Country
Dominican Republic China
Leader
Population
10,219,630 1,349,585,838
Life Expectancy
77.620 years 74.990 years
Capital City
Santo Domingo Beijing
Largest city
Juan Dolio (population: 8,581,480) Shanghai (population: 14,608,500)
Human Development Index
0.768 0.762 GDP per capita $9,600 US $9,100 US
Literacy Rate
87% 90.9%
Corruption Perception Index
3 3.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
17.1% 21.3% Wealthiest Citizens NA Liu Yongxing ($3.0bn US) Unemployment Rate 14.700% 6.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished Legal
Political System
democratic republic Communist state
Independence date
27 February 1844 (from Haiti) 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established) Religions Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.) Languages Spanish Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry) Exports ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods electrical and other machinery, including data processing equipment, apparel, textile, iron and steel, optical and medical equipment External Debt $16,580,000,000 $ $770,800,000,000 US Exchange Rate Dominican pesos (DOP) per US dollar - 34.775 (2008 est.), 33.113 (2007), 33.406 (2006), 30.409 (2005), 42.12 (2004) Renminbi yuan (RMB) per US dollar - 6.9385 (2008 est.), 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004) Military Budget as percentage of GDP 0.700% 2.600% Beijing Olympics Medal Count 2 100 Location Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam Area 48,670 km sq 9,596,961 km sq Coastline 1,288 km 14,500 km Climate tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
