According to franciscogardening, the Dominican Republic is located in the Caribbean region, on the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Greater Antilles. It shares its western border with Haiti. The country has a tropical climate and is home to both mountainous terrain and flatlands. The Dominican Republic has a population of 10.8 million people and its capital city is Santo Domingo. Spanish is the official language of the country, although English and French are also spoken by many people. The economy of the Dominican Republic is largely based on agriculture, tourism, and services industries such as telecommunications and banking. Major agricultural products include sugarcane, coffee, tobacco, cocoa beans, rice, corn and beef. Tourism is an important source of income for many people in the country; it accounts for over 8% of GDP annually. The Dominican Republic has seen strong economic growth in recent years due to increased foreign investment and improved infrastructure development.
Dominican Republic, officially Spanish República Dominicana, state in the Caribbean Sea with (2018) 10.6 million residents; The capital is Santo Domingo. The Dominican Republic comprises the eastern part of the Greater Antilles island of Hispaniola.
Population
Like many of the other Caribbean states, the Dominican Republic is densely populated – in 2019 the average population density was 219 residents per km2 – and has a relatively high degree of urbanization (80 percent).
Many Dominicans emigrate to Puerto Rico or the United States annually, usually illegally. At the same time, the country receives thousands of Haitians annually. Many of the Haitians live in difficult conditions. This situation worsened further after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
According to Countryaah, the country’s capital Santo Domingo (2.6 million residents, 2012) is the most dominant city. Other cities include Santiago de los Caballeros (550 800).
For information on life expectancy and other demographic statistics, see Country facts.
Language
The official language is Spanish, which is also spoken by most of the population. Hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants and their descendants speak a French-based Creole language. In the Dominican Republic, a slightly Creole form of English is also used by descendants of freed American slaves who in the 1820s immigrated to the urging of the Haitian Occupation Force.
Religion
Christianity dominates and comprises 95 percent of the population. The Catholic Church is the largest among the Christian communities with over 80 percent of the population as members. Protestants make up about 8 percent, and among them, the seven-day Adventists are the most. Various government sources state the number of Muslims is between 5,000 and 10,000. The country also has small groups of Buddhists, Jews, Hindus and Baha’is. Some Christians, however unclear, combine their faith with santería, magic and/or voodoo.
In the current constitution, which is from 2010, in the introduction God is invoked. The country’s constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, which also works in practice. The constitution does not specify state religion, but in an agreement with the Vatican, Catholicism is established as the official religion, which gives it special privileges, such as state subsidies and customs exemption. By law, Bible reading should be included in school teaching, but this is not followed by all schools.
- Follow abbreviationfinder to see what is the meaning of DR in geography. It can stand for Dominican Republic. Click this site to see other possible meanings of this acronym.
The following days are national religious holidays: thirteenth day of Christmas, Good Friday and Corpus Christi, and Día de la Altagracia (national holiday January 21 for the Dominicans protector, Virgin Mary) and Virgen de la Merced/Nuestra Señora de Mercedes (‘Virgin Mary’s Day’, another maria day, September 24).
Santiago de los Caballeros
Santiago de los Caballeros, [- ka a jer ɔ s], provincial capital of the north of the Dominican Republic, with (most recently collected 2010) 550,800 residents, the second largest city in the country.
Catholic Archbishop’s Seat; Catholic University, TU; Tobacco museum; Center of the Cibao basin; Cigar and rum production and processing of other agricultural products; Airfield.
Founded in 1494/95.
La Romana
La Romana, provincial capital in the southeast of the Dominican Republic, (last surveyed 2010) 224,900 residents.
Port with a free production zone.
San Pedro de Macorís
San Pedro de Macorís, [sam Pedro], provincial capital in southeastern Dominican Republic, (last raised in 2010) 185 300 residents.
University; Sugar, cement industry, livestock trade; important port of export on the Caribbean Sea.