Dominican Republic

A dynamic Caribbean destination and growing economy, home to Pico Duarte and Lake Enriquillo.

The Dominican Republic is an island country on the eastern part of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a maritime border with the United States (via Puerto Rico) to the east and a land border with Haiti to the west, occupying approximately the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola. It is the second-largest country in the Antilles by area after Cuba at 48,671 square kilometers (18,792 sq mi) and the second most populous after Cuba with approximately 11.4 million people in 2024, of whom 3.6 million reside in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.

Quick Facts

Common name

the Dominican Republic

National motto

Dios
Patria
Libertad; "God
Homeland
Freedom"

National anthem

Quisqueyanos valientes; "Valiant Quisqueyans"

Capital

Santo Domingo

Largest city

capital

Official languages

Spanish

Ethnic groups year

2022

Ethnic groups

71.72% Mixed
18.70% White
7.45% Black
0.33% East Asian
0.37% other
1.43% no answer

Lore & Background

The name Dominican originates from the Dominican Order, founded by Saint Dominic, rather than directly from the saint as patron of astronomers. For most of its history, up until independence, the colony was known simply as Santo Domingo. The residents were called 'Dominicans' (Dominicanos), the adjectival form of 'Domingo', and as such, the revolutionaries named their newly independent country the 'Dominican Republic'. In the national anthem, the poetic term 'Quisqueyans' (Quisqueyanos) is used instead of 'Dominicans'. The word 'Quisqueya' derives from the Taíno language, and means 'mother of the lands'.

Reader's Guide

The Dominican Republic has the largest economy in the Caribbean and the seventh-largest in Latin America. It has had the fastest-growing economy in the Western Hemisphere, with an average real GDP growth rate of 5.3% between 1992 and 2018. GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 reached 7.3 and 7.0%, respectively. Recent growth has been driven by construction, manufacturing, tourism, and mining. The country is the site of the world's third largest gold mine in terms of production, the Pueblo Viejo mine. The gold production was 31 metric tonnes in 2015. The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. It is home to both the Caribbean's tallest mountain peak, Pico Duarte, and the Caribbean's largest lake and lowest point, Lake Enriquillo. The island has an average temperature of 26 °C (78.8 °F). The country is also the site of the first cathedral, palace, monastery, and fortress built in the Americas, located in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, a World Heritage Site.

Did You Know?

The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, one of only two islands in the Caribbean shared by two sovereign states (the other being Saint Martin).
The Dominican Republic has a strong economy, though countries like Guyana and Panama have posted higher average growth rates in recent years.

Test yourself on TriviaCafe: Name the capital cities of each of these islands: a. Cyprus b. Dominican Republic c. Falkland Islands · More geography trivia