Environment - international agreements: party to : Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Geography - note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti)
@Dominican Republic:People
Population: 7,868,731 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 36% (male 1,423,626; female 1,371,309) 15-64 years: 60% (male 2,404,042; female 2,334,119) 65 years and over : 4% (male 160,270; female 175,365) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.65% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 26.87 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 5.81 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years : 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (1997 est.)