Economy (Dominican Republic)
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     Overview:
         The economy is largely dependent on trade; imported components average 60%
         of the value of goods consumed in the domestic market. Rapid growth of free
         trade zones has established a significant expansion of manufacturing for
         export, especially wearing apparel. Over the past decade, tourism has also
         increased in importance and is a major earner of foreign exchange and a
         source of new jobs. Agriculture remains a key sector of the economy. The
         principal commercial crop is sugarcane, followed by coffee, cotton, cocoa,
         and tobacco. Domestic industry is based on the processing of agricultural
         products, durable consumer goods, minerals, and chemicals. Unemployment is
         officially reported at about 30%, but there is considerable underemployment.
         A fiscal austerity program has brought inflation under control, but in 1991
         the economy contracted for a second straight year.
     GDP:
         exchange rate conversion - $7 billion, per capita $950; real growth rate -2%
         (1991 est.)
     Inflation rate (consumer prices):
         9% (1991 est.)
     Unemployment rate:
         30% (1991 est.)
     Budget:
         revenues NA; expenditures $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
         (1992 est.)
     Exports:
         $775 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
       commodities:
         sugar, coffee, cocoa, gold, ferronickel
       partners:
         US 60%, EC 19%, Puerto Rico 8% (1990)
     Imports:
         $1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
       commodities:
         foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
       partners:
         US 50%
     External debt:
         $4.7 billion (1991 est.)
     Industrial production:
         growth rate NA; accounts for 20% of GDP
     Electricity:
         2,133,000 kW capacity; 4,410 million kWh produced, 597 kWh per capita (1991)
     Industries:
         tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement,
         tobacco
     Agriculture:
         accounts for 15% of GDP and employs 49% of labor force; sugarcane is the
         most important commercial crop, followed by coffee, cotton, cocoa, and
         tobacco; food crops - rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; animal output -
         cattle, hogs, dairy products, meat, eggs; not self-sufficient in food
     Economic aid:
         US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-89), $575 million; Western (non-US)
         countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $655 million
     Currency:
         Dominican peso (plural - pesos); 1 Dominican peso (RD$) = 100 centavos
     Exchange rates:
         Dominican pesos (RD$) per US$1 - 12.609 (January 1992), 12.692 (1991), 8.525
         (1990), 6.340 (1989), 6.113 (1988), 3.845 (1987)
     Fiscal year:
         calendar year