one of the lowest in The Americas). The number of overweight adults has increased by 14% during the past 40 years.

Alcohol Consumption (2016)57
Pos.		Lower is better Per Capita57
1	Bangladesh	0.0
2	Kuwait	0.0
3	Libya	0.0
	...
101	Cambodia	6.7
102	Belize	6.8
103	Sao Tome & Principe	6.8
104	Dominican Rep.	6.9
105	Antigua & Barbuda	7.0
106	Niue	7.0
107	China	7.2
108	Paraguay	7.2
	World Avg	6.2
q=189.

There is nothing wrong with drinking modest and sensible amounts of alcohol but fitness, physical health, mental health and long-term health all suffer as a result of medium- or heavy- drinking₆₁ and the health risks to the baby when pregnant mothers drink₆₂ are well-known. Aside from the effects on the individual, alcohol misuse impacts on entire economies₆₃ via increased health service costs, policing costs and lost days' work. Worldwide, alcohol misuse is "among the top five risk factors for disease, disability and death" and is a "cause of more than 200 disease and injury conditions in individuals, most notably alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers and injuries"₆₄. "In 2012... 5.9% of all global deaths, were attributable to alcohol consumption"₆₅. Deaths from chronic alcohol misuse have been rising for decades, and so has violence, abuse, vandalism and crime all associated with alcohol over-use. The aggression and crime associated with alcohol in some Western countries infringes on the human rights of those who want nothing to do with such behaviour. Many of the social effects of alcohol are psychological and cultural; i.e., people don't have to behave criminally or destructively whilst drunk - it is a culturally learned behaviour. Experiments have shown that behaviour can be controlled: Those who do not wish to behave badly whilst drunk, will not do so.

Organ Donors (At Death) (2017)60
Pos.		Higher is better pmp60
1	Spain	46.9066
2	Portugal	34.0166
3	Belgium	33.6266
	...
59	Paraguay	1.62
60	Peru	1.61
61	Trinidad & Tobago	1.47
62	Dominican Rep.	1.40
63	Malaysia	1.10
64	Bosnia & Herzegovina	0.90
65	Bolivia	0.90
66	Japan	0.88
	World Avg	13.03
q=70.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017)47
Pos.		Lower is better Rank47
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
	...
78	Sri Lanka	78
79	Poland	79
80	Uruguay	80
81	Dominican Rep.	81
82	Zambia	82
83	Croatia	83
84	Indonesia	84
85	Bolivia	85
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Overweight Adults (2016)59
Pos.		Lower is better %59
1	Vietnam	18.3
2	India	19.7
3	Bangladesh	20.0
	...
141	Dominica	60.3
142	Morocco	60.4
143	Ireland	60.6
144	Dominican Rep.	61.2
145	Syria	61.4
146	Spain	61.6
147	Hungary	61.6
148	Costa Rica	61.6
	World Avg	49.0
q=191.

About one third of the global population is overweight or obese₆₇. Most Western countries are facing an obesity epidemic. Our cultures are having to change to compensate for widespread ill-health. It is costing our health systems a massive amount of money, and is having negative effects on national economies. The situation has persisted for a suitable length of time for our very perceptions to change; opinions on "normal weights" for people and "average sizes" for clothes has shot up₆₈. Over 2 in 3 adults in the UK are overweight₆₈ and this costs the NHS £5.1 billion per year₆₉ and "costs Britain's economy £47bn a year; more than war, terrorism or armed violence"₇₀. We are forgetting how to be healthy.

The causes are not genetic. Most people who say obesity "runs in their family" are wrong. The rate of increase in obesity is many, many times too fast to be accounted for by a change in inherited genes₇₁. Our culture and lifestyle choices are to blame. The causes of the modern obesity epidemic are processed foods, low levels of physical exercise, over-indulgence, poor choices in food products, poor knowledge of nutrition. Most of this is made much worse by well-funded advertising campaigns by food manufacturers selling cheaper mass-produced food. Even some so-called "health foods" contain well over recommended limits of fat, salt and sugar₇₂.

Smoking Rates (2014)56
Pos.		Lower is better56
1	Guinea	15
2	Solomon Islands	26
3	Kiribati	28
	...
49	Grenada	224
50	St Lucia	232
51	Mali	236
52	Dominican Rep.	245
53	Togo	250
54	Kenya	257
55	Mauritius	261
56	El Salvador	280
	World Avg	819
q=182.

Suicide Rate (2013)55
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100k55
1	Haiti	0
2	Grenada	0
3	Egypt	0.1
	...
9	Peru	2.9
10	Kuwait	3.6
11	Armenia	3.9
12	Dominican Rep.	4.6
13	St Lucia	4.9
14	Tajikistan	5.2
15	Venezuela	6.5
16	Malta	6.9
	World Avg	20.93
q=91.

10. Children's Health

#health #parenting #population #vaccines

Adolescent Birth Rate (2015)45
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100045
1	N. Korea	0.5
2	S. Korea	1.6
3	Switzerland	2.9
	...
159	Central African Rep.	91.9
160	Togo	92.0
161	Lesotho	92.7
162	Dominican Rep.	97.9
163	Gabon	99.9
164	Somalia	103.9
165	Cameroon	104.6
166	Burkina Faso	108.5
	World Avg	47.9
q=185.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015)58
Pos.		Higher is better Avg %58
1	Hungary	99.0
2	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
136	Ecuador	86.8
137	Cambodia	86.5
138	Namibia	86.5
139	Dominican Rep.	86.3
140	Panama	86.1
141	Belarus	85.3
142	Canada	85.2
143	Guatemala	85.2
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

11. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries