Dominican Republic facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dominican Republic
República Dominicana (Spanish)
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 Coat of arms
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Motto: "Dios, Patria, Libertad" (Spanish)
"God, Homeland, Freedom" |
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Anthem: Quisqueyanos valientes
Valiant Quisqueyans |
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| Capital and largest city
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Santo Domingo 19°00′N 70°40′W / 19.000°N 70.667°W |
| Official languages | Spanish |
| Other spoken languages | See below |
| Ethnic groups
(2021)
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| Religion
(2020)
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| Demonym(s) | Dominican Quisqueyan (colloquial) |
| Government | Unitary presidential republic |
| Luis Abinader | |
| Raquel Peña de Antuña | |
| Legislature | Congress |
| Senate | |
| Chamber of Deputies | |
| Formation | |
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• Ephemeral Independence
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1821–1822 |
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• First Republic
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1844–1861 |
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• Second Republic
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1865–1916 |
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• Third Republic
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1924–1965 |
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• Fourth Republic
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1966–present |
| Area | |
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• Total
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48,671 km2 (18,792 sq mi) (128th) |
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• Water (%)
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0.7 |
| Population | |
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• 2024 estimate
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 11,434,005 (88th) |
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• Density
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220/km2 (569.8/sq mi) (65th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate |
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• Total
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$294.562 billion (64th) |
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• Per capita
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$27,231 (67th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate |
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• Total
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$127.913 billion (64th) |
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• Per capita
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$11,825 (74th) |
| Gini (2022) | ▼ 37 medium |
| HDI (2022) | 0.766 high · 82nd |
| Currency | Dominican peso (DOP) |
| Time zone | UTC – 4:00 (Atlantic Standard Time) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +1-809, +1-829, +1-849 |
| ISO 3166 code | DO |
| Internet TLD | .do |
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Sources for area, capital, coat of arms, coordinates, flag, language, motto and names:
For an alternate area figure of 48,730 km2 (18,810 sq mi), calling code 809 and Internet TLD: |
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The Dominican Republic (Spanish: República Dominicana) is a country on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola; the other country on the island is Haiti. Its capital, and largest city, is Santo Domingo. The national language is Spanish.
The country was part of the Spanish empire until the late 18th century. In the 19th century France, Spain and Haiti controlled it at various times, and later it was independent. It was occupied by the United States from 1916 to 1924. The Dominican Republic is a presidential democratic republic. The country has a tropical climate but modified by elevation and the trade winds (winds that come from the northeast, from the Atlantic Ocean).
Contents
History
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The island of Hispaniola was discovered by Christopher Columbus on 5 December 1492, but the first time that he saw part of the present Dominican Republic was on 4 January 1493 when he saw a headland that he named Monte Cristi ("Mountain of Christ"). That mountain is called now El Morro and is near the city of Monte Cristi.
From Monte Cristi, Columbus went east along the north coast of the island and on 6 January, after visiting the Samaná Bay, he went back to Spain. In his second trip to America, he founded the first European city in the continent, La Isabela, near the present city of Puerto Plata.
Later, Bartholomew Columbus founded the city of Santo Domingo, the oldest permanent European city in the Americas. From here, many Spaniards went to conquer other islands (Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico). Because Cuba was closer to the continent, many people moved there from Hispaniola, and then to the continent. Because of that, the population of the island grew very slowly. By the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, Spain gave the western third of the island to France and kept the eastern part, and so the island had two different colonies: the French Saint-Domingue and the Spanish Santo Domingo. In 1795, France got the whole island but they could only control the eastern part because Haiti became independent very soon. In 1809, the French government gave back the old colony of "Santo Domingo" to Spain.
On 1 December 1821, the Spanish lieutenant governor José Núñez de Cáceres declared the independence from Spain. The new country had the name Estado Independiente del Haití Español ("Independent State of Spanish Haiti"). But on 9 February 1822, the Haitian army occupied the country and stayed for 22 years. Juan Pablo Duarte founded a secret society, La Trinitaria, to fight for the Dominican independence. The Haitian occupation ended on 27 February 1844, when the inhabitants of the eastern part of the Hispaniola made a new country named República Dominicana ("Dominican Republic"). From 1861 to 1865, the country was again a Spanish colony. On 16 August 1863 began the Restoration War when the Dominicans fought to be free again. That war ended in 1865 when the Spanish left and the Dominican Republic was again an independent country.
The country was occupied by the United States from 1916 to 1924. In 1930, Rafael Trujillo became the president of the country through a coup d'état. Trujillo was a cruel dictator, killing thousands of persons, among them many Haitians. Trujillo was killed in 1961. After the death of Trujillo, Juan Bosch was elected in 1962 and became, in 1963, the first elected president since 1930. But was Bosch was in power for only seven months. In 1965, there was a civil war between those that wanted Bosch back on power and those that were opposed to him.
On April 28, 1965, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, concerned that communists might take over the revolt and create a "second Cuba", sent 24,000 troops into Santo Domingo in Operation Powerpack. The forces were soon joined by comparatively small contingents from the OAS. US 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.
In 1978, Balaguer was succeeded to the presidency by opposition candidate Antonio Guzmán Fernández, of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD). Balaguer regained the presidency in 1986 and was re-elected in 1990 and 1994.
In 1996, 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. His administration supported the process of modernizing the judicial system, making transparent the creation of an independent Supreme Court of Justice. Efforts were also made to reform and modernize the other state bodies. In addition, relations with Cuba were reestablished and the Free Trade Agreement with Central America was signed, which was the genesis for the signing of DR-CAFTA.
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.
Government
The Dominican Republic is a presidential democratic republic. The government is divided in three branches: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. The Executive branch is made up of the President, the Vice President and the Ministers who are called Secretaries of State. The President is chief of state and head of government and is elected every 4 years. He nominates the cabinet.
The Legislative branch makes the laws and is made up of the Congress, which is in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. The Congress is divided into two groups: the Senate, with 32 members (one for every province and one for the National District), and the Chamber of Deputies with 178 members.
The Judicial branch is made up of the courts of the country, including the Supreme Court of Justice.
Politics
The Dominican Republic is a constitutional democracy ruled by a president. The president is elected every 4 years.
There are 3 important political parties in the Dominican Republic:
- PRD: the Dominican Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Revolucionario Dominicano). The PRD is a somewhat socialist party. The party was founded in 1939 in Havana, Cuba. It was then established in the Dominican Republic in 1961.
- PRSC: the Social Christian Reformist Party (Spanish: Partido Reformista Social Cristiano). It is a conservative party founded in 1964 by Joaquín Balager, who was President of the Republic from 1966-78 and 1986-96.
- PLD: the Dominican Liberation Party (Spanish: Partido de la Liberación Dominicana) was somewhat socialist when it was founded in 1973; currently it's a liberal party.
The land
There are several mountain chains in the Dominican Republic. The four main chains, from North to South, are:
- Cordillera Septentrional (in English, "Northern mountain range"), close to the Atlantic Ocean.
- Cordillera Central (in English, "Central mountain range") that continues into northern Haiti where it is called Massif du Nord. The highest mountains of the West Indies are in this chain; Pico Duarte, with 3,087 m, is the highest. The main rivers of the Hispaniola have their sources in this mountain range.
- Sierra de Neiba.
- Sierra de Bahoruco, known in Haití as Massif de la Selle.
Between those mountains, there are several important valleys, such as:
- The Cibao Valley (Dominican Republic) is the largest and most important valley of the country. This long valley stretches from North Haiti to Samaná Bay, south of the Cordillera Septentrional.
- The San Juan Valley and Plain of Azua are big valleys south of the Cordillera Central.
- The Hoya de Enriquillo or Neiba Valley is a very arid valley south of Sierra de Neiba.
- Llano Costero del Caribe (in English, "Caribbean Coastal Plain") is in the southeast of the country. It is a large prairie east of Santo Domingo. There are very important sugar cane plantations in this plain.
There are other smaller valleys in the mountains: Constanza, Jarabacoa, Bonao, Villa Altagracia.
The four most important rivers of the Dominican Republic are Yaque del Norte, Yuna, Yaque del Sur and Ozama. There are many lakes; the largest is the Lake Enriquillo, in the Hoya de Enriquillo.
The country has a tropical climate but modified by elevation and the trade winds (winds that come from the northeast, from the Atlantic Ocean). At sea level, the average temperature is 25 °C, with small changes from one season to another. In the highest mountains, the temperature in winter can be as low as 0 °C.
There are two wet seasons: April-June and September-November. The most dry period is from December to March. Rainfall varies greatly; eastern regions, like the Samaná Peninsula, get an average of over 2,000 mm in a year, but less than 500 mm fall in the southwest (Hoya de Enriquillo).
From June to November, hurricanes are frequent and can do much damage in the island.
People
The Dominican Republic has a total population, estimated for July 2009, of 9,650,054 inhabitants, for a density of 236.30 inhabitants per km².
About 64% of Dominicans live in cities and towns and 87% of people that are 15 years old or more can read and write.
The two largest cities are Santo Domingo (the capital city) with 1,817,754 inhabitants, and Santiago, in the Cibao Valley and with 908,250 inhabitants.
Provinces
The Dominican Republic is divided into 31 provinces. The national capital Santo Domingo de Guzmán is in the Distrito National that is like a province and elects one Senator.
The provinces are:
Economy
The Dominican Republic has a mixed economy based mainly on agriculture, services (including tourism and finance), trade and money sent from the many Dominicans that live in other countries (United States, Europe). Agricultural production (mainly sugarcane, with smaller amounts of coffee, cacao, and tobacco) was the main economic activity but now is in third place after tourism and manufacturing in zonas francas ("free zones" where the industries do not pay taxes and all the production is sent to other countries).
Mining is also important, mainly ferronickel (nickel with iron) and gold.
The Dominican Republic suffers from poverty, with 83.3% of the population living below the poverty line in 2012. The wealth distribution is uneven: the richest 10% gets nearly 40% of national income.
Culture
The culture of the Dominican Republic, like in other Caribbean countries, is a mix of Taíno, African and European (mainly Spanish) cultures.
There are not many Taíno traditions in the modern Dominican culture; many places keep their Taíno names: Dajabón, Bánica, Haina, Yaque, Samaná, etc. Also many objects, plants and animals have a Taíno origin and their names have been included in other languages; for example: canoa (canoe, a small boat), hamaca (hammock, a simple bed), maíz (maize, corn), yuca (cassava, that comes from the Taíno word casabe, a kind of cassava bread eaten in the Caribbean), and batata (sweet potato).
That mix of different traditions created a culture that is known as Creole (in Spanish: Criolla), common to all countries in the Caribbean, Louisiana and some parts of South America and Central America.
Languages
In the Dominican Republic, only Spanish is spoken, however; there are 3 major languages that are also spoken such as Haitian Creole, Samana English, and the West African Yoruba language known as Lucumi spoken by few. There is a local dialect or patois which is spoken by all Dominicans - see Dominican Spanish Creole.
Religions
The official religion is Roman Catholicism but there is freedom of religion. Protestant groups are important, representing about 15% of the total population. Each year major festivities called fiestas patronales are held. They are Catholic festivities in honor of the Patron saints of the towns and villages; it is a Spanish tradition to associate every town with a Catholic saint. The festivities includes church services, street parades, fire works, dance contests and other activities. Dominican Voodoo or Santeria is also practiced in large numbers as well as Dominican Palo, Dominican Kongo religion, and others.
African influences have the strongest influences in Dominican culture, especially in language, religion, food, and music.
Related pages
- Dominican Republic at the Olympics
- Dominican Republic national football team
- List of rivers of the Dominican Republic
Images for kids
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St Dominic, the patron saint of astronomers.
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The five caciquedoms of Hispaniola
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The Spanish Caribbean in 1600
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National pantheon in Santo Domingo built from 1714 to 1746
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Contemporary map showing the border situation on Hispaniola following the Treaty of Aranjuez (1777)
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Hispaniola
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Battle of Las Carreras (April 21, 1849)
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Pedro Santana is sworn in as governor-general of the new Spanish province
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Battle of Monte Cristi (1864)
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President Alejandro Woss y Gil taking office in 1903
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The United States Marine Corps landing on Dominican soil in 1916
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Marines of the 4th regiment with a captured rebel "spray gun" at Santiago
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The flag of the United States waving over Ozama Fortress during the U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic, c. 1922
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Rafael Trujillo imposed a dictatorship of 31 years in the country (1930–1961)
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Destruction of Santo Domingo after the 1930 hurricane
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Juan Bosch, the first democratically elected president after the regime of Rafael Trujillo
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A Marine heavy machine gunner monitors activity from a street barricade in Santo Domingo
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Leonel Fernández was president from 1996–2000 & 2004–2012.
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Danilo Medina was president from 2012–2020.
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2020 Dominican Republic municipal elections protests in Plaza de La Bandera, Santo Domingo.
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Luis Abinader, the current president of the Dominican Republic since 2020.
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Constanza valley
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Mangroves in Los Haitises National Park
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There are numerous waterfalls across Dominican Republic. In the image the Salto del Limón
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View of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic capital city.
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Cabeza de Toro beach, Punta Cana
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Teleférico de Santo Domingo
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27 de febrero avenue in Santo Domingo.
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A pair of 9000 series are tested on the Santo Domingo Metro.
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The Dominican Republic's population (1961–2003)
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Population pyramid in 2020
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Dominican Republic people in the town of Moca
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The Gothic Cathedral of Santa María la Menor, Santo Domingo, is the oldest cathedral in the Americas, built between 1514 and 1541
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Family of Japanese descent in Constanza's neighbourhood of Colonia Japonesa
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A satellite image of the border between the denuded landscape of Haiti (left) and the Dominican Republic (right), highlighting the deforestation on the Haitian side
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Dominicans and Haitians lined up to attend medical providers from the U.S. Army Reserve
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Haitian workers being transported in Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic.
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Kids taking classes
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Campesino cibaeño, 1941 (Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo)
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Church and Convent, Colonial Santo Domingo.
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Tostones, a fried plantain dish
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Merengue and Bachata are both music genres native to Dominican Republic, popular and traditional in Latin America. In the image two icons of these genres Juan Luis Guerra and Romeo Santos
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Dominican native, fashion designer and perfume maker Oscar de la Renta
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Bayahibe Rose
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Dominican native and Major League Baseball player Albert Pujols
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See also
In Spanish: República Dominicana para niños
