Dominican Republic 🇩🇴
Dominican Republic is a country in North America with a population of 11,228,821. Its capital is Santo Domingo. The official currency is DOP, and the main languages are Spanish.
Quick facts
- Capital: Santo Domingo
- Continent: North America
- Population: 11,228,821
- Area: 48,671 km²
- Density: 231 people per km²
- Currency: DOP
- Languages: Spanish
- ISO code: DO
Where Dominican Republic sits
Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 is one of 23 countries in North America, with its capital at Santo Domingo. It covers 48,671 square kilometres — 128th in the world — and is home to about 11,228,821 people, 84th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include United States, Mexico, Canada, Guatemala and Haiti. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Dominican Republic compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Dominican Republic sits closest to Cuba and Jordan. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Slovakia and Costa Rica.
At 231 people per square kilometre it is about 3.9 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Spanish is an official language in 20 countries here, among them Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Colombia, and 15 others. The DOP is used by Dominican Republic and no one else.
To see Dominican Republic next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo, founded by the Spanish in 1496, calls itself the 'First City of America'. Remember the order of the island: Haiti in the west, the Dominican Republic in the east, and the capital on the south coast of the bigger, eastern part.
The flag of Dominican Republic: blue, red and white
🇩🇴 The flag is a white cross that divides the flag into four rectangles, blue and red on top and red and blue below, with a small coat of arms in the centre showing an open Bible. Blue stands for liberty, white for salvation and red for the blood of the country's heroes. The motto on the coat of arms reads 'Dios, Patria, Libertad' (God, Fatherland, Liberty).
Region and neighbours
Dominican Republic is a Caribbean country on the eastern five-eighths of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. It shares land borders with one country: Haiti.
- Haiti 🇭🇹 — capital Port-au-Prince
Three facts about Dominican Republic
- Hispaniola is one of only two islands in the Caribbean shared by two countries. The other is Saint Martin.
- The country has both the Caribbean's tallest mountain, Pico Duarte, and its largest lake and lowest point, Lake Enriquillo.
- Santo Domingo is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas.
Sources: Wikipedia: Dominican Republic, Wikipedia: Flag of the Dominican Republic, Wikipedia: Santo Domingo, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Dominican Republic
- North American capitals quiz — match Dominican Republic to Santo Domingo
- North American flags quiz — spot the Dominican Republic flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Dominican Republic
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Dominican Republic those are:
- North America map quiz — place it on a blank map
- North America flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- North America capitals quiz — match it to Santo Domingo
- Dominican Republic capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Dominican Republic
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Dominican Republic
- Capital of Dominican Republic: Santo Domingo — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 23 countries of North America
Nearby countries
- Antigua and Barbuda 🇦🇬 — capital Saint John's
- Bahamas 🇧🇸 — capital Nassau
- Barbados 🇧🇧 — capital Bridgetown
- Belize 🇧🇿 — capital Belmopan
- Canada 🇨🇦 — capital Ottawa
- Costa Rica 🇨🇷 — capital San José
- Cuba 🇨🇺 — capital Havana
- Dominica 🇩🇲 — capital Roseau
- El Salvador 🇸🇻 — capital San Salvador
- Grenada 🇬🇩 — capital Saint George's
- Guatemala 🇬🇹 — capital Guatemala City
- Haiti 🇭🇹 — capital Port-au-Prince
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Dominican Republic flag?
The flag of Dominican Republic is a white cross that divides the flag into four rectangles, blue and red on top and red and blue below, with a small coat of arms in the centre showing an open Bible. Blue stands for liberty, white for salvation and red for the blood of the country's heroes. The motto on the coat of arms reads 'Dios, Patria, Libertad' (God, Fatherland, Liberty).
Which countries border Dominican Republic?
Dominican Republic shares land borders with Haiti.
How can I remember the capital of Dominican Republic?
Santo Domingo, founded by the Spanish in 1496, calls itself the 'First City of America'. Remember the order of the island: Haiti in the west, the Dominican Republic in the east, and the capital on the south coast of the bigger, eastern part.