By Jason Chavis
Interesting Facts About the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic covers and area of 30,100 square miles, approximately the size of Vermont and New Hampshire. Its capital is Santo Domingo and the country features a tropical climate with a mountainous terrain. The total population of over nine million people is primarily comprised of mixed ethnic groups, specifically African and European.
Features
The religious base of the country is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. Approximately 95 percent of the residents belong to this church according to a 2005 census of the country. The rest of the nation practices a wide variety of religions or is atheist.
Significance
The workforce of the Dominican Republic is based heavily in the service sector. Sixty percent of the population works in the tourism, communications, transportation or financial sector.
Identification
The official language of the island nation is Spanish, although a number of the residents also speak English. Public schooling only lasts for six years, which has led to a literacy rate of only 84.7 percent.
Considerations
While the population is growing by an annual rate of 1.5 percent according to 2007 figures, the infant mortality rate is relatively high for the region. For every one thousand babies born, an average of 28 die within a few months.
Fun Fact
The capital, Santo Domingo, has the largest population in the country with 2.25 million people. Santiago de los Caballeros is the second largest city with 908,230 people, according to 2007 figures.
Resources
About the Author:
Jason lives and works out of Minneapolis. After 11 years of professional writing, he is the author of four books, two movies and a play as well as numerous articles for Scientific American, The History Channel, City Pages and The Onion. Jason is a graduate of the film school at USC.
Photo Credits:
Nightstallion, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Dominican_Republic.svg
