MissionQuest
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| The Dominican Republic: Fact Sheet | ||||
| The Dominican Republic is the country that makes up the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. Haiti covers the island's western end. The Dominican Republic is in the West Indies island group, about 575 miles (925 kilometers) southeast of Miami, Florida. The country is a land of fertile valleys and forested mountains. Santo Domingo, a busy port city, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic. The country's name in Spanish, the official language, is Republica Dominicana. Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola in 1492. Some historians believe he is buried on that island in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. Most Dominicans speak Spanish and follow other ways of life brought to their island from Spain. The early Spanish colonists nearly wiped out the Indians who lived on the island before the Spaniards arrived. African influence, which came to the country chiefly by way of Haiti, is strong. In Haiti, most of the people are descendants of slaves from Africa. About 75 percent of the people are of mixed black and white descent. About 10 percent are black, and about 15 percent white. Some descendants of ex-slaves from the United States live near Samana Bay in the northeast. A small group of European Jews settled near Puerto Plata in the north about 1940. Current population is 8,495,000. Most Dominicans are Roman Catholic (95%). Some people who live near the Haitian border practice voodoo religions. Most Dominicans who live in rural areas work on farms. Some own small farms and raise their own food. They sell some of what they raise to buy clothing, household goods, and other items. Other Dominican farmers work for wages on large plantations, especially sugar plantations. Many Dominican farmers live in two-room shacks that have thatched roofs and dirt floors. Most city dwellers earn a living as factory workers, as government employees, or by fishing. Many of them live in crowded, old Spanish-style apartment buildings. Dominicans dress in much the same way as people in the United States. The Dominican Republic has a warm, tropical climate all year. Temperatures vary little and seldom go below 60o F (16o C) or above 90o F (32o C). The country averages about 60 inches (150 centimeters) of rainfall a year. The rainy season lasts from May to November in the south and from December to April in the north. Hurricanes sometimes strike the Dominican Republic. Contributor: Gary Brana-Shute, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Latin-American and Caribbean Studies, Foreign Service Institute, Washington, D.C.
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