Is The Dominican Republic A Country?

The Dominican Republic is a country in the Caribbean. A country is a geographic region with a distinct national entity, political characteristics, legal jurisdiction, and defined boundaries. A country might be sovereign or occupied by another country. Most countries are sovereign states that govern themselves. A country is formed by the merger of several states, separation from another country, or the ownership of unclaimed land.

Is The Dominican Republic A Country?

The Dominican Republic is a sovereign country on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. It is a different country from Dominica which is an island state in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. The state occupies an area of 18,705 sq miles which is about five-eighths of the islands of Hispaniola which it shares with Haiti. The Dominican Republic is inhabited by about 10.3 million people which is twice the population of Norway, inhabiting a seventh of the country. The state has the largest economy in Central and Caribbean America and the ninth largest in Latin America. It is a Democratic Republic; the government consists of the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature. The president is the head of state and government, commander-in-chief, and has the responsibility of appointing the cabinet. The legislature consists of the Senate that has 32 members and the chamber of deputies that comprises of 178 members.

Independence And Occupation

The indigenous Tainos inhabited the island of Hispaniola before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Thirty years after the arrival of the Europeans, the indigenous population had been wiped out by slavery and European diseases. Hispaniola was occupied by the French and Spanish who transported thousands of African slaves to work on plantations. In 1804, Haiti gained independence and became the first majority Black Country outside Africa. In 1821, the Dominican Republic gained independence from Spain but was subsequently invaded and occupied by Haiti for two decades. On 27 February 1844, the Dominican Republic declared independence from Haiti and the day became the official independence date of the country. Between 1924 and 1965, the United States developed an interest in the Dominican Republic and was heavily involved in the internal affairs of the state.

Present Day Dominican Republic

Although the country experienced political and economic instability in the first half of the 20th century, it is among the most peaceful states in the modern world. It is the most visited country in the Caribbean because of the diverse geographic features and cool climate. Santo Domingo is the capital city and home to about 3 million. Pico Duarte is the largest mountain in the Caribbean while Lake Enriquillo is the largest. The Dominican Republic has a GDP of $81.653 billion and a per capita income of $7,932