Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic[a] is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with Haiti,[15][16] making Hispaniola one of only two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that is shared by two sovereign states. It is the second-largest nation in the Antilles by area (after Cuba) at 48,671 square kilometers (18,792 sq mi), and second-largest by population, with approximately 11.4 million people in 2024, of whom approximately 3.6 million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.[4][17][18]

The native Taíno people had inhabited Hispaniola before the arrival of Europeans, dividing it into five chiefdoms.[4] Christopher Columbus explored and claimed the island for Castile, landing there on his first voyage in 1492.[4] The colony of Santo Domingo became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas and the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the New World. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which became the independent state of Haiti in 1804.[4]

The Dominican people declared independence from Spain in November 1821.[4] The colony of Santo Domingo was regionally divided with many rival and competing provincial leaders during the 1800s. Dominicans were often at war fighting against the French, Haitians, Spanish, or amongst themselves, resulting in a society heavily influenced by military strongmen. Santo Domingo attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844 when Dominican nationalists led an insurrection against the Haitians. Over the next decades, the Dominican Republic experienced several civil wars, battles against Haiti, and a brief return to Spanish colonial status, before permanently ousting the Spanish during the Dominican War of Restoration of 1863–1865.[19][20][21] The U.S. occupied the Dominican Republic (1916–1924) due to threats of defaulting on foreign debts; a subsequent calm and prosperous six-year period under Horacio Vásquez followed. From 1930 the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo ruled until his assassination in 1961.[4] Juan Bosch was elected president in 1962 but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. A civil war in 1965, the country's last, was ended by U.S. military intervention and was followed by the authoritarian rule of Joaquín Balaguer (1966–1978 and 1986–1996). Since 1978, the Dominican Republic has moved toward representative democracy.[22]

The Dominican Republic has the largest economy (according to the U.S. State Department and the World Bank) in the Caribbean and Central American region and is the seventh-largest economy in Latin America.[23][24] 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.[25] GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 reached 7.3 and 7.0%, respectively, the highest in the Western Hemisphere.[25] 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.[26][27]

The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean.[28] The year-round golf courses and resorts are major attractions.[29] 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.[30] 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.[31][32]