Dominican Republic Maria Cabrera August, 2016

Dominican Republic Geography / History Economy Tourism Culture

Geography / History The DR is located on the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola. Is the second largest country in the Caribbean region, with 48,442 Km2, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the north and the Caribbean Sea on the south. The current population is about 10 million.

Geography / History It was discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus and it became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas. Is the site of the first cathedral, castle, monastery, university and fortress built in all of the Americas, located in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, an area declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990.

Economy Over the last two decades, the DR has been standing out as one of the fastest economies in the Americas - with an average real GDP growth rate of 5.4% between 1992 and 2014. In 2015 the GDP was US$ 67 billion and the inflation rate 0.8%. Recent growth has been driven by construction, manufacturing and tourism. First World Exporter of Cigars First Exporter of LAC of cotton knitwear For the U.S., the second largest supplier of Flossing and Raw Sugar and the fifth largest supplier of leather footwear for men. For the EU, the fifth largest supplier of Rum and the second to Spain, also the second largest supplier of organic banana to UK and Sweden and the first exporter of tobacco to Spain.

Tourism The DR is one of the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean. In 2015 received 5.6 million tourists. The #1 destination for golf in the LAC Region. The main tourist destinations in the country are: Santo Domingo - Colonial City Punta Cana (Main tourist destination and premier golf destination) Puerto Plata (Mecca for water sports) La Romana (The City of Artits) Barahona (“Pearl of the South” and “Natural Wonder”).

Culture Baseball is by far the most popular sport. The Dominican culture is the result of the fusion of European, African and Taino traditions. The official language is Spanish. Predominant religion is Catholic (80% of population). Musically, the DR is mostly known for Merengue and Bachata. Baseball is by far the most popular sport. Each February are held Carnival celebrations with parades, street dancing, food festivals, and music.

Culture Dominican cuisine resembles that of other countries in LA (Puerto Rico and Cuba, most of all) though the dish names may differ. La Bandera ("The Flag"), consists of rice, red beans and meat and salad. Other Dominican dishes are tostones (fried plantain), pastel en hoja, sancocho and rice pudding. Some of the Dominican beverages people enjoy the most are coconut water, rum, beer and mabí (beverage made from the fermented bark of the behuco indio tree).

Thank you!