ECONOMIC INFORMATION

Population: 8.7m

Population growth: 1.45%

Population density (people per sq. km): 181

UN Human Development Index ranking: 98/177

Gross national income (current US$): $18.1bn (2003)

Gross national income per capita: $2,070

PPP Gross national income: $54.3bn

PPP Gross national income per capita: $6,210

GDP growth: -2.2% (2003)

GDP breakdown Agriculture: 10.6%, Industry: 32.4%, Services: 57.0%

Inflation (12-month average): 25.4 (2003)

Gross capital formation as % of GDP: 21.7%

Final consumption expenditure as % of GDP (growth): 87.2% (-3.3%)

Exports of goods & services as % of GDP: 36.0%

Top 3 export markets: US, Netherlands, Canada

Local industries: Tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel & gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco

WEF Growth Competitiveness ranking * : 72/104

WEF Business Competitiveness ranking **: 80/103

WEF Quality of the Business Environment ranking: 83/103

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions ranking: 87/145

Languages: Spanish (official)

FDI INFORMATION

No. of projects (Jan-Sep 2004): 16

Market-share of projects in the region: 3.5%

Value of projects relative to GDP: 10.0%

Top 3 destination sectors: Metals/mining, textiles, energy

Top 3 business functions: Extraction, manufacturing, customer support centre

Top 3 source countries: US, Canada, Ireland

Top 3 investors: Gildan Activewear, Everton Resources, AES

IPA

Name: Centre for Export and Investment of the Dominican Republic

Web address: www.cei-rd.gov.do

* World Economic Forum Growth Competitiveness Ranking assesses an economy’s ability to grow consistently

** World Economic Forum Business Competitiveness Ranking assesses the microeconomic factors that contribute to economic growth

*** The difficulty of hiring workers and the difficulty and expense of firing workers is reflected as an index where the higher the value the more rigid the regulations