Dominican Republic

Not to be confused with Dominica.
"Dominicana" redirects here. For the airline, see Dominicana de Aviación. For the novel, see Dominicana (novel).

Dominican Republic
República Dominicana (Spanish)
Motto: "Dios, Patria, Libertad" (Spanish)
"God, Homeland, Freedom"
Anthem: Quisqueyanos valientes
Valiant Quisqueyans 
Location of the Dominican Republic
Capital
and largest city
Santo Domingo
19°00′N 70°40′W / 19.000°N 70.667°W / 19.000; -70.667
Official languagesSpanish
Other spoken languagesSee below
Ethnic groups
(2022)[1]
Religion
(2020)[2]
  • 22.0% no religion
  • 1.4% other
  • 2.0% unspecified
Demonym(s)Dominican
Quisqueyan (colloquial)[3]
GovernmentUnitary presidential republic[4]
• President
Luis Abinader
Raquel Peña
LegislatureCongress
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
Chamber of Deputies
Formation
1821–1822
1844–1861[5]
1865–1916[6]
1924–1965[7][8]
• Fourth Republic
1966–present[9]
Area
• Total
48,671 km2 (18,792 sq mi) (128th)
• Water (%)
0.7[4]
Population
• 2024 estimate
Increase 11,434,005[10] (88th)
• Density
220/km2 (569.8/sq mi) (65th)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $312.565 billion[11] (64th)
• Per capita
Increase $28,950[11] (67th)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $126.238 billion[11] (64th)
• Per capita
Increase $11,692[11] (74th)
Gini (2022)Positive decrease 37[12]
medium inequality
HDI (2022)Increase 0.766[13]
high (82nd)
CurrencyDominican peso[14] (DOP)
Time zoneUTC  – 4:00[4] (Atlantic Standard Time)
Drives onright
Calling code+1-809, +1-829, +1-849
ISO 3166 codeDO
Internet TLD.do[4]
Sources for area, capital, coat of arms, coordinates, flag, language, motto and names: [14]
For an alternate area figure of 48,730 km2 (18,810 sq mi), calling code 809 and Internet TLD: [4]

The Dominican Republic[a] is a North American country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and a land border with Haiti to the west, occupying the eastern five-eighths of Hispaniola which, along with Saint Martin, is one of only two islands in the Caribbean shared by two sovereign states.[15][16] In the Antilles, the country is the second-largest nation by area after Cuba at 48,671 square kilometers (18,792 sq mi) and second-largest by population after Haiti with approximately 11.4 million people in 2024, of whom 3.6 million reside in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.[4][17][18]

The native Taíno people had inhabited Hispaniola prior to European contact, dividing it into five chiefdoms. Christopher Columbus claimed the island for Castile, landing there on his first voyage in 1492. The colony of Santo Domingo became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which became the independent First Empire of Haiti in 1804. A group of Dominicans deposed the Spanish governor and declared independence from Spain in November 1821, but were annexed by Haiti in February 1822. Independence came 22 years later in 1844, after victory in the Dominican War of Independence. The next 72 years saw several civil wars, failed invasions by Haiti, and a brief return to Spanish colonial status, before permanently ousting the Spanish during the Dominican Restoration War of 1863–1865.[19][20][21] From 1930, the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo ruled until his assassination in 1961. Juan Bosch was elected president in 1962 but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. The Dominican Civil War of 1965 preceded the authoritarian rule of Joaquín Balaguer (1966–1978 and 1986–1996). Since 1978, the Dominican Republic has moved towards representative democracy.

The Dominican Republic has the largest economy in the Caribbean and the seventh-largest in Latin America.[22][23] Over the last 25 years, the Dominican Republic has had the fastest-growing economy in the Western Hemisphere – with an average real GDP growth rate of 5.3% between 1992 and 2018.[24] GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 reached 7.3 and 7.0%, respectively, the highest in the Western Hemisphere.[24] Recent growth has been driven by construction, manufacturing, tourism, and mining. The country is the site of the third largest (in terms of production) gold mine in the world, the Pueblo Viejo mine.[25][26]

The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean.[27] A geographically diverse nation, the Dominican Republic is home to both the Caribbean's tallest mountain peak, Pico Duarte, and the Caribbean's largest lake and lowest point, Lake Enriquillo.[28] The island has an average temperature of 26 °C (78.8 °F) and great climatic and biological diversity.[29] The country is also the site of the first cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress built in the Americas, located in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, a World Heritage Site.[30][31]

  1. ^ "REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA: Población de 12 años y más, por percepción del informante acerca de las facciones, color de piel y otras características culturales de los miembros del hogar, según región, provincia y grupos de edades". one.gob.do. September 30, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  2. ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2022 Dominican Republic, US State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
  3. ^ Roorda, Eric Paul (April 28, 2016). Historical Dictionary of the Dominican Republic. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810879065. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2017 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference CIADemo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Historia de la República Dominicana. Ediciones Doce Calles, S.L. 2010. p. 409. ISBN 978-84-00-09240-5. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  6. ^ "II República Dominicana". Rincon del Vago. January 20, 2013. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  7. ^ "12 de julio de 1924, una fecha relegada al olvido". Diario Libre. August 18, 2012. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  8. ^ "La Tercera República: La fragua de nuestra contemporaneidad". Hoy. May 11, 2013. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  9. ^ Cuarta República (1966-presente). Hechos Históricos Republica Dominicana. 2015. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  10. ^ "Macrotrends Historical Population Database, 2024. (DO)". macrotrends.net. January 1, 2024. Archived from the original on January 1, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (DO)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  12. ^ "World Bank Open Data".
  13. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. March 13, 2024. p. 289. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Embassy of the Dominican Republic, in the United States". Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  15. ^ Dardik, Alan, ed. (2016). Vascular Surgery: A Global Perspective. Springer. p. 341. ISBN 978-3-319-33745-6.
  16. ^ Josh, Jagran, ed. (2016). "Current Affairs November 2016 eBook". p. 93.
  17. ^ "Dominican Republic | Data". data.worldbank.org. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  18. ^ "Estimaciones y Proyecciones de la Población Dominicana por Regiones, Provincias, Municipios y Distritos Municipales, 2008". Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2008.
  19. ^ Franco, César A. "La guerra de la Restauración Dominicana, el 16 de agosto de 1863" [The Dominican Restoration War, 16 August 1863] (PDF) (in Spanish). dgii.gov.do. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2015.
  20. ^ Guerrero, Johnny (August 16, 2011). "La Restauración de la República como referente histórico" [The Restoration of the Republic as an historical reference] (in Spanish). El Día. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  21. ^ Sagas, Ernesto. "An Apparent Contradiction? Popular Perceptions of Haiti and the Foreign Policy of the Dominican Republic". Lehman College (Presented at the Sixth Annual Conference of the Haitian Studies Association, Boston, MA). Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  22. ^ "CIA – The World Factbook – Rank Order – GDP (purchasing power parity)". Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  23. ^ "Dominican Republic". World Bank. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  24. ^ a b "Dominican Republic Overview". World Bank. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  25. ^ "World's 10 Largest Gold Mines by Production | INN". July 31, 2019. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  26. ^ "World Top 20 Gold: Countries, Companies and Mines". Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  27. ^ UNWTO Tourism Highlights: 2018 Edition. World Tourism Organization. 2018. doi:10.18111/9789284419876. ISBN 9789284419876. S2CID 240334031.
  28. ^ Baker, Christopher P.; Mingasson, Gilles (2008). Dominican Republic. National Geographic Books. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-4262-0232-2. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  29. ^ "Consulate-General of the Dominican Republic Bangkok Thailand". Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  30. ^ "Colonial City of Santo Domingo". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  31. ^ UNESCO around the World | República Dominicana Archived December 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Unesco.org (November 14, 1957). Retrieved on April 2, 2014.


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