The Dominican Republic flag was officially adopted on November 6, 1844. The blue and red are from th

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The Dominican Republic flag was officially
adopted on November 6, 1844. The blue and red
are from the flag of Haiti, which once controlled
the Dominican Republic. The white cross is
symbolic of faith. The centered coat of arms
appears on the flag for national and state use
only. That coat of arms displays an open bible
topped by a gold cross. Above the arms the
Trinitarian motto is displayed, Dios, Patria,
Libertad. (God, Country, Freedom)
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• Land area 18,680 sq mi (48,381 sq km)
• Population (2007 est.) 9,365,818
• Capital and largest city Santo Domingo,
  2,851,300 (metro. area)
  
• The Dominican Republic in the West Indies
  occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island of
  Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti.
  
• Its area equals that of Vermont and New Hampshire
  combined.
  
• Duarte Peak, at 10,417 ft (3,175 m), is the
  highest point in the West Indies.
  

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• Growth rate 1.5
• Birth rate 22.9/1000
• Infant mortality rate 27.9/1000
• Life expectancy 73.1
• Density per sq mi 501
• Language Spanish
• Ethnicity/race white 16, black 11, mixed 73
• Religion Roman Catholic 95
• Literacy rate 85

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• The majority of the people of the Dominican
  Republic are Roman Catholics almost 95
  
• Dominican Catholicism is an eclectic mix of Roman
  Catholic traditions and African-rooted religions
  
• There are some small Protestant, Seventh Day
  Adventist, Baptist, Mormon and Jewish communities
  throughout the Dominican Republic as well.
  

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• President Leonel Fernández (2004)
• Foreign Minister--Carlos Morales Troncoso
• Ambassador to the United States--Flavio Dario
  Jacobo
  
• Representative democracy.
• Independence date February 27, 1844.
• Constitution November 28, 1966 amended July 25,
  2002.
  
• 3 Branches Executive--Legislative-- Judicial
• Subdivisions 31 provinces and the National
  District of Santo Domingo.
  
• Political parties Dominican Liberation Party
  (PLD), Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD),
  Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), and
  several others.

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• GDP/PPP (2006 est.) 77.09 billion
• Per capita 8,400.
• Real growth rate 10.7.
• Inflation 8.2.
• Unemployment 16.
• Non-fuel minerals (1.4 of GDP) Nickel, gold,
  silver.
  
• Agriculture (11 of GDP) Products--sugarcane,
  coffee, cocoa, bananas, tobacco, rice, plantains,
  beef.
  
• Industry (25 of GDP) Types--sugar refining,
  pharmaceuticals, cement, light manufacturing,
  construction.

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• Services, including tourism and transportation
  62 of GDP.
  
• Trade Exports are6.146 billion
• Markets--U.S., Canada, Western Europe, South
  Korea.
  
• Imports--9.876 billion food, petroleum,
  industrial raw materials, capital goods.
  
• Suppliers--U.S., Japan, Germany, Venezuela,
  Mexico, Colombia.
  

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• Monetary unit Dominican Peso
• 1 US Dollar 34.14086 Dominican R. Peso
• 1 Dominican R. Peso (DOP) 0.02929 US Dollar
  (USD)

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• The Dominican Republic was explored by Columbus
  on his first voyage in 1492. He named it La
  Española.
  
• The capital, Santo Domingo, founded in 1496, is
  the oldest European settlement in the Western
  Hemisphere.
  
• Spain ceded the colony to France in 1795, and
  Haitian blacks under L'Ouverture conquered it in
  1801.
  
• In 1808 the people revolted and captured Santo
  Domingo the next year, setting up the first
  republic.
  
• Spain regained title to the colony in 1814.
• In 1821 Spanish rule was overthrown, but in 1822
  the colony was reconquered by the Haitians.
  
• In 1844 the Haitians were thrown out, and the
  Dominican Republic was established, headed by
  Pedro Santana.

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• Uprisings and Haitian attacks led Santana to make
  the country a province of Spain from 1861 to
  1865.
  
• President Buenaventura Báez, faced with an
  economy in shambles, attempted to have the
  country annexed to the U.S. in 1870, but the U.S.
  Senate refused to ratify a treaty of annexation.
• Disorder continued until the dictatorship of
  Ulíses Heureaux in 1916
  
• When chaos broke out again, the U.S. sent in a
  contingent of marines, who remained until 1924.
  
• A sergeant in the Dominican army trained by the
  marines, Rafaél Molina, overthrew Horacio
  Vásquez in 1930
  
• Vásquez established a dictatorship that lasted
  until his assassination in 1961, 31 years later.
  
  
• In 1962, Juan Bosch of the leftist Dominican
  Revolutionary Party, became the first
  democratically elected president in four decades.
  

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• In 1963, a military coup ousted Bosch.
• Leftists rebelled against the new regime in April
  1965, and U.S. president Lyndon Johnson sent in
  marines and troops. After a cease-fire in May, a
  compromise installed Hector Garcia-Godoy as
  provisional president.
• In 1966, right-wing candidate Balaguer won in
  free elections against Bosch, and U.S. and other
  foreign troops withdrew.
  
• In 1978 the army suspended the counting of
  ballots when Balaguer trailed in a fourth-term
  bid. After a warning from President Jimmy Carter,
  however, Balaguer accepted the victory of Antonio
  Guzmán of the Dominican Revolutionary Party.

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• In 1982 elections, Salvador Jorge Blanco of the
  Dominican Revolutionary Party defeated Balaguer
  and Bosch. Balaguer was again elected president
  in May 1986 and remained in office for the next
  ten years.
• In 1996, U.S.-raised Leonel Fernández secured
  more than 51 of the vote through an alliance
  with Balaguer.
  
• The first item on the president's agenda was the
  partial sale of some state-owned enterprises.
  
• Fernández was praised for ending decades of
  isolationism and improving ties with other
  Caribbean countries, but he was criticized for
  not fighting corruption or alleviating the
  poverty that now affects 60 of the population.

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• Primary education is officially free and
  compulsory for children between the ages of 7 and
  14
  
• Primary schooling is followed by a two-year
  intermediate school and a four-year secondary
  course, after which a diploma called the
  bachillerato is awarded.
• Relatively few lower-income students succeed in
  reaching this level, because the system is
  designed to encourage middle- and upper-income
  students to prepare for admittance to a
  university.
• Most wealthier students attend private schools,
  which are frequently sponsored by religious
  institutions.
  
• Some public and private vocational education is
  available, particularly in the field of
  agriculture

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• The Dominican Republic has primarily a tropical
  climate, with seasonal variability in the amount
  of rainfall.
  
• The average annual temperature is 25 C, ranging
  from 18 C at an altitude of over 1,200 meters to
  28 C at an altitude of 10 meters.
  
• In general, August is the hottest month, and
  January and February are the coldest ones.
  
• Seasons, however, vary more as a function of
  rainfall than of temperature

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• Dominican Americans celebrate Dominican Day in
  August. They hold a big parade in Manhattan in
  New York City.
  
• The flavor of Dominican food starts with garlic,
  onions, coriander, and oregano.
  
• Merengue is the national dance of  the Dominican
  immigrants.

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• New York City is the main city for Dominicans
  outside of the Dominican Republic. Many of them
  live in Washington Heights-Inwood section of
  Manhattan.
• Every year increasing numbers of illegal migrants
  cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico to find
  work.
  

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• National bird is the Palm Chat
• National flower is the Flower of Mahogany
• National stone is amber

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• http//www.state.gov/.htm
• http//www.britannica.com/eb/article-54444/Dominic
  an-Republic
  
• http//www.infoplease.com