República Dominicana (Sovereign Nation, aka Dominican Republic)

The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The country’s year-round golf courses and picture perfect beaches are among the top attractions on the island. The Dominican Republic’s busiest airport, and the Caribbean’s fastest growing, is Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ). Punta Cana International Airport is serviced by 53 airlines which accounted for nearly 7 million passengers in 2016. Baseball is king in the Dominican Republic, and home of many Major League Baseball stars.

Christopher Columbus landed on the island on December 5, 1492, which the native Taíno people had inhabited since the 7th century. The colony of Santo Domingo became the site of the first permanent European settlemnent in the Americas, 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 Dominican Republic is the second-largest Caribbean nation by area (after Cuba) at 48,445 square kilometers (18,705 sq mi), and third by population with approximately 10 million people. In this mountainous land is located the Caribbean’s highest mountain, Pico Duarte, and its Lake Enriquillo is the Caribbean’s largest lake and lowest elevation. It has an average temperature of 26 °C (78.8 °F) and great biological diversity. Music and sport are of great importance in the Dominican culture, with Merengue and Bachata as the national dance and music, and baseball as the favorite sport. The Dominican Republic has the ninth largest economy in Latin America and the second largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region.