Aspects of the Dominican Republic's Economy

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As offered by www.cia.gov , the Dominican Republic has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, but in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The economy is highly dependent upon the US, the destination for nearly 60% of exports. Remittances from the US amount to about a tenth of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), equivalent to almost half of exports and three-quarters of tourism receipts. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GDP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of GDP. High unemployment and underemployment remains an important long-term challenge. The Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) came into force in March 2007, boosting investment and exports and reducing losses to the Asian garment industry. In the middle of 2008, however, the Dominican Republic's economy started slowing after several years of strong GDP growth, as the global recession had a significant negative impact on tourism and remittances. The financial crisis and the US recession caused GDP to dip in 2009. The information is mostly updated until 2009, but that doesn’t matter too much, as long as the information is correct and I assure you it is. For those interested in more aspects of the Dominican Republic, you can check CIA’s website, in the World Factbook section, and look there for the Dominican Republic’s page. You will find a lot of things there that you might need or at least find a good read. Most part of the population is working in the Services sector, which is developing year after year. Not really fast, but surely things are going in the right way. Tourism is growing and the Dominican Republic is welcoming more and more tourists with its

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