Country's codes
International phone code for Dominican Republic: +1 809
Olympic country code: DOM,Useful country information
Land area: 18,680 sq mi (48,381 sq km); total area: 18,815 sq mi (48,730 sq km)
Population (2016 est.): 10.65 million.
Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Santo Domingo, 2.191 million
Other large city: Santiago de los Caballeros, 501,800
Monetary unit: Dominican Peso
National name: Repblica Dominicana
Language: Spanish
Ethnicity/race: mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%
National Holiday: Independence Day, February 27
Religion: Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
Literacy rate: 90.1%
The Dominican Republic forms the eastern two-thirds, and Haiti the remainder of the Hispaniola island, formerly known as Santo Domingo.
In pre-columbian times the island was inhabited by Tainos, an Arawak-speaking people. In 1492 C. Columbus discovered the island and claimed it immediately for the Spanish Crown. It was then occupied by the usual ruling forces of that time, the Spanish and the French. The not so friendly colonizers reduced the Taino population from about 1 million to about 500 within 50 years.
Today Dominican Republic is inhabited mostly by people of mixed European and African origins. The African heritage is reflected most noticeably in the music, the merengue. The country is a main tourist destination of the region.