The Dominican Republic is divided into thirty-one provincias (provinces; singular provincia), while the national capital, Santo Domingo, is contained within its own Distrito Nacional ("National District"; "D.N." on the map below).
The division of the country into provinces is laid down in the constitution (Title I, Section II, Article 5)[1] and enacted by law. The latter is currently Law 5220 on the Territorial Division of the Dominican Republic (Ley No. 5220 sobre División Territorial de la República Dominicana), issued 1959 and frequently amended to create new provinces and lower-level administrative units.
- ^ Asamblea Nacional. "CONSTITUCION DE LA REPUBLICA DOMINICANA" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2007-03-11.