Dominican Republic Country Overview
Where is Dominican Republic located? The Dominican Republic is an island country located on the island of Hispaniola, which lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. On the time zone map, the countries along the degrees of longitude are assigned to different world time zones. The classification provides information about how big the time difference between the respective country and the world time (also called UTC) is. The Dominican Republic is located in a zone where the time difference to the world clock is 4 hours. This means that it is always four hours earlier there than in regions where universal time applies (UTC -4).
Bordering Countries of Dominican Republic
According to abbreviationfinder, Dominican Republic is located on the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It is bordered by Haiti to the west and north, and by the Caribbean Sea to the east. To the south lies a small land border with Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. The Dominican Republic has an area of 48,671 square kilometers (18,792 sq mi) and a population of 10 million people, making it one of the most populous countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The country’s geography is diverse, with both mountains and plains. Its climate ranges from tropical in coastal areas to temperate in its central highlands. The capital city Santo Domingo is located on the south coast of Hispaniola Island, home to many cultural attractions including colonial-era buildings such as Alcázar de Colón palace and Catedral Primada de América cathedral. Other major cities include Santiago de los Caballeros in the north-central region and La Romana on the southeast coast near Punta Cana resort area.
The Dominican Republic also shares maritime borders with Cuba to its southeast across Mona Passage and Jamaica to its south across Silver Bank Passage. To its northwest lies Navassa Island which is administered by Haiti but claimed by both countries; it is largely uninhabited except for some small fishing settlements that are sometimes used as smuggling routes between Haiti and Jamaica or Cuba. Further southwest lie several cays belonging to Colombia’s San Andrés y Providencia department such as Serranilla Bank which are also disputed between Haiti and Colombia but remain under Colombian control for now.
Population Distribution
As of 2023, the latest population of Dominican Republic is 10,499,707, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).
| Total population | 10,499,707 |
| Population growth rate | 0.95% |
| Birth rate | 18.40 births per 1,000 people |
| Life expectancy | |
| Overall | 77.62 years |
| Men | 75.44 years |
| Women | 79.88 years |
| Age structure | |
| 0-14 years | 27.56% |
| 15-64 years | 66.51% |
| 65 years and above | 5.92% |
| Median age | 27.40 years |
| Gender ratio (Male to Female) | 1.03 |
| Population density | 215.73 residents per km² |
| Urbanization | 59.30% |
| Ethnicities | |
| 73% European-African, 16% European, 11% African descent | |
| Religions | |
| Catholics (Roman Catholic 95%) Other 5% | |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 0.745 |
| HDI ranking | 89th out of 194 |
People in Dominican Republic
Many of the 10 million residents have African roots, because they are at least partly descended from former slaves who were brought to America from West Africa. However, many of them also have whites or Tainos, the original residents, among their ancestors. Around 15 percent are whites with ancestors from Europe, especially from Spain.
Because the Dominican Republic is economically better off than its neighboring countries, numerous immigrants came from there. About a million people come from Haiti, half of them entered the country illegally. Other immigrants came from Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
- Children: Every woman in the Dominican Republic has an average of 2.2 children. With us, every woman has an average of 1.4 children. So the Dominican families are a bit bigger than ours.
- City and country: 82 percent of the population live in cities. It’s similar to ours (75 percent).
Languages in Dominican Republic
The official language in the Dominican Republic is Spanish. However, it is very different from the Spanish spoken in Spain. For example, other colonial words are used and words that come from English and are then “Spanish”, for example the English switch becomes el suiche. Immigrants from Haiti also brought with them words that have found their way into Dominican Spanish, for example marshé for market.
The pronunciation is also different. An s at the end of a word or syllable is often left out. Dos (two) is then pronounced do. Many Dominicans, especially in the capital, pronounce an r at the end of a syllable like an l. So puerta (door) becomes “puelta”. A d in the middle of a word is often left out: Helado (ice cream) is then pronounced like “ela-o”.
Another language that is spoken is the Haitian Creole language. The immigrants from Haiti bring this language into the country. It is based on the French.
Religions in Dominican Republic
The majority of the population is Catholic. However, their share has decreased. Together with Protestants, however, around 90 percent of Dominicans belong to the Christian faith.