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Dominican Republic
Hispaniola's larger half, with the Caribbean's highest peak
The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, the island it shares with Haiti, and is the most-visited destination in the Caribbean. Around eleven million people live in a country of beach resorts, baseball academies, merengue and bachata, and a mountainous interior that holds the highest peak in all the Antilles. From the colonial heart of Santo Domingo, the oldest continuously inhabited European city in the Americas, to the all-inclusive coast of Punta Cana, it blends deep history with a booming tourist economy.
The island's interior is surprisingly alpine: the Cordillera Central rises to Pico Duarte at 3,101 meters, the tallest mountain in the Caribbean, with pine forests and even occasional frost. Fertile valleys like the Cibao grow much of the nation's food, while coastal plains and reef-lined beaches ring the country. Lake Enriquillo, a salt lake below sea level, is the region's lowest point. The tropical climate brings a hurricane risk to the eastern Caribbean.
Founded as Spain's first New World colony in 1492, the country endured Haitian rule, dictatorship under Trujillo, and US interventions before stabilizing into a democracy. Tourism, mining of gold and ferronickel, free-trade-zone manufacturing, and remittances now power one of the region's fastest-growing economies. Migration, its complex relationship with Haiti, and tourism dependence shape contemporary life.