The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries, Saint Martin being the other. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442 km² and an estimated 10 mi...llion people.

Inhabited by Taínos since the seventh century, what is now the Dominican Republic was reached by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. In Santo Domingo stand, among other firsts in the Americas, the first university, cathedral, and castle, the latter two in the Ciudad Colonial area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Dominican Republic has also adopted a liberal economic model, which has made it perhaps the largest economy in the region. Though long known for sugar production, the economy is now dominated by services. The country's economic progress is exemplified by its advanced telecommunication system. Nevertheless, unemployment, government corruption, income maldistribution, and inconsistent electric service remain major Dominican problems.

The Dominican Republic has become the Caribbean's second largest tourist destination after Puerto Rico; the country's year–round golf courses are among the top attractions. In this mountainous country is located the Caribbean's highest mountain, Pico Duarte, as is Lake Enriquillo, the Caribbean's largest lake. Quisqueya, as Dominicans often call their country, has a mild average temperature (26 °C) and is outstanding for its great biological diversity.

Music and sport are of the highest importance in Dominican culture, with merengue music and baseball preferred.

Santo Domingo, or in full, Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, estimated at 2,253,437 in 2006. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River. Founded by Christopher Columbus in 1492, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas, and was the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the New World. Santo Domingo came to be known as the "Gateway to the Caribbean". In 1930, the city of Santo Domingo (excluding the Colonial Zone) was extensively damaged by tropical hurricane San Zenón. President Rafael Trujillo reconstructed the city and named it Ciudad Trujillo after himself. After his assassination in 1961, Ciudad Trujillo once again became Santo Domingo de Guzmán.