The Dominican Peso is the base currency of the Dominican Republic. Denoted by DOP, the currency is often seen as $ or RD$ for distinction from other pesos or dollars. The peso is divided into 100 centavos (cents) and is under a managed float regime.
Travel Notes:
When traveling to the Dominican Republic, one should be aware of the various restrictions placed on currency imports and exports, namely:
Import and export of Dominican Pesos is restricted to amounts under 20,000.
Import and export of foreign currency of amounts over 10,000 USD must be declared.
| Moody's Rating |
| Ba2 |
| S&P Rating |
| BB- |
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Sovereign credit ratings play an important part in determining a country's access to international capital markets, and the terms of that access. Sovereign ratings help to foster dramatic growth, stability, and efficiency of international and domestic markets. |
What does it look like?
Political Structure
The political structure of the Dominican Republic is known as a "representative democracy," where national power is divided amongst independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president, also commander-in-chief of the armed forces, appoints the cabinet and executes laws passed by the legislative branch. The president and vice president both run for office on the same ticket, and are elected by direct vote for four-year terms.
The bicameral National Congress exercises legislative power. The Congress is comprised of the Senate (32 members) and the Chamber of Deputies (150 members). Presidential elections are held in years evenly divisible by four, while all other elections are held in even numbered years not so.
Prominent Figures
President: Leonel Fernandez Reyna
Vice President: Rafael Alburquerque de Castro
Ambassador to the US: Flavio Dario Espinal Jacobo
Governor, Central Bank: Hector Valez Albizu
Key Economic Factors
Economic Overview: The Dominican Republic, a representative democracy of the Caribbean, enjoyed strong GDP growth of more than 7% in 1998-2000 (which later plummeted as part of the global economic slowdown). Although the country has been viewed for many years as mainly an exporter of sugar, coffee and tobacco, recent years have displayed a change: the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The Dominican Republic suffers from large income inequality, as the poorest half of the population receives less than one fifth of the GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys almost 40% of the national income. To restore recently disturbed economic stability, the nation hopes for a much-needed loan from the IMF. President Fernandez, in 2004 (soon after his election), promised great reform. His administration has passed tax reform, and is working to meet preconditions for a $600 IMF standby arrangement to improve the country's fiscal situation.
Industries: Tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel mining, gold mining, textiles, cement, and tobacco.
Agricultural Products: Sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas, cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, and eggs.
Imports: Foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Exports: Ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, and consumer goods.
Trade Partners: U.S., Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia.
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