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Dominican Republic vs. Haiti

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Dominican Republic and Haiti: A Comparison of How One Island Has Two Complete Different Ends

Dominican Republic and Haiti: A Comparison of How One Island Has Two Complete Different Ends The Hispaniola is a small island in the Caribbean which is currently composed by the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti. These two countries despite sharing an island and historical institutions are completely different. While the Dominican Republic enjoys the beauty of the Caribbean and its weather, Haiti suffers the consequences of it. These two countries share certain similarities, but within these similarities there is a big difference. The Dominican Republic and Haiti have a similar economy, environment, and education system, but in …show more content…

The rates of unemployment are extremely high, that is why Haitians migrate to the Dominican Republic to perform the lowest job positions at a minimum wage jobs that Dominicans will never do. (Minority Rights Group International, 2008)
The Dominican Republic gets its wealth from the exportation of sugar, tobacco and coffee, but recently they have grown in the agriculture and telecommunications field. Another important part of this country’s economy is the tourism and remittances that are sent from the US or Europe. Haiti’s economy, on the other hand, due to corruption and poverty hasn’t been able to grow like the Dominican Republic’s. Part of this country’s economy beside the exportation of clothing to the United States, is remittances and agriculture (Dominican Republic vs. Haiti, n.d).

Figure 1. GDP per Capita in Latin America Although, Haiti’s economy hasn’t been able to grow due to poverty and corruption, their vulnerability to natural disasters and deforestation has also influenced. The border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is what best reflects the amount of deforestation occurring in Haiti. Even though, they share the same climate, ocean access, and location, there is a huge divergence of growth between these two countries.
According to Diamond (2005), the rapid deforestation in Haiti is caused by lower rainfall compared to the Dominican Republic. The

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