Botswana (2001) | Dominican Republic (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts and four town councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Pikwe*, South-East, Southern | 31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
40.3% (male 321,164; female 318,007) 15-64 years: 55.56% (male 423,954; female 457,227) 65 years and over: 4.14% (male 26,691; female 39,076) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 32.9% (male 1,505,964/female 1,438,809)
15-64 years: 61.7% (male 2,815,544/female 2,703,012) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 226,372/female 260,333) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, corn, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock | sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs |
Airports | 92 (2000 est.) | 31 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 13
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
81 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 56 under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
total: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
600,370 sq km land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire |
Background | Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. The economy, one of the most robust on the continent, is dominated by diamond mining. | Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola 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 for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin BALAGUER became president. He 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. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past decade. |
Birth rate | 28.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.28 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96) |
revenues: $2.625 billion
expenditures: $3.382 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Gaborone | Santo Domingo |
Climate | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,288 km |
Constitution | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 | 28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Botswana conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
conventional long form: Dominican Republic
conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana |
Currency | pula (BWP) | - |
Death rate | 24.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $455 million (2000) | $7.745 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John E. LANGE embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 356947 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hans H. HERTELL
embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500 telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171 FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Kgosi SEEPAPITSO IV chancery: 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164 |
chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Flavio Dario Espinal JACOBO
chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | none | increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find work |
Economic aid - recipient | $73 million (1995) | $239.6 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $6,600 in 2000. Diamond mining has fueled much of Botswana's economic expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for three-fourths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. The government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 19%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. | The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy which enjoyed GDP growth of more than 7% in 1998-2000. Growth subsequently plummeted as part of the global economic slowdown. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 85% of export revenues), but recovered slightly in 2004. Resumption of a badly needed IMF loan, slowed due to government repurchase of electrical power plants, is basic to the restoration of social and economic stability. Newly elected President FERNANDEZ in mid-2004 promised belt-tightening reform. His administration has passed tax reform and is working to meet preconditions for a $600 IMF standby arrangement to ease the country's fiscal situation. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.517 billion kWh (1999) | 8.912 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 950 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 610 million kWh (1999) | 9.583 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m |
lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m |
Environment - current issues | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources | water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% | white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73% |
Exchange rates | pulas per US dollar - 5.4585 (January 2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997), 3.3242 (1996) | Dominican pesos per US dollar - 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002), 16.952 (2001), 16.415 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); vice president appointed by the president election results: Festus MOGAE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54.3% |
chief of state: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 16 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ (PLD) 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA (PRSC) 8.7% |
Exports | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | diamonds 72%, vehicles, copper, nickel, meat (1998) | ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods |
Exports - partners | EU 77%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 18%, Zimbabwe 3% (1998) | US 80%, South Korea 2.1%, Canada 1.9% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center | a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 46% (including 36% mining) services: 50% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 10.7%
industry: 31.5% services: 57.8% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 S, 24 00 E | 19 00 N, 70 40 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country | shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti |
Highways | total:
18,482 km paved: 4,343 km unpaved: 14,139 km (1996) |
total: 12,600 km
paved: 6,224 km unpaved: 6,376 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 37.9% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions |
Imports | $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 129,900 bbl/day (2003) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, petroleum products | foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 76%, Europe 10%, South Korea 5% (1998) | US 48.1%, Venezuela 13.5%, Colombia 4.8%, Mexico 4.8% (2004) |
Independence | 30 September 1966 (from UK) | 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2000 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
Industries | diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing | tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | 63.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 32.38 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 34.81 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.6% (2000 est.) | 55% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1993 est.) | 2,590 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by a the National Judicial Council comprised of the President, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the President of the Supreme Court, and an opposition or non-governing party member) |
Labor force | 235,000 formal sector employees (1995) | 2.3 million - 2.6 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | 100,000 public sector; 135,000 private sector, including 14,300 who are employed in various mines in South Africa; most others engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1995 est.) | agriculture 17%, industry 24.3%, services and government 58.7% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
4,013 km border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km |
total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 47% other: 6% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 22.65%
permanent crops: 10.33% other: 67.02% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Setswana | Spanish |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil codes; undergoing modification in 2004 towards an accusatory system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs, and three members selected by the other 12) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 appointed by the majority party; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly elections last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - BDP 57.2%, BNF 26%, other 16.8%; seats by party - BDP 33, BNF 6, other 1 |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 29, PLD 2, PRSC 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 73, PLD 41, PRSC 36 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
37.13 years male: 36.77 years female: 37.51 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.44 years
male: 69.94 years female: 73.03 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.8% male: 80.5% female: 59.9% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.7% male: 84.6% female: 84.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, north of South Africa | Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 6 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 11,230 GRT/17,011 DWT
by type: cargo 3 (2005) |
Military branches | Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $61 million (FY99) | $180 million (1998) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY99) | 1.1% (1998) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
380,152 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
199,995 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
19,479 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 September (1966) | Independence Day, 27 February (1844) |
Nationality | noun:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver | nickel, bauxite, gold, silver |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Festus MOGAE]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Kenneth KOMA]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Michael DINGAKE]; Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]
note: main parties are: BDP, BNF, BCP; other minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim SETSHWAELO, chairman] but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the Botswana Peoples Party, the Independence Freedom Party [Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE] |
Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Vicente Sanchez BARET]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ATUN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Foundation for Institution-Building (FINJUS) |
Population | 1,586,119
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
8,950,034 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 47% (2000 est.) | 25% |
Population growth rate | 0.47% (2001 est.) | 1.29% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, Rio Haina, Santo Domingo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 15, shortwave 5 (1998) | AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 237,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
888 km narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
total: 1,743 km
standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076-m, 0.889-m, and 0.762-m gauges (2004) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50% | Roman Catholic 95% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age
note: members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote |
Telephone system | general assessment:
sparse system domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations international: two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network international: country code - 1-809; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 86,000 (1997) | 901,800 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 2,120,400 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 25 (2003) |
Terrain | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest | rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed |
Total fertility rate | 3.7 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.86 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2000 est.) | 17% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |