Dominican Republic Geography Profile 2008

Location

Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti

Geographic coordinates

19 00 N, 70 40 W

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Area

total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km
water: 350 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire

Land boundaries

total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km

Coastline

1,288 km

Maritime claims

measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 6 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate

tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall

Terrain

rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed

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: 22.49%
permanent crops: 10.26%
other: 67.25% (2005)

Irrigated land

2,750 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

21 cu km (2000)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 3.39 cu km/yr (32%/2%/66%)
per capita: 381 cu m/yr (2000)

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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note

shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti