Current Industrial Status:
The GDP official exchange rate is $88.956 billion. Being on of the fastest growing economies in Latin America, the Dominican Republic, 5.6 percent of the GDP comes from the agriculture (primary sector), 33 percent comes from the industries (secondary sector), and 61.4 percent comes from services (tertiary sector). Approximately 4.732 million people are apart of the workforce in the Dominican Republic. According to most recent study (2017 est), 5.1 percent of the population are unemployed. 14.4 percent of the population works in agriculture (primary sector), 20.8 percent work in industry (secondary sector), and 64.7 percent works in the services (tertiary sector). The exchange rate from Dominican pesos to the USD is 47.42. The currency exchange rate has slightly increased since 2016. The entire Dominican population has access to electricity (100 percent). In terms of energy consumption, the Dominican Republic ranks 78 in comparison to the rest of the world. About 74.82 percent of the population uses the internet and the DR ranks 64 for the amount of internet users in the world. The main industrial regions are Pueblo Viejo, Cibao Valley, and Santo Domingo. The mining industry and agriculture are two of the major industries in the Dominican Republic. The main types of services are tourism, construction, and free trade zones.
Industrial History
The Dominican Republic started to industrialize during the late 19th century when sugar plantations arrived into the country. The Industrial Revolution caused a rise in the production of sugar. Dominican tobacco, cocoa, and sugar were shipped to the United States and the US sugar companies came to dominate banking and transportation. Hispaniola is the site of one of the first European settlements in the Americas as well as La Navidad and La Isabela. In most rural areas, neighborhoods are typically scattered or clustered around a small church or store or stretched around a roadside.
World Systems Theory and Development Rank
Based off the Wallerstein World Systems Theory, the Dominican Republic is a periphery country. The Dominican Republic gained this status because they have a disproportionally small share of the world's wealth. The country is highly dependent upon the US, the destination for approximately half of exports and the source of 40 percent of imports. The Dominican Republic is an LDC because they receive most of their economic gain from the United States and are very low income. They are highly vulnerable to economic shocks and have low levels of human assets.
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Women
Many of the women in the DR are culturally not allowed to work. Although they are not restricted, there is a relatively smaller proportion of women in the workforce. In rural areas, it is easier for women to find jobs but they receive significantly less pay than men. Many women migrated to New York in the US to escape the cultural expectations of the Dominican culture and society. Although this is the expectation, modern-day Dominican women are equal to men in terms of rights and property ownership.