Elevation extremes: lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m
Natural resources:
nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Land use:
arable land: 22.65%
permanent crops: 10.33%
other: 67.02% (2001)
Irrigated land:
2,590 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe
storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues:
water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs;
deforestation
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti
People Dominican Republic
Population:
8,950,034 (July 2005 est.)