Introduction
The Dominican Republic is a North American country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with Haiti, making Hispaniola one of only two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that is shared by two sovereign states. It is the second-largest nation in the Antilles by area (after Cuba) at 48,671 square kilometers (18,792 sq mi), and second-largest by population, with approximately 11.4 million people in 2024, of whom approximately 3.6 million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city. 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 Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The year-round golf courses and resorts are major attractions. 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, castle, monastery, and fortress built in the Americas, located in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, a World Heritage Site. (Full article...) Selected article -The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The Lucayan branch of the Taíno were the first New World peoples encountered by Christopher Columbus, in the Bahama Archipelago on October 12, 1492. The Taíno spoke a dialect of the Arawakan language group. They lived in agricultural societies ruled by caciques with fixed settlements and a matrilineal system of kinship and inheritance. Taíno religion centered on the worship of zemis. Some anthropologists and historians have argued that the Taíno were no longer extant centuries ago, or they gradually merged into a common identity with African and Hispanic cultures. However, many people today identify as Taíno or claim Taíno descent, most notably in subsections of the Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican nationalities. Many Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Dominicans have Taíno mitochondrial DNA, showing that they are descendants through the direct female line. While some communities claim an unbroken cultural heritage passed down from the old Taíno peoples, others are revivalist communities who seek to incorporate Taíno culture into their lives. (Full article...)General images -The following are images from various Dominican Republic-related articles on Wikipedia.
Selected picture -![]() Credit: Tamas Iklodi A beach on Saona Island, a tropical island located a short distance from the mainland on the south-east tip of the Dominican Republic.
Selected biography -Yamilet Peña Abreu (born 4 December 1992 in Santo Domingo) is an elite artistic gymnast from the Dominican Republic who won a gold medal at the 2014 World Challenge Cup and the 2012 Pan American Championship in vault and a bronze medal at the 2012 World Cup. She is known for her execution of the Produnova—a handspring double front on vault. She qualified for the vault finals at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2011 and the 2013 World Championships. Peña won a silver medal in vault during the IV ALBA Games and qualified for the finals in the same apparatus at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games and the 2011 Pan American Games. Peña won the women's artistic gymnastics Athlete of the Year by the Dominican Republic Olympic Committee from 2008 to 2013. (Full article...)Related portalsWikiProjects![]()
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