The Dominican Republic is a sovereign state located in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the republic of Haiti. The Dominican Republic is the second-largest country in the Caribbean by area (after Cuba) and fourth-largest in the Americas. With a land area of 48,445 square kilometers (18,705 sq mi), it is also the largest country in the Antilles by area. The Dominican Republic is the most populous country in the Caribbean with an estimated 10 million people in 2019, of which approximately 3.3 million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.

The Dominican Republic is a middle-income developing country primarily dependent on agriculture, mining, trade, and services. The economy has been growing steadily since the mid-1990s. The Dominican Republic is the largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region and is the eighth largest economy in Latin America. GDP growth averaged 6.2% in 2007–08 before the global financial crisis of 2009 struck. The economy shrank by 3.5% in 2009 but later recovered and grew by 7.4% in 2010, 8.5% in 2011, and 4.2% in 2012. In 2013, GDP growth was 5.0%, and in 2014 it was 6.3%. The Dominican Republic’s economy is the fastest-growing economy in the Americas and is expected to continue growing in the coming years.

The Dominican Republic is a democracy with a presidential system. The current president is Danilo Medina, who has been in office since 2012. The Dominican Republic has a bicameral legislature, the Congress (Congreso Nacional Dominicano), consisting of the Senate (Senado de la República Dominicana) and the Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados de la República Dominicana). The country is divided into 31 provinces, each of which is headed by a governor appointed by the president. The provinces are further divided into municipalities.

The Dominican Republic is a member of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Association of Caribbean States, and the World Trade Organization. It is also a founding member of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Latin American Integration Association, and the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement