The Dominican Republic is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north. Geographically, the Dominican Republic is part of the North American continent. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with Haiti, making Hispaniola one of only two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that is shared by two sovereign states. It is the second-largest nation in the Antilles by area (after Cuba) at 48,671 square kilometers (18,792 sq mi), and second-largest by population, with approximately 11.4 million people in 2024, of whom approximately 3.6 million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.
The Dominican Republic has the largest economy (according to the U.S. State Department and the World Bank) in the Caribbean region and is the seventh-largest economy in Latin America. Over the last 25 years, the Dominican Republic has had the fastest-growing economy in the Western Hemisphere – with an average real GDP growth rate of 5.3% between 1992 and 2018. GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 reached 7.3 and 7.0%, respectively, the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Recent growth has been driven by construction, manufacturing, tourism, and mining. The country is the site of the third largest (in terms of production) gold mine in the world, the Pueblo Viejo mine.
The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The year-round golf courses and resorts are major attractions. A geographically diverse nation, the Dominican Republic is home to both the Caribbean's tallest mountain peak, Pico Duarte, and the Caribbean's largest lake and lowest point, Lake Enriquillo. The island has an average temperature of 26 °C (78.8 °F) and great climatic and biological diversity. The country is also the site of the first cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress built in the Americas, located in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, a World Heritage Site. (Full article...)
From top to bottom, from left to right: Panoramic Image of the City, Fortaleza Ozama, Parque a Colón, Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), Obelisk of George Washington Avenue (the Malecón), The National Palace of the Dominican Republic, Las Américas International Airport.
Image 14Despite the slowing in economic growth, the economy of the Dominican Republic has far surpassed that of its neighbour Haiti from the 1970s onwards (from History of the Dominican Republic)
Image 26A bohío near Santo Domingo. Many Dominicans —especially those in rural areas— used to live in bohíos until well into the mid-20th century, like the native Taínos. (from Culture of the Dominican Republic)
Image 33A group of peasant guerillas, known as gavilleros, who fought against the U.S. Marine occupation of the Dominican Republic (from History of the Dominican Republic)
Image 40A mass rally in China in 1966 in solidarity with the Dominican Republic Constitutionalists against the United States, with numerous slogans visible in the picture, recognizable ones being "U.S. imperialism out of the Dominican Republic! Out of Latin America! Out of Vietnam! Out of our territory, Taiwan! (from History of the Dominican Republic)
Julia Alvarez (born March 27, 1950) is an American New Formalist poet, novelist, and essayist. She rose to prominence with the novels How the García Girls Lost Their Accents (1991), In the Time of the Butterflies (1994), and Yo! (1997). Her publications as a poet include Homecoming (1984) and The Woman I Kept to Myself (2004), and as an essayist the autobiographical compilation Something to Declare (1998). She has achieved critical and commercial success on an international scale and many literary critics regard her to be one of the most significant contemporary Latina writers.
Julia Alvarez has also written several books for younger readers. Her first picture book for children was "The Secret Footprints" published in 2002. Alvarez has gone on to write several other books for young readers, including the "Tía Lola" book series. (Full article...)
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