• Total aid: $69m (receipts)

Japan and the US are the largest donors. The IMF reluctantly approved a $657 million loan package in 2004.

The 1697 Franco-Spanish partition of Hispaniola left Spain with the eastern two-thirds of the island, now the Dominican Republic.

• 1865 Independence from Spain.
• 1930–1961 Gen. Trujillo dictator.
• 1965 Civil war. US intervention.
• 1966–1996 Conservative Joaquín Balaguer holds presidency.
• 1996 Leonel Fernández of moderate PLD succeeds Balaguer.
• 1998 Major hurricane damage.
• 2000 Hipolito Mejía of center-left PRD wins presidency.
• 2004 Fernández reelected.

Weather chart

The trade winds blow all year round, providing relief from the tropical heat and humidity. The hurricane season runs from June until November.