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Dominican RepublicRepública Dominicana (Spanish)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Dios, Patria, Libertad" (Spanish) "God, Homeland, Freedom"
Anthem: Quisqueyanos valientes Valiant Quisqueyans
Capitaland largest city	Santo Domingo 19°00′N 70°40′W / 19.000°N 70.667°W / 19.000; -70.667
Official languages	Spanish
Other spoken languages	See below
Ethnic groups (2022)	71.72% Mixed 18.70% White 7.45% Black 0.33% East Asian 0.37% Other 1.43% No answer
Religion (2020)	74.6% Christianity 52.5% Catholicism 21.0% Protestantism 1.1% other Christian 22.0% no religion 1.4% other 2.0% unspecified
Demonym(s)	Dominican Quisqueyan (colloquial)
Government	Unitary presidential republic
• President	Luis Abinader
• Vice President	Raquel Peña
Legislature	Congress
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Formation
• Ephemeral Independence	1821–1822
• First Republic	1844–1861
• Second Republic	1865–1916
• Third Republic	1924–1965
• Fourth Republic	1966–present
Area
• Total	48,671 km (18,792 sq mi) (128th)
• Water (%)	0.7
Population
• 2024 estimate	11,434,005 (88th)
• Density	220/km (569.8/sq mi) (65th)
GDP (PPP)	2024 estimate
• Total	$312.565 billion (64th)
• Per capita	$28,950 (67th)
GDP (nominal)	2024 estimate
• Total	$126.238 billion (64th)
• Per capita	$11,692 (74th)
Gini (2022)	37 medium inequality
HDI (2022)	0.766 high (82nd)
Currency	Dominican peso (DOP)
Time zone	UTC  – 4:00 (Atlantic Standard Time)
Drives on	Right
Calling code	+1-809, +1-829, +1-849
ISO 3166 code	DO
Internet TLD	.do
Sources for area, capital, coat of arms, coordinates, flag, language, motto and names:  For an alternate area figure of 48,730 km (18,810 sq mi), calling code 809 and Internet TLD:

The Dominican Republic 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 reached 7.3 and 7.0%, respectively, the highest in the Western Hemisphere. 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. The gold production of the country is 31 metric tonnes in 2015.

The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. 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. The island has an average temperature of 26 °C (78.8 °F) and great climatic and biological diversity. 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.

Etymology

The name Dominican originates from Saint Dominic, the patron saint of astronomers, and founder of the Dominican Order. The Dominican Order established what is now known as the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, the first university in the New World.

For most of its history, up until independence, the colony was known simply as Santo Domingo and continued to be commonly known as such in English until the early 20th century. The residents were called "Dominicans" (Dominicanos), the adjectival form of "Domingo", and as such, the revolutionaries named their newly independent country the "Dominican Republic" (la República Dominicana).

In the national anthem of the Dominican Republic (himno nacional de la República Dominicana), the poetic term "Quisqueyans" (Quisqueyanos) is used instead of "Dominicans". The word "Quisqueya" derives from the Taíno language, and means "mother of the lands". It is often used in songs as another name for the country. The name of the country in English is often shortened to "the D.R." (la R.D.), but this is rare in Spanish.

History

Pre-Columbian era

The islands of the Caribbean were first settled around 6,000 years ago by hunter-gatherer peoples originating from Central America or northern South America. The Arawakan-speaking ancestors of the Taíno moved into the Caribbean from South America during the 1st millennium BC, reaching Hispaniola by around 600 AD. These Arawakan peoples engaged in farming, fishing, hunting and gathering, and the widespread production of ceramic goods. The estimates of Hispaniola's population in 1492 vary widely, ranging from tens of thousands to 2,000,000. By 1492, the island was divided into five Taíno chiefdoms. The Taíno name for the entire island was either Ayiti or Quisqueya.

European colonization

Christopher Columbus arrived on the island on December 5, 1492, during the first of his four voyages to the Americas. He claimed the land for Spain and named it La Española, due to its diverse climate and terrain, which reminded him of the Spanish landscape. In 1496, Bartholomew Columbus, Christopher's brother, built the city of Santo Domingo, Western Europe's first permanent settlement in the "New World". The Spaniards created a plantation economy.

Initially, after friendly relationships, the Taínos resisted the conquest, led by female Chief Anacaona of Xaragua and her ex-husband Chief Caonabo of Maguana, as well as Chiefs Guacanagaríx, Guamá, Hatuey, and Enriquillo. The latter's successes gained his people an autonomous enclave on the island. Within a few years after 1492, the population of Taínos had declined drastically due to smallpox, measles, and other diseases that arrived with the Europeans. African slaves were imported to replace the dwindling Taínos.

The last record of pure Taínos in the country was from 1864. Still, Taíno biological heritage survived due to intermixing. Census records from 1514 reveal that 40% of Spanish men in Santo Domingo were married to Taíno women, and some present-day Dominicans have Taíno ancestry.

By the time of the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, which ceded the western one-third of the island to France, the population of Santo Domingo consisted of a few thousand whites, approximately 30,000 black slaves, and a few Taínos. By 1789, the population had grown to 125,000, but Santo Domingo remained one of Spain's less wealthy and strategically important colonies in the New World. The population composition of Santo Domingo sharply contrasted with that of the neighboring French colony of Saint-Domingue—the wealthiest colony in the Caribbean and whose population of half a million was 90% enslaved and four times as numerous as Santo Domingo.

In 1795, Spain ceded Santo Domingo to France by the Treaty of Basel as a result of its defeat in the War of the Pyrenees. Saint-Domingue achieved independence as Haiti from France on January 1, 1804. In 1809, the French were expelled from the island and Santo Domingo returned to Spanish rule.

Ephemeral independence and Haitian occupation

After a dozen years of discontent and failed independence plots by various opposing groups, including a failed 1812 revolt led by Dominican conspirators José Leocadio, Pedro de Seda, and Pedro Henríquez, Santo Domingo's former Lieutenant-Governor (top administrator), José Núñez de Cáceres, declared the colony's independence from the Spanish crown as Spanish Haiti, on November 30, 1821. This period is also known as the Ephemeral independence.

The newly independent republic ended two months later, when it was occupied and annexed by Haiti, then under the leadership of Jean-Pierre Boyer. For twenty-two years, Haiti controlled Santo Domingo, which it called Partie de l'Est, treating it as a colonial territory. The unpaid Haitian army sustained itself by taking resources from the Dominican people and land without compensation.

First Republic (1844–1861)

In 1838, Juan Pablo Duarte founded a secret society called La Trinitaria, which sought the complete independence of Santo Domingo without any foreign intervention. Also Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Ramon Matias Mella, despite not being among the founding members of La Trinitaria, were decisive in the fight for independence. Duarte, Mella, and Sánchez are considered the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic.

On February 27, 1844, the members of La Trinitaria declared independence from Haiti. They were backed by Pedro Santana, a wealthy cattle rancher, who became general of the army of the nascent republic. The decades that followed were filled with tyranny, factionalism, economic difficulties, rapid changes of government, and exile for political opponents. Archrivals Santana and Buenaventura Báez held power most of the time, both ruling arbitrarily. They promoted competing plans to annex the new nation to a major power. The Dominican Republic's first constitution was adopted on November 6, 1844, and its population in 1845 was approximately 230,000 people (100,000 whites; 40,000 blacks; and 90,000 mulattoes).

In March 1844, Haiti invaded but the Dominicans put up stiff opposition and inflicted heavy casualties on the Haitians. By April 15, Dominican forces had defeated the Haitian forces on both land and sea. In early July 1844, Duarte was urged by his followers to take the title of President of the Republic. Duarte agreed, but only if free elections were arranged. However, Santana's forces took Santo Domingo on July 12, and they declared Santana ruler of the Dominican Republic. Santana then put Mella, Duarte, and Sánchez in jail. On February 27, 1845, Santana executed María Trinidad Sánchez, heroine of La Trinitaria, and others for conspiracy.

After defeating a third Haitian invasion in April 1849 at the Battle of Las Carreras, Santana marched on Santo Domingo and deposed president Manuel Jimenes (who had ousted Santana as president) in a coup d'état. At his behest, Congress elected Buenaventura Báez as president, but Báez was unwilling to serve as Santana's puppet. In November–December 1849, Dominican seamen raided the Haitian coasts, plundered seaside villages, as far as Dame Marie, and butchered crews of captured enemy ships. A fourth and final invasion by Haiti in November 1855 was defeated by Dominican forces by January 27, 1856, resulting in thousands of Haitian casualties. Again Santana and Báez plotted against each other for political dominance, with Báez winning the first encounter and expelling Santana in 1857, and Santana winning the second and expelling Báez in 1859.

Restoration republic

In 1861, after imprisoning, exiling, and executing many of his opponents and due to political and economic reasons, Santana asked Queen Isabella II of Spain to retake control of the Dominican Republic. Spain, which had not come to terms with the loss of its mainland American colonies 40 years earlier, made the country a colony again. The island was occupied by 30,000 Spanish troops bolstered by battalions of Cuban and Puerto Rican volunteers and 12,000 Dominicans who aligned themselves with the Spanish forces. The Haitian rebel Sylvain Salnave, fearful of the reestablishment of Spain as colonial power, gave refuge and logistics to revolutionaries seeking to reestablish the independent nation. The ensuing civil war, known as the War of Restoration, killed more than 50,000.

The war began on August 16, 1863. The Spanish garrison of Santiago was forced to retreat to Puerto Plata by mid-September. The Dominicans bombarded the port of Puerto Plata and destroyed much of the town. In the south, Spanish forces were successful in driving the rebels out of several towns and into Haiti. However, the capture of Azua proved to be a costly endeavor, with two months of fighting and a significant loss of lives for the Spanish. Spanish forces from Cuba attacked and captured Monte Cristi on the north coast, but sustained heavy casualties.

By 1865, the Dominican forces had confined the Spanish troops to Santo Domingo, and the Spaniards were afraid to venture outside the capital. After nearly two years of fighting, Spain abandoned the island in July 1865. One military historian estimates Spanish casualties at 10,888 killed or wounded in action and thousands dead from yellow fever, while the Dominican forces fighting for Spain suffered 10,000 casualties. Another military historian estimates that Spain lost 18,000 dead, a figure that does not include the Dominicans, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans fighting alongside them. The Dominicans fighting for independence against Spain suffered more than 4,000 dead.

Political strife again prevailed in the following years; warlords ruled, military revolts were extremely common, and the nation amassed debt. It was now Báez's turn to act on his plan of annexing the country to the United States, where two successive presidents were supportive. U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant desired a naval base at Samaná and also a place for resettling newly freed African Americans. The treaty was defeated in the United States Senate in 1870. Báez was toppled in 1874, returned, and was toppled for good in 1878.

Relative peace came to the country in the 1880s, which saw the coming to power of General Ulises Heureaux. "Lilís", as the new president was nicknamed, put the nation deep into debt while using much of the proceeds for his personal use and to maintain his police state. In 1899, he was assassinated. However, the relative calm over which he presided allowed improvement in the Dominican economy. The sugar industry was modernized, and the country attracted foreign workers and immigrants. Lebanese, Syrians, Turks, and Palestinians began to arrive in the country during the latter part of the 19th century. During the U.S. occupation of 1916–24, peasants from the countryside, called Gavilleros, would not only kill U.S. Marines, but would also attack and kill Arab vendors traveling through the countryside.

20th century (1900–1930)

From 1902 on, short-lived governments were again the norm, with their power usurped by caudillos in parts of the country. Furthermore, the national government was bankrupt and, unable to pay its debts to European creditors, faced the threat of military intervention by France, Germany, and Italy. United States President Theodore Roosevelt sought to prevent European intervention, largely to protect the routes to the future Panama Canal. He made a small military intervention to ward off European powers, to proclaim his famous Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, and also to obtain his 1905 Dominican agreement for U.S. administration of Dominican customs, which was the chief source of income for the Dominican government. A 1906 agreement provided for the arrangement to last 50 years. The United States agreed to use part of the customs proceeds to reduce the immense foreign debt of the Dominican Republic and assumed responsibility for said debt.

After six years in power, President Ramón Cáceres (who had himself assassinated Heureaux) was assassinated in 1911. The result was several years of great political instability and civil war. U.S. mediation by the William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson administrations achieved only a short respite each time. A political deadlock in 1914 was broken after an ultimatum by Wilson telling the Dominicans to choose a president or see the U.S. impose one. A provisional president was chosen, and later the same year relatively free elections put former president (1899–1902) Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra back in power. With his former Secretary of War Desiderio Arias maneuvering to depose him and despite a U.S. offer of military aid against Arias, Jimenes resigned on May 7, 1916. Wilson thus ordered the U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic.

U.S. Marines landed on May 16, 1916, and seized the capital and other ports, while General Arias fell back to his inland Santiago stronghold. A significant weaponry disparity between the U.S. Marines and Arias's forces led to the latter's defeat. The clashes with the U.S. Marines marked the first time the Dominicans had ever encountered a machine gun. A peace delegation from Santiago surrendered the city on July 5, coinciding with General Arias' surrender to the Dominican governor. The military government established by the U.S. under the Navy and Marine Corps on November 29, led by Vice Admiral Harry Shepard Knapp, was widely repudiated by the Dominicans, but organized resistance ceased.

The occupation regime kept most Dominican laws and institutions and largely pacified the general population. The occupying government also revived the Dominican economy, reduced the nation's debt, built a road network that at last interconnected all regions of the country, and created a professional National Guard to replace the warring partisan units. Additionally, with grass-roots support from local communities and assistance from both Dominican and US officials, the Dominican education system expanded significantly during US occupation. Between 1918 and 1920, more than three hundred schools were established nationwide. The system of forced labour used by the Marines in Haiti was largely absent in the Dominican Republic.

The U.S. government's rule ended in October 1922, and elections were held in March 1924. The victor was former president (1902–03) Horacio Vásquez. He was inaugurated on July 13, 1924, and the last U.S. forces left in September. In 1930, General Rafael Trujillo, who was trained by the U.S. Marines during the occupation, seized power following a military revolt against the government of Vásquez.

Trujillo consolidated his power after Hurricane San Zenón devastated Santo Domingo in September 1930, killing 8,000 people. A few of the former caudillos initially opposed the new dictator. General Cipriano Bencosme led an uprising but was defeated and killed in November 1930 during a confrontation with the army near Puerto Plata. General Desiderio Arias was also unsuccessful, dying in combat near Mao in June of the following year.

Trujillo Era (1930–1961)

There was considerable economic growth during Rafael Trujillo's long and iron-fisted regime, although a great deal of the wealth was taken by the dictator and other regime elements. There was progress in healthcare, education, and transportation, with the building of hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and harbors. Trujillo also carried out an important housing construction program and instituted a pension plan. He finally negotiated an undisputed border with Haiti in 1935, and achieved the end of the 50-year customs agreement in 1941, instead of 1956. He made the country debt-free in 1947. This was accompanied by absolute repression and the copious use of murder, torture, and terrorist methods against the opposition.

Several Dominicans were assassinated in New York City after taking part in anti-Trujillo activities. In October 1937, Dominican troops murdered 10,000 to 15,000 Haitian men, women, and children—mostly with machetes—along the Haitian-Dominican border under the orders of Trujillo.

During World War II, Trujillo symbolically sided with the Allies, and German U-boats torpedoed and sank two Dominican merchant vessels—the San Rafael off Jamaica and the Presidente Trujillo off Fort-de-France—along with four other Dominican-manned ships in the Caribbean. The country did not make a military contribution to the war, but Dominican sugar and other agricultural products supported the Allied war effort, and the Dominican Republic also accepted Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution.

The arsenal at San Cristóbal, operated under Trujillo's regime, produced rifles, machine guns, and ammunition. Trujillo also formed a Foreign Legion of 3,000 mercenaries to attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba. Major William Morgan agreed to lead the attack for $1 million, but Castro learned of the plot and instructed Morgan to go along with it and report back. Trujillo was tricked into believing that Morgan had captured Trinidad. On August 13, 1959, a C-47 transport flying from the Dominican Republic carrying military advisors and supplies landed at Trinidad airport. Castro seized the aircraft and the ten occupants and arrested some 4,000 suspects throughout Cuba.

On November 25, 1960, Trujillo's henchmen killed three of the four Mirabal sisters, nicknamed Las Mariposas (The Butterflies). Along with their husbands, the sisters were conspiring to overthrow Trujillo in a violent revolt. The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is observed on the anniversary of their deaths.

For a long time, the U.S. and the Dominican elite supported the Trujillo government. This support persisted despite the assassinations of political opposition, the massacre of Haitians, and Trujillo's plots against other countries. The U.S. finally broke with Trujillo in 1960, after Trujillo's agents attempted to assassinate the Venezuelan president Rómulo Betancourt with a car bomb, as he was a fierce critic of Trujillo. During Betancourt's earlier exile in Cuba, Trujillo's agents attempted to inject poison into him on a Havana street in broad daylight.

After its representatives confirmed Trujillo's complicity in the nearly successful assassination attempt, the Organization of American States (OAS), for the first time in its history, decreed sanctions against a member state. The United States severed diplomatic relations with the Dominican Republic on August 26, 1960, and in January 1961 suspended the export of trucks, parts, crude oil, gasoline and other petroleum products. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower also took advantage of OAS sanctions to cut drastically purchases of Dominican sugar, the country's major export. This action ultimately cost the Dominican Republic almost $22,000,000 in lost revenues at a time when its economy was in a rapid decline. Trujillo had become expendable, and dissidents inside the Dominican Republic argued that assassination was the only certain way to remove him. On May 31, 1961, Venezuela arrested several individuals plotting to overthrow the government, armed with weapons traced to the Dominican Republic. The assassination of Trujillo the day before finally eliminated the threat.

Post-Trujillo (1961–1996)

On May 30, 1961, Trujillo was shot and killed by Dominican dissidents. Ramfis Trujillo, the dictator's son, remained in de facto control of the government for the next 6 months, as commander of the armed forces. Trujillo's brothers, Hector Bienvenido and Jose Arismendi Trujillo, returned to the country and plotted against President Balaguer. On November 18, 1961, as a planned coup became more evident, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk issued a warning that the US would not "remain idle" if the Trujillos attempted to "reassert dictatorial domination". Following this warning, and the arrival of a 14-vessel U.S. naval task force within sight of Santo Domingo, Ramfis and his uncles fled the country on November 19. The OAS lifted its sanctions on January 4, 1962.

In February 1963, a democratically elected government under leftist Juan Bosch took office but it was overthrown by a military coup in September. On April 24, 1965, a second military coup ousted the military-installed president Donald Reid Cabral. Despite tank assaults, strafing, and aerial bombardment by the opposing Loyalists, the pro-Bosch Constitutionalists maintained control of most of the capital. By April 26, 5,000 armed civilians outnumbered the 1,500 original rebel military regulars. Radio Santo Domingo, now fully under rebel control, began to call for more violent actions and the killing of all police officers.

On April 28, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson deployed U.S. Marines to Santo Domingo to protect American citizens, with U.S. forces subsequently expanded to 24,000 troops. On April 30, two battalions of the 82nd Airborne Division landed at San Isidro airfield. Hours later, U.S. troops crossed the Duarte Bridge to link up with Loyalists, who were to secure a corridor for the Marines guarding the U.S. Embassy. However, the Loyalists withdrew to San Isidro airfield instead. On May 2, U.S. forces were authorized to link up, and the outgunned Constitutionalists retreated to the southeastern part of the city. On May 6, U.S. diplomats persuaded the OAS to establish an Inter-American Peace Force to support American troops. The following countries volunteered: Brazil (1,250 soldiers), Costa Rica (25 police), Honduras (250 soldiers), Nicaragua (164 soldiers), and Paraguay (286 soldiers).

U.S. and OAS peacekeeping troops remained in the country for over a year and left after supervising elections in 1966 won by Joaquín Balaguer. He had been Trujillo's last puppet-president. Balaguer remained in power as president for 12 years. His tenure was a period of repression of human rights and civil liberties. His rule was criticized for a growing disparity between rich and poor. It was, however, praised for an ambitious infrastructure program, which included construction of large housing projects, sports complexes, theaters, museums, aqueducts, roads, highways, and the massive Columbus Lighthouse, completed in 1992 during a later tenure.

In 1978, Balaguer was succeeded to the presidency by opposition candidate Antonio Guzmán Fernández, of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD). Hurricane David hit the Dominican Republic in August 1979, which left upwards of 2,000 people dead and 200,000 homeless. The hurricane caused over $1 billion in damage. Another PRD win in 1982 followed, under Salvador Jorge Blanco. Balaguer regained the presidency in 1986 and was re-elected in 1990 and 1994, in the latter defeating PRD candidate José Francisco Peña Gómez, a former mayor of Santo Domingo. The 1994 elections were flawed, bringing international pressure, to which Balaguer responded by scheduling another presidential contest in 1996. Balaguer was not a candidate. The PSRC candidate was his Vice President Jacinto Peynado Garrigosa.

1996–present

In 1996, with the support of Joaquín Balaguer and the Social Christian Reform Party in a coalition called the Patriotic Front, Leonel Fernández achieved the first-ever win for the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), which Bosch had founded in 1973 after leaving the PRD. Fernández oversaw a fast-growing economy: growth averaged 7.7% per year, unemployment fell, and there were stable exchange and inflation rates.

In 2000, the PRD's Hipólito Mejía won the election. This was a time of economic troubles. Under Mejía, the Dominican Republic participated in the US-led coalition, as part of the Multinational Plus Ultra Brigade, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, suffering no casualties. In 2008, Fernández was elected for a third term. Fernández and the PLD are credited with initiatives that have moved the country forward technologically, on the other hand, his administrations have been accused of corruption.

Danilo Medina of the PLD was elected president in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. On the other hand, a significant increase in crime, government corruption and a weak justice system threaten to overshadow their administrative period. He was succeeded by the opposition candidate Luis Abinader in the 2020 election (weeks after protests erupted in the country against Medina's government), marking the end to 16 years in power of the centre-left Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). In May 2024, President Luis Abinader won a second term in elections. Especially his tough policies towards migration from neighbouring Haiti was popular among voters.

Geography

The Dominican Republic comprises the eastern five-eighths of Hispaniola, the second-largest island in the Greater Antilles, with the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the Caribbean Sea to the south. It shares the island roughly at a 2:1 ratio with Haiti, the north-to-south (though somewhat irregular) border between the two countries being 376 km (234 mi). To the north and north-west lie The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and to the east, across the Mona Passage, the US Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The country's area is reported variously as 48,442 km (18,704 sq mi) (by the embassy in the United States) and 48,670 km (18,792 sq mi), making it the second largest country in the Antilles, after Cuba. The Dominican Republic's capital and largest city Santo Domingo is on the southern coast. The Dominican Republic is located near fault action in the Caribbean.

The Dominican Republic has four important mountain ranges. The most northerly is the Cordillera Septentrional ("Northern Mountain Range"), which extends from the northwestern coastal town of Monte Cristi, near the Haitian border, to the Samaná Peninsula in the east, running parallel to the Atlantic coast. The highest range in the Dominican Republic – indeed, in the whole of the West Indies – is the Cordillera Central ("Central Mountain Range"). In the Cordillera Central are the four highest peaks in the Caribbean: Pico Duarte (3,098 metres or 10,164 feet above sea level), La Pelona (3,094 metres or 10,151 feet), La Rucilla (3,049 metres or 10,003 feet), and Pico Yaque (2,760 metres or 9,055 feet). In the southwest corner of the country, south of the Cordillera Central, there are two other ranges: the more northerly of the two is the Sierra de Neiba, while in the south the Sierra de Bahoruco is a continuation of the Massif de la Selle in Haiti. There are other, minor mountain ranges, such as the Cordillera Oriental ("Eastern Mountain Range"), Sierra Martín García, Sierra de Yamasá, and Sierra de Samaná.

Between the Central and Northern mountain ranges lies the rich and fertile Cibao valley. This major valley is home to the cities of Santiago and La Vega and most of the farming areas of the nation. Rather less productive are the semi-arid San Juan Valley, south of the Central Cordillera, and the Neiba Valley, tucked between the Sierra de Neiba and the Sierra de Bahoruco. Much of the land around the Enriquillo Basin is below sea level, with a hot, arid, desert-like environment. There are other smaller valleys in the mountains, such as the Constanza, Jarabacoa, Villa Altagracia, and Bonao valleys. The Llano Costero del Caribe ("Caribbean Coastal Plain") is the largest of the plains in the Dominican Republic. Stretching north and east of Santo Domingo, it contains many sugar plantations in the savannahs that are common there. West of Santo Domingo its width is reduced to 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) as it hugs the coast, finishing at the mouth of the Ocoa River. Another large plain is the Plena de Azua ("Azua Plain"), a very arid region in Azua Province. A few other small coastal plains are on the northern coast and in the Pedernales Peninsula.

Four major rivers drain the numerous mountains of the Dominican Republic. The Yaque del Norte is the longest and most important Dominican river. It carries excess water down from the Cibao Valley and empties into Monte Cristi Bay, in the northwest. Likewise, the Yuna River serves the Vega Real and empties into Samaná Bay, in the northeast. Drainage of the San Juan Valley is provided by the San Juan River, tributary of the Yaque del Sur, which empties into the Caribbean, in the south. The Artibonito is the longest river of Hispaniola and flows westward into Haiti. There are many lakes and coastal lagoons. The largest lake is Enriquillo, a salt lake at 45 metres (148 ft) below sea level, the lowest elevation in the Caribbean.

There are many small offshore islands and cays that form part of the Dominican territory. The two largest islands near shore are Saona, in the southeast, and Beata, in the southwest. Smaller islands include the Cayos Siete Hermanos, Isla Cabra, Cayo Jackson, Cayo Limón, Cayo Levantado, Cayo la Bocaina, Catalanita, Cayo Pisaje and Isla Alto Velo. To the north, at distances of 100–200 kilometres (62–124 mi), are three extensive, largely submerged banks, which geographically are a southeast continuation of the Bahamas: Navidad Bank, Silver Bank, and Mouchoir Bank. Navidad Bank and Silver Bank have been officially claimed by the Dominican Republic. Isla Cabritos lies within Lago Enriquillo.

The country is home to five terrestrial ecoregions: Hispaniolan moist forests, Hispaniolan dry forests, Hispaniolan pine forests, Enriquillo wetlands, and Greater Antilles mangroves.

Climate

The Dominican Republic has a tropical rainforest climate in the coastal and lowland areas. Some areas, such as most of the Cibao region, have a tropical savanna climate. Due to its diverse topography, Dominican Republic's climate shows considerable variation over short distances and is the most varied of all the Antilles. The annual average temperature is 25 °C (77 °F). At higher elevations the temperature averages 18 °C (64.4 °F) while near sea level the average temperature is 28 °C (82.4 °F). Low temperatures of 0 °C (32 °F) are possible in the mountains while high temperatures of 40 °C (104 °F) are possible in protected valleys. January and February are the coolest months of the year while August is the hottest month. Snowfall can be seen on rare occasions on the summit of Pico Duarte.

The wet season along the northern coast lasts from November through January. Elsewhere the wet season stretches from May through November, with May being the wettest month. Average annual rainfall is 1,500 millimetres (59.1 in) countrywide, with individual locations in the Valle de Neiba seeing averages as low as 350 millimetres (13.8 in) while the Cordillera Oriental averages 2,740 millimetres (107.9 in). The driest part of the country lies in the west.

• Frosted alpine forest in Constanza, Dominican Republic
• Tropical rainforest climate in Samana, Dominican Republic
• Semi-arid climate in Pedernales, Dominican Republic
• Desert sand dunes of Baní, Dominican Republic

Tropical cyclones strike the Dominican Republic every couple of years, with 65% of the impacts along the southern coast. Hurricanes are most likely between June and October. The last major hurricane that struck the country was Hurricane Georges in 1998.

Fauna

Bats make up 90% of the native terrestrial mammal species residing in the Dominican Republic. Lake Enriquillo, located in the Dominican Republic's southwest, is home to the largest population of American crocodiles.

Government and politics

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (February 2021)

The Dominican Republic is a representative democracy or democratic republic, with three branches of power: executive, legislative, and judicial. The president of the Dominican Republic heads the executive branch and executes laws passed by the congress, appoints the cabinet, and is commander in chief of the armed forces. The president and vice-president run for office on the same ticket and are elected by direct vote for four-year terms. The national legislature is bicameral, composed of a senate, which has 32 members, and the Chamber of Deputies, with 178 members.

Judicial authority rests with the Supreme Court of Justice's 16 members. The court "alone hears actions against the president, designated members of his Cabinet, and members of Congress when the legislature is in session." The court is appointed by a council known as the National Council of the Magistracy which is composed of the president, the leaders of both houses of Congress, the President of the Supreme Court, and an opposition or non–governing-party member.

The Dominican Republic has a multi-party political system. Elections are held every two years, alternating between the presidential elections, which are held in years evenly divisible by four, and the congressional and municipal elections, which are held in even-numbered years not divisible by four. "International observers have found that presidential and congressional elections since 1996 have been generally free and fair." Starting in 2016, elections are held jointly, after a constitutional reform.

The three major parties are the conservative Social Christian Reformist Party (Spanish: Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC)), in power 1966–78 and 1986–96; and the social democratic Dominican Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD)), in power in 1963, 1978–86, and 2000–04; and the Dominican Liberation Party (Spanish: Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD)), in power 1996–2000 and 2004–2020. In 2020, protests erupted against the PLD's rule. The presidential candidate for the opposition Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), Luis Abinader, won the election, defeating the PLD.

Administrative divisions

The Dominican Republic is divided into 31 provinces. Santo Domingo, the capital, is designated Distrito Nacional (National District). The provinces are divided into municipalities (municipios; singular municipio). They are the second-level political and administrative subdivisions of the country. The president appoints the governors of the 31 provinces. Mayors and municipal councils administer the 124 municipal districts and the National District (Santo Domingo). They are elected at the same time as congressional representatives.

The provinces are the first–level administrative subdivisions of the country. The headquarters of the central government's regional offices are normally found in the capital cities of provinces. The president appoints an administrative governor (Gobernador Civil) for each province but not for the Distrito Nacional (Title IX of the constitution). The Distrito Nacional was created in 1936. Prior to this, the Distrito National was the old Santo Domingo Province, in existence since the country's independence in 1844. It is not to be confused with the new Santo Domingo Province split off from it in 2001. While it is similar to a province in many ways, the Distrito Nacional differs in its lack of an administrative governor and consisting only of one municipality, Santo Domingo, the city council (ayuntamiento) and mayor (síndico) which are in charge of its administration.

Province Capital city Azua Azua de Compostela Baoruco Neiba Barahona Santa Cruz de Barahona Dajabón Dajabón Distrito Nacional Santo Domingo Duarte San Francisco de Macorís Elías Piña Comendador El Seibo Santa Cruz de El Seibo Espaillat   Moca Hato Mayor Hato Mayor del Rey Hermanas Mirabal Salcedo       Independencia Jimaní La Altagracia Salvaleón de Higüey La Romana La Romana La Vega Concepción de La Vega María Trinidad Sánchez Nagua

Province Capital city Monseñor Nouel Bonao Monte Cristi   San Fernando de Monte Cristi Monte Plata Monte Plata Pedernales Pedernales Peravia Baní Puerto Plata San Felipe de Puerto Plata Samaná Samaná San Cristóbal San Cristóbal San José de Ocoa San José de Ocoa San Juan San Juan de la Maguana San Pedro de Macorís San Pedro de Macorís Sánchez Ramírez Cotuí Santiago Santiago de los Caballeros Santiago Rodríguez San Ignacio de Sabaneta Santo Domingo Santo Domingo Este Valverde Santa Cruz de Mao

Foreign relations

The Dominican Republic has a close relationship with the United States, and has close cultural ties with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and other states and jurisdictions of the United States.

The Dominican Republic's relationship with neighbouring Haiti is strained over mass Haitian migration to the Dominican Republic, with citizens of the Dominican Republic blaming the Haitians for increased crime and other social problems. The Dominican Republic is a regular member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.

The Dominican Republic has a Free Trade Agreement with the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua via the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement. And an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union and the Caribbean Community via the Caribbean Forum.

Dominican Republic is the 97th most peaceful country in the world, according to the 2024 Global Peace Index.

Military

The Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic are the military forces of the Dominican Republic. They consist of approximately 56,000 active duty personnel. The President of the Dominican Republic is the commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic and the Ministry of Defense is the chief managing body of the armed forces.

The Army, with 28,750 active duty personnel, consists of six infantry brigades, an air cavalry squadron and a combat service support brigade. The Air Force operates two main bases, one in the southern region near Santo Domingo and one in the northern region of the country, the air force operates approximately 75 aircraft including helicopters. The Navy operates two major naval bases, one in Santo Domingo and one in Las Calderas on the southwestern coast.

The armed forces have organized a Specialized Airport Security Corps (CESA) and a Specialized Port Security Corps (CESEP) to meet international security needs in these areas. The secretary of the armed forces has also announced plans to form a specialized border corps (CESEF). The armed forces provide 75% of personnel to the National Investigations Directorate (DNI) and the Counter-Drug Directorate (DNCD).

In 2018, Dominican Republic signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Economy

During the last three decades, the Dominican economy, formerly dependent on the export of agricultural commodities (mainly sugar, cocoa and coffee), has transitioned to a diversified mix of services, manufacturing, agriculture, mining, and trade. The service sector accounts for almost 60% of GDP; manufacturing, for 22%; tourism, telecommunications and finance are the main components of the service sector; however, none of them accounts for more than 10% of the whole. The Dominican Republic has a stock market, Bolsa de Valores de la República Dominicana (BVRD). and advanced telecommunication system and transportation infrastructure. High unemployment and income inequality are long-term challenges. International migration affects the Dominican Republic greatly, as it receives and sends large flows of migrants. Mass illegal Haitian immigration and the integration of Dominicans of Haitian descent are major issues. A large Dominican diaspora exists, mostly in the United States, contributes to development, sending billions of dollars to Dominican families in remittances.

Remittances in Dominican Republic increased to US$4571.30 million in 2014 from US$3333 million in 2013 (according to data reported by the Inter-American Development Bank). Economic growth takes place in spite of a chronic energy shortage, which causes frequent blackouts and very high prices. Despite a widening merchandise trade deficit, tourism earnings and remittances have helped build foreign exchange reserves. Following economic turmoil in the late 1980s and 1990, during which the gross domestic product (GDP) fell by up to 5% and consumer price inflation reached an unprecedented 100%, the Dominican Republic entered a period of growth and declining inflation until 2002, after which the economy entered a recession.

This recession followed the collapse of the second-largest commercial bank in the country, Baninter, linked to a major incident of fraud valued at US$3.5 billion. The Baninter fraud had a devastating effect on the Dominican economy, with GDP dropping by 1% in 2003 as inflation ballooned by over 27%. All defendants, including the star of the trial, Ramón Báez Figueroa (the great-grandson of President Buenaventura Báez), were convicted.

According to the 2005 Annual Report of the United Nations Subcommittee on Human Development in the Dominican Republic, the country is ranked No. 71 in the world for resource availability, No. 79 for human development, and No. 14 in the world for resource mismanagement. These statistics emphasize national government corruption, foreign economic interference in the country, and the rift between the rich and poor.

The Dominican Republic has a noted problem of child labor in its coffee, rice, sugarcane, and tomato industries. The labor injustices in the sugarcane industry extend to forced labor according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Three large groups own 75% of the land: the State Sugar Council (Consejo Estatal del Azúcar, CEA), Grupo Vicini, and Central Romana Corporation.

According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, an estimated 104,800 people are enslaved in the modern day Dominican Republic, or 1.00% of the population.

Currency

The Dominican peso (abbreviated $ or RD$; ISO 4217 code is "DOP") is the national currency, with the United States dollar, the Euro, the Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc also accepted at most tourist sites. The exchange rate to the U.S. dollar, liberalized by 1985, stood at 2.70 pesos per dollar in August 1986, 14.00 pesos in 1993, and 16.00 pesos in 2000. As of September 2018 the rate was 50.08 pesos per dollar.

Tourism

Tourism is one of the fueling factors in the Dominican Republic's economic growth. The Dominican Republic is the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean. With the construction of projects like Cap Cana, San Souci Port in Santo Domingo, Casa De Campo and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (ancient Moon Palace Resort) in Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic expects increased tourism activity in the upcoming years.

Ecotourism has also been a topic increasingly important, with towns like Jarabacoa and neighboring Constanza, and locations like the Pico Duarte, Bahía de las Águilas, and others becoming more significant in efforts to increase direct benefits from tourism. Most residents from other countries are required to get a tourist card, depending on the country they live in. In the last 10 years the Dominican Republic has become one of the world's notably progressive states in terms of recycling and waste disposal.

Transportation