Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic República Dominicana  (Spanish)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Dios, Patria, Libertad" (Spanish) "God, Homeland, Freedom"
Anthem: Quisqueyanos Valientes Valiant Quisqueyans
Capital and largest city	Santo Domingo 19°00′N 70°40′W / 19.000°N 70.667°W / 19.000; -70.667
Official languages	Spanish
Ethnic groups (1960b)	72.9% Mixed 16.1% Whitea 10.9% Black 0.1% Yellow [sic]
Demonym	Dominican
Government	Unitary presidential republic
• President	Danilo Medina
• Vice President	Margarita Cedeño de Fernández
Legislature	Congress
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Independence
• from Spain (ephemeral)	December 1, 1821
• from Haiti (official)	February 27, 1844 (not recognized by Haiti until November 9, 1874)c
• from Spain (restoration)	August 16, 1863 (recognized on March 3, 1865)
• from the United States (occupation)	July 12, 1924
Area
• Total	48,442 km2 (18,704 sq mi) (128th)
• Water (%)	0.7
Population
• 2016 estimate	10,075,045 (88th)
• 2010 census	9,478,612
• Density	197/km2 (510.2/sq mi) (65th)
GDP (PPP)	2016 estimate
• Total	$160.86 billion (72nd)
• Per capita	$15,946 (76th)
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	$71.46 billion (67th)
• Per capita	$7,083 (74th)
Gini (2012)	47.1 high
HDI (2014)	0.715 high · 101st
Currency	Peso (DOP)
Time zone	Standard Time Caribbean (UTC – 4:00)
Drives on the	right
Calling code	+1-809, +1-829, +1-849
ISO 3166 code	DO
Internet TLD	.do
Race was dropped from the census after 1960. Including Arabs as well. A covenant was signed between two commissions from both countries on July 26, 1867, but it did not enter into force because it was not approved by the Senate of Haiti.
Sources for area, capital, coat of arms, coordinates, flag, language, motto and names:  For an alternate area figure of 48,730 km2, calling code 809 and Internet TLD:

Coordinates: 19°00′N 70°40′W / 19.000°N 70.667°W / 19.000; -70.667

The Dominican Republic (Spanish: República Dominicana [reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana]) is a sovereign state occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western one-third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that are shared by two countries. The Dominican Republic is the second-largest Caribbean nation by area (after Cuba) at 48,445 square kilometres (18,705 sq mi), and 3rd by population with 10.08 million people, of which approximately three million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.

Christopher Columbus landed on the Western part of Hispaniola, in what is now Haiti, on December 6, 1492, which the Taíno people had inhabited since the 7th century. The island became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas; and the oldest continuously inhabited city and the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the New World. After more than three hundred years of Spanish rule the Dominican people declared independence in November 1821. The leader of the independence movement José Núñez de Cáceres, intended to unite with the country of Gran Colombia. However, the newly independent Dominicans were forcefully annexed by their more powerful neighbor Haiti in February 1822. After the 1844 victory in the Dominican War of Independence against Haitian rule the country fell again under Spanish colonial rule. The crown was ousted permanently during the Dominican War of Restoration of 1865.