Dominican Republic

The main language spoken in the Dominican Republic is:
Spanish - the sole official language, spoken by nearly the entire population.
English is a common second language, particularly in tourism and business.
Spanish is the sole official language of the Dominican Republic.

Geography

Location: Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, shares island with Haiti

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 48,670-48,730 sq km

Land boundaries:
border countries: Haiti

People

Population: 10,899,292-11,532,151 (2025 est.)

Nationality:
noun/adjective: Dominican(s)

Ethnic groups: mixed African, Indigenous, and/or European descent 70.4%, Black 15.8%, White 13.5% (2014 est.)

Religions: predominantly Roman Catholic, with a growing Protestant minority

Languages: Spanish (official); English is a common second language

Population distribution: Santo Domingo, the capital, is the largest city, with a metropolitan-area population of 3.524 million (2023)

Government

Country name:
conventional short form: Dominican Republic

Data code: DR

Government type: presidential republic

National capital: Santo Domingo

Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)

Economy

Economy - overview: economic growth has significantly outpaced the regional average over the past two decades, lifting nearly 3 million people out of poverty; the middle class now exceeds the poor population; the country is pursuing a goal to become a high-income nation by 2036; growth driven by tourism, gold mining, remittances, and foreign direct investment

GDP (purchasing power parity): $353.73 billion (2026 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.0% (2025); projected 4.5% (2026) and 4.9% (2027)

GDP - per capita: $32,230 PPP (2026 est.)

Population below poverty line: 23.9% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 5.278 million (2022 est.)

Unemployment rate: 7.1% (2022 est.)

Industries: ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco, sugar production, tourism

Exports: $11 billion (2019 est.); ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco

Exports - partners: United States 50.8%, Haiti 11.8%, Switzerland 10%, India 7.5% (2017 est.)

Currency: Dominican peso (DOP)

Military

Military - note: the military has a significant internal security role in addition to national defense, including airport/border/port security, disaster relief, and countering transnational crime; a key focus is securing the roughly 217-mile (350 km) border with Haiti, where thousands of troops have been assigned to assist security alongside the Border Security Corps