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. Religion and Beliefs
7. The Internet
8. Public Health Issues
9. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries
10. 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	84.0
2	Sweden	83.9
3	Finland	83.5
	...
90	Morocco	52.8
91	Oman	52.8
92	Bolivia	52.8
93	Dominican Rep.	52.7
94	Turkmenistan	52.5
95	Sri Lanka	52.2
96	El Salvador	51.9
97	Nepal	51.9
	World Avg	53.8
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

#demographics #health #immigration #life_expectancy #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.

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.		The Overpopulation of the Earth17
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 Overpopulation of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception

4. Politics and Freedom

#antisemitism #burundi #corruption #eritrea #france #freedom #human_development #human_rights #indonesia #mass_media #peace #politics #slavery

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.

Corruption (2012-2016)19
Pos.		Higher is better Avg Score19
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.

Global Peace Index (2012)20
Pos.		Lower is better20
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.

Nominal Commitment to HR (2009)21
Pos.		Higher is better Treaties21
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.

Personal, Civil & Economic Freedom (2014)22
Pos.		Lower is better Rank22
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.

Press Freedom (2013)23
Pos.		Lower is better23
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.

Slavery (2018)24
Pos.		Lower is better % Victims24
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 prehistory₂₅. 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' friends₂₆. 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 life₂₇. But they were not the only ones to blame; in Africa internal nations such as the Asantes sold and bought tens of thousands of slaves₂₈.

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 slavery₂₉. 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 dignity₃₀. 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.₃₁. Some industries (diamond, clothing, coal) from some countries (Burundi₂₄, Eritrea₂₄, Indonesia₃₂) are a particular concern. The Walk Free Foundation, say that in 2016, 40.3 million people were living in modern slavery₃₃.

5. Gender Equality

#gender #misogyny #politics #women

Gender Inequality (2015)34
Pos.		Lower is better34
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.

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 Vote35
Pos.		Lower is better Year35
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.

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

See:

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

6. Religion and Beliefs

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

Religiosity (2009)36
Pos.		Lower is better %36
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)37
Pos.		Higher is better37
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 below₃₈:

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%₃₉.

Links:

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

7. The Internet

#internet #the_internet

Internet Users (2016)40
Pos.		Higher is better40
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)41
Pos.		Higher is better Ratio41
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.

8. Public Health Issues

#alcohol #health #mental_health #parenting #population #smoking #suicide #vaccines

Adolescent Birth Rate (2015)34
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100034
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.

Alcohol Consumption (2010)42
Pos.		Lower is better Per Capita42
1	Libya	0.1
2	Pakistan	0.1
3	Kuwait	0.1
	...
108	Mongolia	6.9
109	Cape Verde	6.9
110	Bahamas	6.9
111	Dominican Rep.	6.9
112	Malta	7.0
113	Albania	7.0
114	Iceland	7.1
115	Thailand	7.1
	World Avg	6.2
q=191.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017)43
Pos.		Lower is better Rank43
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.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015)44
Pos.		Higher is better Avg %44
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.

Smoking Rates (2014)45
Pos.		Lower is better45
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)46
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100k46
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.

9. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries