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The Dominican Republic, (Spanish: República Dominicana, IPA [re'puβlika domini'kana]) is a country located on the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, bordering Haiti. Hispaniola is the second-largest of the Greater Antilles islands, and lies west of Puerto Rico and east of Cuba and Jamaica. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule lasted for much of the 20th century; the move towards representative democracy has improved vastly since the death of military dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in 1961. Dominicans sometimes refer to their country as Quisqueya, a name for Hispaniola used by indigenous Taíno people meaning "high land", referring to the highest portion of the island of Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic is not to be confused with Dominica, another Caribbean country

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The country is a Tropical maritime nation, with a wet season from May to November, and periodic Hurricanes between June and November. Most rain falls in the Northern and Eastern regions. The average rainfall is 1346 mm, with extremes of 2500 mm in the North-east and 500 mm in the West.

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The Dominican Republic is a Hispanic country, therefore, as with all Hispanic countries in the Americas, its culture has many elements which originate in Spain but also the culture is blended with African and indigenous American cultural elements. Castilian Spanish is the National language, but other languages such as English, French, German and Italian are present. African cultural elements are most prominent in musical expressions and the carnival vibe of life, testimony to the rich African heritage that existed before and after slavery, but was not allowed to be practiced during it. While Taino cultural elements exist mostly in foods such as Casabe (a type of tortilla but made using Casava instead of corn) and language. More recent Antillean and Anglo-American influences also exist. Near the border between Haiti and Dominican Republic, some people practice santaria.

Baseball is by far the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic and there are many famous Dominicans who play ...

... Eighty-nine percent of Dominicans are baptised in the Roman Catholic Church. Other substantial religious groups are the Evangelical Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Around one percent of the nation's inhabitants practice pure spiritism.
Every year, tens of thousands of Catholics make the pilgrimage to Higuey to celebrate the Virgin de la Altagracia in late January. The main historical element in Higuey is the cathedral, home of the “virgin de la Altagracia” a painting brought by the Spaniards in the late 15th

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