Dominican Republic
Name
| Official name | Dominican Republic — República Dominicana |
|---|---|
| Not to be confused with | Dominica — the English-speaking island of the Windward Islands, 1,000 km to the southeast; the Dominican Republic is on Hispaniola |
| Demonym | Dominican; dominicano, dominicana; Quisqueyano in verse |
| Meaning of the name | From Santo Domingo, the capital, named in 1496 for St. Dominic — Domingo de Guzmán, the founder of the Dominican Order |
| Motto | "Dios, Patria, Libertad" — God, homeland, liberty; on the arms |
Quick facts
| Capital | Santo Domingo — founded 1496, the oldest European city in the Americas; about 1 million in the National District, 3.8 million in the metropolitan area |
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| Largest cities | Santo Domingo; Santiago de los Caballeros, about 1.2 million; La Romana; San Pedro de Macorís; San Cristóbal; Puerto Plata; La Vega; Punta Cana |
| Official language | Spanish; Haitian Creole among the migrants; English in tourism and business |
| Currency | Dominican peso — ISO code DOP, RD$; about 60 to the U.S. dollar |
| Time zone | Atlantic Standard Time, UTC−4, all year |
| Calling codes | +1 809, +1 829 and +1 849 |
| Internet domain | .do |
| ISO 3166 codes | DO · DOM · 214 |
| Vehicle registration code | DOM |
| Driving side | Right |
| Electricity | 110 V, 60 Hz; plug types A and B |
| Independence | 27 February 1844, from Haiti — the national day; the Restoration from Spain, 16 August 1865, the day presidents take office |
| National days | 27 February, Independence Day; 16 August, Restoration Day; 26 January, Duarte's birthday; 6 January, Epiphany; 21 January, Our Lady of Altagracia; the Carnival of February |
| Constitution | 26 January 2010 — the 39th text since 1844; amended 13 June 2015 and 27 October 2024, the latter fixing two presidential terms for life and the independence of the prosecutor |
| Population | 10,760,028 at the census of 10–23 November 2022; about 11.4 million (National Statistics Office and UN, 2025 est.) |
| Area | 48,670 km² (18,792 sq mi) — land 48,320 km², water 350 km²; the eastern 64% of Hispaniola |
Flag & national symbols
| National flag | A white cross dividing four rectangles of blue and red — blue for liberty and the sky, red for the blood of the heroes, white for salvation — with the coat of arms at the center bearing an open Bible: the only national flag in the world to carry a Bible; designed by Juan Pablo Duarte and first raised on 27 February 1844.Flag of the Dominican Republic |
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| Coat of arms | A shield of the flag's colors with an open Bible, a gold cross and six flags, between a laurel and a palm branch, under the motto and over the name of the republic — the Bible open at John 8:32, "the truth shall make you free"; fixed 1913 |
| National anthem | "Quisqueyanos valientes" ("Valiant Quisqueyans") — words by Emilio Prud'Homme, music by José Reyes, 1883; official by the law of 30 May 1934 |
| National motto | "Dios, Patria, Libertad" |
| National colors | Blue, red and white |
| National bird | The palmchat — cigua palmera, Dulus dominicus — found only on Hispaniola; declared 1987 |
| National tree | The mahogany — caoba, Swietenia mahagoni; declared 2011 |
| National flower | The rose of Bayahíbe — Pereskia quisqueyana, a cactus with pink blooms found only at Bayahíbe; declared 2011 |
| National dances | The merengue — inscribed by UNESCO in 2016; the bachata, inscribed 2019 |
| National dish | La bandera — rice, red beans and stewed meat, "the flag"; sancocho; mangú; widely cited |
| National sport | Baseball — the pelota; by law, and by the hundred Dominicans in the major leagues |
| Symbol status | The flag, arms and anthem are fixed by the Constitution and the law of 1934; the bird, tree and flower by decree; the dances by UNESCO listing; the dish and sport widely cited |
Geography
| Location | The Caribbean — the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, the second-largest island of the Antilles, between the Atlantic and the Caribbean; Puerto Rico 130 km east across the Mona Passage; Cuba and Jamaica to the west |
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| Land border | 376 km (234 mi) with Haiti — the one land border, walled along about a third since 2022 |
| Coastline | 1,288 km (800 mi) |
| Highest point | Pico Duarte, 3,098 m (10,164 ft), in the Cordillera Central — the highest peak in the Caribbean |
| Lowest point | Lake Enriquillo, 46 m (151 ft) below sea level — the lowest point in the Caribbean |
| Mean elevation | 424 m (1,391 ft) |
| Major rivers | The Yaque del Norte, the longest, 296 km, through the Cibao; the Yuna to Samaná Bay; the Yaque del Sur; the Ozama at Santo Domingo; the Artibonite shared with Haiti |
| Lakes | Enriquillo, about 375 km², the largest lake in the Caribbean, hypersaline, with American crocodiles and iguanas; the lagoons of Oviedo and Rincón |
| Terrain | Four mountain ranges running northwest to southeast — the Cordillera Central with the four highest peaks in the Caribbean, the Septentrional, the Oriental and the Sierra de Bahoruco; the Cibao valley between, the country's breadbasket; the Enriquillo basin; the Caribbean plain; the Samaná peninsula |
| Climate | Tropical — the rainy season from May to November; the hurricane season from June to November; cooler in the mountains, where frost falls on Pico Duarte |
| Natural hazards | Hurricanes — San Zenón 1930, David 1979, Georges 1998, Fiona 2022; earthquakes — 1946; floods; drought |
| Natural resources | Gold and silver at Pueblo Viejo, ferronickel, bauxite, amber and larimar, salt, gypsum, the beaches |
| Land use | Agricultural land about 51%; forest about 41% |
| National parks | 31 — Jaragua, the largest; Armando Bermúdez and José del Carmen Ramírez around Pico Duarte; Los Haitises; the Eastern National Park at Bayahíbe; the Humpback Whale Sanctuary of Samaná |
| UNESCO World Heritage | 1 — the Colonial City of Santo Domingo (1990), with the Cathedral of Santa María la Menor, the Alcázar de Colón and the Ozama Fortress; the merengue (2016) and the bachata (2019) on the intangible list |
| Administrative divisions | 31 provinces and the National District of Santo Domingo; 158 municipalities |
People
| Population | 10,760,028 (census of 2022); about 11.4 million (2025 est.) |
|---|---|
| Population density | About 235 per km² (610 per sq mi) |
| Population growth | About 0.9% a year |
| Median age | About 29 years |
| Life expectancy | About 74 years |
| Fertility rate | About 1.7 births per woman |
| Urban population | About 84% |
| Adult literacy | About 95% |
| Ethnic groups | Mixed about 72% — indio, moreno, mestizo and mulatto in the census's own terms; white about 19%; Black about 7%; Asian and others about 2% (census of 2022) |
| Haitians | About 500,000 Haitian-born residents, most without papers — the largest migrant population in the Caribbean; mass deportations since 2024, above 200,000 a year |
| Languages | Spanish by nearly all — Dominican Spanish; Haitian Creole; English on the Samaná peninsula among the descendants of American freedmen |
| Religion | Roman Catholic about 47%, Protestant and evangelical about 21%, no religion about 28% (census of 2022); Our Lady of Altagracia the patroness |
| Human Development Index | 0.776 (2023 data, 2025 report) — high; about 89th of 193 |
| Sport | Baseball — more than 100 Dominicans in the major leagues each season, the most of any country outside the United States; Juan Marichal, Pedro Martínez, David Ortiz, Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.; the World Baseball Classic title of 2013; volleyball — the Queens of the Caribbean; Marileidy Paulino's 400 m gold at Paris 2024 |
| Diaspora | About 2.4 million of Dominican origin in the United States — New York above all — with Spain, Puerto Rico and Italy |
Government
| Form of government | Unitary presidential republic under the Constitution of 2010 — the president head of state and government, elected for four years; two terms in a lifetime since the reform of 2024 |
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| President | Luis Abinader (Modern Revolutionary Party), since 16 August 2020 — the 54th; an economist and hotel businessman, born 12 July 1967 in Santo Domingo; elected 5 July 2020 with 52.5% and re-elected 19 May 2024 with 57.4% in the first round; president of his party since 5 September 2026 |
| Vice President | Raquel Peña (Modern Revolutionary Party), since 16 August 2020 — the second woman in the office |
| The 2024 election | Held 19 May 2024: Abinader 57.4% in the first round against Leonel Fernández, the president of 1996–2000 and 2004–2012, with 28.8% and Abel Martínez with 10.4%; turnout 54%; the Modern Revolutionary Party and its allies a majority in both chambers |
| Congress | The Senate — 32 members, one per province and the National District; the Chamber of Deputies — 190 members, to fall to 178 from 2028 under the reform of 2024; both elected for four years with the president |
| The reform of 2024 | The constitutional amendment promulgated 27 October 2024 — two presidential terms in a lifetime, no re-election ever after; the independence of the public prosecutor; the reduction of the Chamber; the unification of the elections |
| The next election | Due in May 2028 |
| Legal system | Civil law on the French model; the Constitutional Court since 2010 and the Supreme Court of Justice; a new penal code, the first since 1884, in force from August 2026 |
| Provinces | 31 and the National District, each with a governor appointed by the president and an elected senator |
| Haiti | The border walled along about 165 km since 2022; the border closed and Haitian gangs designated terrorist organizations in 2025; deportations of Haitians above 200,000 a year; the Constitutional Court ruling of 2013 that stripped citizenship from the descendants of migrants |
| The United States | The closest partner — CAFTA-DR since 2007; U.S. forces authorized in November 2025 to operate temporarily from Dominican bases against drug trafficking in the Caribbean |
| The Summit of the Americas | The tenth summit, to be hosted at Punta Cana — postponed from December 2025 over what the foreign ministry called deep differences in the region, and rescheduled for 2026 |
| United Nations | A founding member, 24 October 1945 |
| Memberships | The OAS, the Central American Integration System (SICA), CARICOM as an observer, the Association of Caribbean States, the WTO, CELAC; not in CARICOM |
Economy
| GDP (nominal) | About US$135 billion (2025, IMF) — the largest economy in the Caribbean and Central America |
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| GDP per capita | About US$12,000 (2025) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | About US$30,000 (2025) |
| GDP growth | About 5% a year on average since 2000 — the fastest in Latin America over two decades; about 3–4% in 2024–25 |
| Economy by sector | Services about 60%, industry about 33%, agriculture about 6% |
| Currency | Dominican peso (DOP) |
| Tourism | The most visited country in the Caribbean — about 11 million arrivals a year by air and cruise, a record in 2024 and again in 2025; Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, La Romana, Samaná; Americans, Canadians and Europeans; about 15% of GDP |
| Free zones | Some 80 free-trade zones with 200,000 workers — medical devices, the largest export; electrical goods; cigars — the largest exporter of premium cigars in the world; textiles |
| Mining | The Pueblo Viejo gold mine of Barrick and Newmont — among the largest in the Americas; ferronickel from Falcondo |
| Remittances | About US$11 billion a year from the diaspora — about 8% of GDP |
| Agriculture | Sugar, once the mainstay, on the eastern plains; cocoa — among the largest organic exporters; coffee, bananas, tobacco of the Cibao, rice |
| Public finances | Public debt about 58% of GDP; a fiscal reform withdrawn in October 2024 after protests; the goal of investment grade by 2028; the electricity sector the chronic weakness |
| Income classification | Upper-middle income (World Bank) |
Transport & infrastructure
| Main airports | Punta Cana International — the busiest in the Caribbean, above 9 million passengers; Las Américas at Santo Domingo; Cibao at Santiago; Puerto Plata; La Romana; Samaná |
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| Airline | Arajet, the flag carrier since 2022, based at Santo Domingo |
| Main ports | Caucedo, the container port, among the largest in the Caribbean; Haina; Santo Domingo for cruise ships; Puerto Plata's Taíno Bay and Amber Cove; La Romana |
| Railways | No intercity passenger rail; the sugar and mining lines; the Santo Domingo Metro, two lines since 2009, and its cable car; the Santiago monorail opened 2025 |
| Roads | About 20,000 km (12,400 mi); the Duarte Highway from Santo Domingo to Santiago; the Coral Highway to Punta Cana; the Samaná highway |
| Transit | The Metro of Santo Domingo — the first in the Caribbean region after San Juan; the Teleférico; the OMSA buses |
History in dates
| c. 600 | The Taíno of Quisqueya |
|---|---|
| 1492 | Columbus lands on Hispaniola, 5 December; La Navidad |
| 1496 | Santo Domingo founded by Bartholomew Columbus |
| 1538 | The University of Santo Tomás de Aquino — the first in the Americas |
| 1697 | The Treaty of Ryswick — the west to France |
| 1795 | Spain cedes the east to France at Basel |
| 1822 | Haiti occupies the whole island |
| 1844 | Independence, 27 February — Duarte, Sánchez and Mella |
| 1861 | Annexed to Spain at Santana's request |
| 1865 | The Restoration, 16 August |
| 1916–1924 | The first U.S. occupation |
| 1930 | Rafael Trujillo takes power; the dictatorship to 1961 |
| 1937 | The Parsley Massacre of Haitians on the border, October |
| 1961 | Trujillo assassinated, 30 May |
| 1965 | The civil war and the U.S. intervention, April |
| 1966–1996 | The Balaguer era, 22 years of it |
| 1990 | The Colonial City inscribed by UNESCO |
| 2010 | The new Constitution, 26 January |
| 2013 | The Constitutional Court ruling on citizenship, 23 September |
| 2020 | Luis Abinader president, 16 August |
| 2024 | Abinader re-elected, 19 May; the reform of 27 October |
| 2025 | The Jet Set nightclub roof collapses in Santo Domingo, 8 April — 236 dead |
| 2026 | The new penal code, August; the Summit of the Americas |
Records & firsts
| The oldest European city in the Americas | Santo Domingo, 1496 |
|---|---|
| The first cathedral, university and hospital of the New World | Santo Domingo, 1512–1541 |
| The highest peak in the Caribbean | Pico Duarte, 3,098 m |
| The lowest point in the Caribbean | Lake Enriquillo, 46 m below the sea |
| The largest lake in the Caribbean | Enriquillo, about 375 km² |
| A Bible on the flag | The only one in the world |
| The most visited country in the Caribbean | About 11 million a year |
| The most major-leaguers of any foreign country | More than 100 a season |
| The largest premium-cigar exporter | The Cibao |
| Larimar | The blue stone found nowhere else on earth |
| Blue amber | From the mines of the Cordillera Septentrional |
| The merengue and the bachata | Both on UNESCO's list |
Frequently asked questions
Is the Dominican Republic the same as Dominica?
No. The Dominican Republic is the Spanish-speaking country of 11 million on the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti; its capital is Santo Domingo. Dominica is a small English-speaking island of 66,000 people in the Windward Islands, 1,000 km to the southeast. Both names go back to Columbus — Santo Domingo for St. Dominic and Dominica for a Sunday — and the confusion has been sending mail to the wrong island for five centuries.
What is the official name of the Dominican Republic?
The Dominican Republic — República Dominicana — since the declaration of independence of 27 February 1844, named for Santo Domingo, the city Bartholomew Columbus founded in 1496 and named for St. Dominic. From 1861 to 1865 it was a Spanish province again, and from 1936 to 1961 its capital was Ciudad Trujillo. The Taíno called the island Quisqueya and Ayiti; the poets still call the country Quisqueya.
What is the capital of the Dominican Republic?
Santo Domingo, on the south coast at the mouth of the Ozama — founded in 1496, the oldest continuously inhabited European city in the Americas, with the first cathedral, university, hospital and fortress of the New World in its Colonial City, a World Heritage site since 1990; about 1 million people in the National District and 3.8 million in the metropolitan area, a third of the country. Santiago de los Caballeros in the Cibao valley, with about 1.2 million, is the second city; La Romana, San Pedro de Macorís, San Cristóbal and Punta Cana follow.
How big is the Dominican Republic, and how many people live there?
About 48,670 km² (18,792 sq mi) — a little larger than Denmark, twice the size of Vermont — the eastern 64 percent of Hispaniola, the second-largest island of the Caribbean. The census of November 2022 counted 10,760,028 people; the statistics office and the UN estimate about 11.4 million for 2025, the second-largest population in the Caribbean after Cuba's, with some 500,000 Haitian-born residents among them.
What are the highest and lowest points of the Dominican Republic?
Pico Duarte, 3,098 m (10,164 ft), in the Cordillera Central — the highest peak in the Caribbean — and Lake Enriquillo, 46 m (151 ft) below sea level, a saltwater lake three times as salty as the sea and the lowest point of any Caribbean island, home to American crocodiles. The country holds the highest and lowest points in the Caribbean, and its largest lake, all within 150 km.
Who governs the Dominican Republic?
President Luis Abinader of the Modern Revolutionary Party, the 54th, in office since 16 August 2020 and re-elected in the first round on 19 May 2024 with 57.4 percent — head of state and government, with Raquel Peña as vice president. His second term runs to 16 August 2028, and under the constitutional reform of October 2024 no one may serve more than two terms in a lifetime, so he cannot stand again; the next election is due in May 2028. He became president of his party on 5 September 2026.
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