11.3% GNP growth.

The Dominican economy grew by 11.3% during the first three quarters of 2006, mainly propelled by internal sectors such as construction, communications and agribusiness, and forecasts indicate that by the end of the year the real Gross National Product growth will remain at two digits, said Central Bank Governor Hector Valdez Albizu, reports Clave Digital (Oct. 24, 2006):

These figures are based on the new accounting methodology that uses 1991 as its baseline, as opposed to using the previous accounting system based on 1970 figures. Agriculture grew by 14.9%, mining by 10%, local manufacturing by 9.5%, construction by 29.8%, energy and water by 4.8%, commerce by 10.4%, hotels and bars by 8.4%, and communications by 26%. The exception was free trade zones, which experienced a decrease of 5.4%. According to predictions, inflation will close out at 6% this year;

During the third quarter, growth reached 10.3%, which increased the average growth of the GNP to 11.9%. "Never before has the Dominican economy grown by two digits consecutively for that period of time", he added, noting this was the result of the consolidation of economic recovery that the country has been experiencing since mid-2005.