View source for Dominicans

{{Short description|People who are associated with the Dominican Republic}}
{{About|the Hispanic ethnic group native to the Dominican Republic|the inhabitants of Dominica|Demographics of Dominica|a member of the Catholic Dominican Order|Dominican Order|other uses|Dominican (disambiguation){{!}}Dominican}}

{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Dominicans<br /><small>''Dominicanos''</small>
| image            = File:Mapa de países de las protestas juveniles dominicanas.svg
| image_caption    = 
| population       = '''~ 14.5 million''' <br><small> Diaspora '''~ 2.5 million'''</small>
| region1          = {{flagcountry|Dominican Republic}}
| pop1             = [[Demographics of Dominican Republic|11,427,557]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web | url=https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/dominican-republic-population/ | title=Worldometer Domican Republic population based on 2024 UN Data| language=en }}</ref>
| region2          = {{flagcountry|United States}}
| pop2             = [[Dominican Americans|2,393,718]] {{small|(2021)}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2021.B03001?q=Hispanic+or+Latino&g=010XX00US|title=Explore Census Data|website=data.census.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?tid=ACSDT1Y2018.C03001&vintage=2018|title=Hispanic or Latino Origin by Specific Origin|author=US Census Bureau}}</ref>
| region3          = {{flagcountry|Spain}}
| pop3             = [[Dominicans in Spain|190,190]] {{small|(2021 census)}}<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.ine.es/jaxi/Datos.htm?path=/t20/e245/p04/provi/l0/&file=0ccaa005.px#!tabs-tabla | title=Población por comunidades y provincias, país de nacimiento, edad (Grupos quinquenales) y sexo | access-date=2020-07-01 | archive-date=2021-01-30 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130000255/https://www.ine.es/jaxi/Datos.htm?path=%2Ft20%2Fe245%2Fp04%2Fprovi%2Fl0%2F&file=0ccaa005.px#!tabs-tabla | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="elnuevodiario.com.do">{{cite web|url=https://archivo.elnuevodiario.com.do/2014/01/12/los-dominicanos-en-el-exterior/|title=El Nuevo Diario - Los dominicanos en el exterior}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
| region4          = {{flagcountry|Puerto Rico}}
| pop4             = [[Dominican Republic immigration to Puerto Rico|54,025]] {{small|(2021)}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2022.B03001?q=Hispanic+or+Latino&g=040XX00US72|title=Explore Census Data|website=data.census.gov}}</ref><ref name="UN International Migrant Stock" /><!--<ref>{{cite web|title=Dominican Immigrants in Puerto Rico|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_3YR_S0201PR&prodType=table|access-date=2018-05-09|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212213559/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_3YR_S0201PR&prodType=table|archive-date=2020-02-12|url-status=dead}}</ref>-->
| region5          = {{flagcountry|Italy}}
| pop5             = [[Dominican people in Italy|48,000]]<ref name="UN International Migrant Stock" /><!--<ref>{{cite web|title=Dominican Immigrants in the United States|url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/dominican-immigrants-united-states|date=2018-04-09|access-date=2018-04-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426012333/https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/dominican-immigrants-united-states|archive-date=2018-04-26|url-status=live}}</ref>-->
| region6          = {{flagcountry|Canada}}
| pop6             = [[Dominican Canadians|23,130]]<ref name="2016 Ethnic Origin">{{cite web |title=Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Canada, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/imm/Table.cfm?Lang=E&T=31&Geo=01 |website=[[Canada 2016 Census]] |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |access-date=30 January 2020 |language=en |date=2019-02-20}}</ref>
| region7          = {{flagcountry|Chile}}
| pop7             = [[Demographics of Chile|22,836]] <small>(2023)</small><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.emol.com/noticias/Nacional/2024/12/31/1152787/poblacion-extranjera-chile-migracion-paises.html|title=Casi 2 millones de extranjeros en Chile: De dónde vienen y cuáles son los países más recurrentes en cada región|access-date=2024-12-31|website=INE|date=31 December 2024 }}</ref>
| region11         = {{flagcountry|Venezuela}}
| pop11            = [[Demographics of Venezuela|14,743]] <small>(2015)</small><ref name="OECD 2017"/>
| region12         = {{flagcountry|Switzerland}}
| pop12            = [[Demographics of Switzerland|11,154]]<ref name="datosmacro.expansion.com">{{Cite web | url=https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/emigracion/republica-dominicana | title=República Dominicana - Emigrantes totales 2017 | access-date=2019-04-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407173855/https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/emigracion/republica-dominicana | archive-date=2019-04-07 | url-status=live }}</ref>
| region13         = {{flagcountry|Germany}}
| pop13            = [[Demographics of Germany|11,091]] <small>(2015)</small><ref name="OECD 2017"/>
| region14         = {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}
| pop14            = 
| region15         = {{flagcountry|Netherlands}}
| pop15            = [[Demography of the Netherlands|8,688]] <small>(2015)</small><ref name="OECD 2017"/>
| region16         = {{flagcountry|Panama}}
| pop16            = [[Demographics of Panama|8,095]] <small>(2015)</small><ref name="OECD 2017">{{cite web |url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/the-dominican-republic-s-migration-landscape_5jft8jw5w7wc.pdf?itemId=%2Fcontent%2Fcomponent%2F9789264276826-6-en |title= The Dominican Republic's migration landscape|date=2017 |website=www.oecd-ilibrary.org |format=PDF|access-date=2020-11-10}}</ref>
| region17         = {{flagcountry|Curaçao}}
| pop17            = [[Curaçao|7,000]]<ref name="UN International Migrant Stock">{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/undesa_pd_2020_ims_stock_by_sex_destination_and_origin.xlsx|title=International Migrant Stock 2020 (Destination and origin)|date=2021-01-15|access-date=2021-11-23|website=[[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs]], Population Division|at=Tab "Table 1"; Column F (origin) "Dominican Republic"; Column B (destinations); Data for 2020 is in Column N|language=en|format=XLSX|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118174338/https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/undesa_pd_2020_ims_stock_by_sex_destination_and_origin.xlsx|archive-date=2021-11-18|url-status=live}}
* The web page which contains link to this file: {{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/content/international-migrant-stock|title=International Migrant Stock 2020|access-date=2021-11-23|website=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division|language=en}}</ref>
| region18         = {{flagcountry|United States Virgin Islands}}
| pop18            = [[Demographics of the United States Virgin Islands|5,442]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDPVI2020.DP1?g=040XX00US78&d=DECIA+U.S.+Virgin+Islands+Demographic+Profile|title=Explore Census Data|website=data.census.gov}}</ref><ref name="UN International Migrant Stock" />
| region19         = {{flagcountry|Aruba}}
| pop19            = [[Demographics of Aruba|5,000]]<ref name="UN International Migrant Stock" />
| region20         = {{flagcountry|Brazil}}
| pop20            = [[Demographics of Brazil|4,793]]<small>(2024)</small><ref>[https://www.nepo.unicamp.br/observatorio/bancointerativo/numeros-imigracao-internacional/sincre-sismigra/ Immigrants in Brazil (2024, in Portuguese)]</ref>
| region21         = {{flagcountry|Sint Maarten}}
| pop21            = [[Demographics of Sint Maarten|4,000]]<ref name="UN International Migrant Stock" />
| region22         = {{flagcountry|France}}
| pop22            = [[Demographics of France|3,843]] <small>(2019)</small><ref name="exp">{{cite web|title= República Dominicana - Emigrantes totales|url= https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/emigracion/republica-dominicana|website=expansion.com/ Datosmacro.com}}</ref>
| region23         = {{flagcountry|Belgium}}
| pop23            = [[Demographics of Belgium|3,000]]<ref name="UN International Migrant Stock" />
| region24         = {{flagcountry|Mexico}}
| pop24            = [[Demographics of Mexico|2,849]] <small>(2020)</small><ref>{{cite web|title=Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020|url=https://www.inegi.org.mx/sistemas/Olap/Proyectos/bd/censos/cpv2020/pt.asp#|website=INEGI|language=Spanish}}</ref>
| region25         = {{flagcountry|Austria}}
| pop25            = [[Demographics of Austria|2,942]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/bevoelkerung/bevoelkerungsstruktur|title=Bevölkerungsstruktur|first=STATISTIK|last=AUSTRIA|website=www.statistik.at|access-date=2017-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402184822/http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/bevoelkerung/bevoelkerungsstruktur/|archive-date=2015-04-02|url-status=live}}</ref>
| region26         = {{flagcountry|Turks and Caicos Islands}}
| pop26            = [[Turks and Caicos Islands|2,000]]<ref name="UN International Migrant Stock" />
| region27         = {{flagcountry|British Virgin Islands}}
| pop27            = [[Demographics of the British Virgin Islands|2,000]]<ref name="UN International Migrant Stock" />
| region28         = {{flagcountry|Antigua and Barbuda}}
| pop28            = [[Demographics of Antigua and Barbuda|2,000]]<ref name="UN International Migrant Stock" />
| region29         = {{flagcountry|Haiti}}
| pop29            = [[Demographics of Haiti|2,000]]<ref name="UN International Migrant Stock" />
| langs            = [[Dominican Spanish]]
| rels             = Predominantly [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]];<ref name="CIA 2020">{{cite web |access-date=2020-01-22 |title=Central America :: Dominican Republic — The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/dominican-republic/ |website=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]}}</ref><br />[[Protestantism|Protestant]]
| related          = [[Spaniards]], other [[Caribbean people]]
}}

'''Dominicans''' ({{langx|es|Dominicanos|links=no}}), also known as '''Quisqueyans''' ({{langx|es|Quisqueyanos|links=no}}), are an [[ethnic group|ethno]]-[[nationality|national]] people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the [[Dominican Republic]].<ref name="Supplementary Data">{{Cite journal|author1=Montinaro, Francesco |display-authors=etal |title=Unravelling the hidden ancestry of American admixed populations |journal=Nature Communications |volume=6 |pmc=4374169 |doi=10.1038/ncomms7596 |pmid=25803618 |date=24 March 2015 |at=See [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4374169/bin/ncomms7596-s2.xlsx Supplementary Data]|bibcode=2015NatCo...6.6596M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://agrarianstudies.macmillan.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/colloqpapers/06turits.pdf | title=Race beyond the Plantation: Slavery and Freedom in Colonial Santo Domingo | access-date=2024-05-30 | website=agrarianstudies.macmillan.yale.edu| date=2005-10-14 | first=Richard | last=Turits}}</ref>

The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusion of European (mainly Spanish), native Taino, and African elements, this is a fusion that dates as far back as the 1500s,<ref name="Supplementary Data"/><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=country&category=&publisher=&type=COUNTRYPROF&coi=DOM&rid=&docid=4954ce1923&skip=0 | publisher=UNHCR Refworld Global Law & Policy Database| title=Search results Dominican Republic | access-date=2024-05-30}}</ref> resulting in the vast majority of Dominicans being of mixed-race heritage.<ref name="ancestry"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2016/07/06/dominicans-are-49-black-39-white-and-4-indian/|title=Dominicans are 49% Black, 39% White and 4% Indian}}</ref> Dominicans trace their roots mainly to these three sources, the vast majority being evenly mixed,<ref name="Encuesta-Autopercepcion">{{cite book |date= 2022 |location=Santo Domingo |title=Breve Encuesta Nacional de Autopercepción Racial y Étnica en la República Dominicana |publisher=Oficina Nacional de Estadística de la República Dominicana}}</ref> and smaller numbers being predominantly European or African.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web | url=https://thedominicans.org/2022/05/11/differences-in-labels-between-the-united-states-and-the-dominican-republic/ | title=Differences in Labels between the United States and the Dominican Republic | work=The Dominicans | date=2022-11-05 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523112445/https://thedominicans.org/2022/05/11/differences-in-labels-between-the-united-states-and-the-dominican-republic/ | archive-date=2022-05-23}}</ref> The [[demonym]] Dominican is derived from ''Santo Domingo'' (Spanish equivalent [[Saint Dominic]]) and directly inherited from the name of the [[Captaincy General of Santo Domingo]], which was synonymous with the island of [[Hispaniola]] as a whole and centered in the city of [[Santo Domingo]], the capital of modern Dominican Republic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.diariolibre.com/opinion/lecturas/acerca-del-gentilicio-de-los-dominicanos-MODL351094|title=Acerca del gentilicio de los dominicanos|first=Juan Daniel|last=Balcácer|date=September 8, 2012|website=Diario Libre}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://litteranova.com/2018/07/29/el-gentilicio-dominicano/|title=El gentilicio dominicano - litteranova.com|first=Marian|last=Silverio|website=litteranova.com}}</ref> Recent immigrants and their children, who are legal citizens of the Dominican Republic, can be considered "Dominican" by nationality but not ethnicity due to not having ancestral roots in the country.

"Dominican" was historically the name for the inhabitants of the [[Captaincy General of Santo Domingo]], the site of the first [[Spain|Spanish]] settlement in the [[Western Hemisphere]]. Majority of Dominicans primarily trace their origin to the Captaincy General's [[White Dominicans|European settlers]], with native [[Taino]] and [[African culture|African]] influences.<ref>{{Smallcaps|Esteva Fabregat}}, Claudio «[http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/QUCE/article/view/QUCE8181120099A/1896 La hispanización del mestizaje cultural en América]» Revista Complutense de Historia de América, [[Universidad Complutense de Madrid]]. p. 133 (1981)</ref>

The majority of Dominicans reside in the Dominican Republic, while there is also a large Dominican diaspora, mainly in the [[United States]] and [[Spain]]. The total population of the Dominican Republic in 2016 was estimated by the National Bureau of Statistics of the Dominican Republic at 10.2 million, with 9.3 million of those being natives of the country, and the rest being of foreign origin.<ref name=ENI-2017>{{cite report |title=Segunda Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes en la República Dominicana [ENI-2017] - Versión resumida del Informe General |trans-title=Second National Survey of Immigrants in the Dominican Republic [ENI-2017] - Summary version of the General Report |url=https://dominicanrepublic.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Resumen%20Ejecutivo%20ENI-2017_FINAL.pdf#page=48 |date=June 2017 |page=48 |publisher=Oficina Nacional de Estadística |location=Santo Domingo |language=es |isbn=978-9945-015-17-1 |access-date=2020-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604105824/https://dominicanrepublic.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Resumen%20Ejecutivo%20ENI-2017_FINAL.pdf#page=48 |archive-date=2020-06-04 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Name==
Historically the [[Dominican Republic]] was known as [[Captaincy General of Santo Domingo|Santo Domingo]], the name of its [[Santo Domingo|present capital]] and its patron saint, [[Saint Dominic]]. Hence the residents were called "Dominicanos" (Dominicans). The revolutionaries named their newly independent country "La República Dominicana". It was often referred to as the "Republic of San Domingo" in English language 19th century publications.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=SWM18850401.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN--------|title=Southern Workman 1 April 1885 — Virginia Chronicle: Digital Newspaper Archive|website=virginiachronicle.com}}</ref>

==History==
=== Pre-European history ===
{{Main|Chiefdoms of Hispaniola}}

Prior to European colonization, the inhabitants of the island were the [[Arawakan languages|Arawakan-speaking]] [[Taíno]], a seafaring people who moved into Hispaniola from the north-east region of South America, displacing earlier inhabitants,<ref name=LunaC>{{cite journal|last=Luna Calderón|first=Fernando|url=http://www.kacike.org/CalderonEspanol.pdf|title=ADN Mitocondrial Taíno en la República Dominicana|trans-title=Taíno Mitochondrial DNA in the Dominican Republic|language=es|date=December 2002|issn=1562-5028|issue=Special|journal=Kacike|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001151311/http://www.kacike.org/CalderonEspanol.pdf|archive-date=October 1, 2008}}</ref> c. AD 650. The native Tainos divided the island into several chiefdoms and engaged in farming, fishing,<ref name=Encarta>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761563569_7/Dominican_Republic.html |title=Dominican Republic |encyclopedia=Encarta |publisher=Microsoft Corporation |access-date=June 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114170306/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761563569_7/Dominican_Republic.html |archive-date=November 14, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> as well as hunting, and gathering.<ref name=LunaC/>

The Spaniards arrived in 1492. Columbus and his crew were the first recorded [[European ethnic groups|Europeans]] to encounter the Taíno people. Columbus described the native Taínos as a physically tall and well-proportioned people, with a noble character. After initially amicable relationships, the Taínos fought against the conquest, led by the female Chief [[Anacaona]] of Xaragua and her ex-husband Chief [[Caonabo]] of Maguana, as well as Chiefs [[Guacanagaríx]], [[Guamá]], [[Hatuey]], and [[Enriquillo]]. The latter's successes gained his people an autonomous enclave for a time on the island. Within a few years after the 1492 arrival, the population of Taínos had declined drastically, due to smallpox, measles, and other diseases that arrived with the Europeans. Census records from 1514 reveal that at least 40% of Spanish men in Santo Domingo were married to Taino women,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ferbel Azcarate|first=Pedro J.|url=http://www.kacike.org/FerbelEnglish.pdf|title=Not Everyone Who Speaks Spanish is from Spain: Taíno Survival in the 21st Century Dominican Republic|journal=KACIKE: The Journal of Caribbean Amerindian History and Anthropology|date=December 2002|issue=Special|issn=1562-5028|access-date=September 24, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040617195321/http://www.kacike.org/FerbelEnglish.pdf|archive-date=June 17, 2004}}</ref> and many present-day Dominicans have significant Taíno ancestry.<ref name=Guitar>{{cite journal|format=PDF|last=Guitar|first=Lynne|url=https://archive.org/stream/KacikeJournal/GuitarEnglish#mode/2up|title=Documenting the Myth of Taíno Extinction|date=December 2012|journal=Kacike|issn=1562-5028|issue=Special|access-date=August 24, 2016}}</ref><ref name=Martinez>{{cite journal|last=Martínez Cruzado|first=Juan Carlos|url=https://consortia.si.edu/sites/default/files/MartinezCruzado2002_0.pdf|title=The Use of Mitochondrial DNA to Discover Pre-Columbian Migrations to the Caribbean: Results for Puerto Rico and Expectations for the Dominican Republic|journal=Kacike|date=December 2002|issn=1562-5028|issue=Special|access-date=August 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105173555/https://consortia.si.edu/sites/default/files/MartinezCruzado2002_0.pdf|archive-date=November 5, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== European colonization ===
[[Christopher Columbus]] arrived on the island in December 5, 1492, during the first of his [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus|four voyages]] to the Americas. He claimed the land for Spain and named it ''La Española'' due to its diverse climate and terrain which reminded him of the [[Spain|Spanish landscape]]. In 1496, [[Bartholomew Columbus]], Christopher's brother, built the city of [[Santo Domingo]], Western Europe's first permanent colonization in the "[[New World]]." The colony thus became the springboard for the further [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish conquest of America]] and for decades the headquarters of Spanish colonial power in the hemisphere.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gsp.yale.edu/case-studies/colonial-genocides-project/hispaniola|title=Hispaniola - Genocide Studies Program - Yale University|date=21 November 2024 }}</ref>

In 1501, the colony began to import African slaves. In 1697, after decades of armed struggles with the French, Spain ceded the western coast of the island to [[Kingdom of France|France]] with the [[Treaty of Ryswick]], whilst the Central Plateau remained under Spanish domain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/dominican-republic/history#:~:text=The%20Treaty%20of%20Ryswick%20gives,day%20Dominican%20Republic)%20to%20Spain.&text=Santo%20Domingo%20declares%20its%20independence%20and%20becomes%20the%20Dominican%20Republic.&text=President%20Pedro%20Santana%20returns%20the%20Dominican%20Republic%20to%20Spanish%20rule.|title=Dominican Republic: History - globalEDGE}}</ref>

By the middle of the 18th century, the population was bolstered by European emigration from the [[Canary Islands]], resettling the northern part of the colony and planting tobacco in the [[Cibao Valley]], and importation of slaves was renewed. After 1700, with the arrival of new Spanish colonists, the African holocaust resumed. However, as industry moved from sugar to cattle ranching, racial and caste divisions became less important, eventually leading to a blend of cultures—Spanish, African, and indigenous—which would form the basis of national identity for Dominicans.<ref>{{cite web|author=P. J. Ferbel|url=http://www.suncaribbean.net/rd_laisla_tiempo_preist_tainos_cultura.htm|title=La sobrevivencia de la cultura Taína en la República Dominicana|trans-title=Survival of the Taino culture in the Dominican Republic|language=es|publisher=suncaribbean.net|date=2002|access-date=13 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605032418/http://www.suncaribbean.net/rd_laisla_tiempo_preist_tainos_cultura.htm|archive-date=5 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is estimated that the population of the colony in 1777 was 400,000, of which 100,000 were European, 70,000 African, 100,000 European/indigenous [[mestizo]], 60,000 [[zambo|African/indigenous]] mestizo, and 70,000 [[mulatto|African/European]].<ref name = UNHCR>{{cite web|url=http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=country&category=&publisher=&type=COUNTRYPROF&coi=DOM&rid=&docid=4954ce1923&skip=0|title=World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Dominican Republic|work=Minority Rights Group International – MRGI|year=2007|access-date=13 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113145441/http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=country&category=&publisher=&type=COUNTRYPROF&coi=DOM&rid=&docid=4954ce1923&skip=0|archive-date=13 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Dominican privateers in the service of the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish Crown]] captured British, Dutch, French and Danish ships in the [[Caribbean Sea]] throughout the 18th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/4972/1/ML21744.PDF|title=Corsairs of Santo Domingo a socio-economic study, 1718-1779}}</ref>

=== Independence ===
[[File:Dominican Republic Physiography.jpg|thumb|Map of the [[Dominican Republic]]]]
Santo Domingo attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844 from the Haitian government. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the [[Spanish Empire]], but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865.<ref>{{cite web |title=Central America :: Dominican Republic — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency |date=29 November 2022 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/dominican-republic/ |publisher=Cia.gov}}</ref> A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule followed, capped by the dictatorship of [[Rafael Trujillo]] from 1930 to 1961.
Trujillo's regime carried out killings of thousands of Haitians and committed crimes in the United States, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Mexico.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/mow/nomination_forms/Documentary%20Heritage%20on%20the%20Resistance%20and%20Struggle%20for%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Dominican%20Republic%201930%201961%20Nomination%20Form.pdf|title=Documentary Heritage on the Resistance and Struggle for Human Rights in the Dominican Republic, 1930-1961}}</ref> Raids on the national treasury enabled Trujillo to amass a net worth of 800 million dollars (5.3 billion dollars today).<ref>Rogozinski 258</ref> It has been estimated that Trujillo's tyrannical rule was responsible for the death of more than 50,000 Dominicans. The [[Dominican Civil War]] of 1965 was ended by a [[Inter-American Peace Force|United States-led intervention]], and was followed by the authoritarian rule of [[Joaquín Balaguer]], the leader from 1966 to 1978. Since that time, the Dominican Republic has moved steadily toward representative democracy.

==Genetics and ethnicities==
[[File:Evolution of the Dominican Republic's genetic make-up.jpg|thumb|Timeline of the Dominican Republic's genetic make-up since 500 years ago showing the impact of migrations. The founder Dominican population was mostly European in origin with some Native Taíno element, but was modified by subsequent African inflows.

{{legend|red|European DNA}}
{{legend|blue|Native American DNA}}
{{legend|green|Sub-Saharan African DNA}}
]]

According to recent [[genealogical DNA test|genealogical DNA studies]] of the Dominican population, the genetic makeup is predominantly [[Ethnic groups in Europe|European]] and [[Sub-Saharan African]], with a lesser degree of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] ancestry. The average DNA admixture of the founder Dominican population was 73% European, 10% Native, and 17% African, but due to the migration from Haiti and other Afro-Caribbean countries, the current overall admixture is 50%-60% European, 8%-12% Native and 30%-40% African.<ref name="Supplementary Data"/>
<ref name="Genetic History"/><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Medical genetics and genomic medicine in the Dominican Republic: challenges and opportunities|first1=Juvianee I.|last1=Estrada-Veras|first2=Giselle A.|last2=Cabrera-Peña|first3=Ceila|last3=Pérez-Estrella de Ferrán|date=12 May 2016|journal=Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine|volume=4|issue=3|pages=243–256|doi=10.1002/mgg3.224|pmid=27247952|pmc=4867558}}</ref><ref name="Regional admixture"/>

===2022 census===
Responses for the [[2022 Dominican Republic Census|2022 census]] population of 12 years old and above.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.one.gob.do/media/rmfhr5tj/cuadro-12-volumen-iii.xlsx|title= REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA: Población de 12 años y más, por percepción del informante acerca de las facciones, color de piel y otras características culturales de los miembros del hogar, según región, provincia y grupos de edades|website=one.gob.do|date= 30 September 2024|accessdate= 19 October 2024}}</ref>
[[National Statistics Office (Dominican Republic)| National Statistics Office]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.one.gob.do/datos-y-estadisticas/temas/censos/poblacion-y-vivienda/2022/ |title= REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA: Población de 12 años y más, por percepción del informante acerca de las facciones, color de piel y otras características culturales de los miembros del hogar, según región, provincia y grupos de edades|website=one.gob.do|date= 30 September 2024|accessdate= 19 October 2024}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left"
|-
! colspan="2"| Ethnic-racial group {{small|([[skin color]])}}  
! Population
! %
|-
| colspan="2"| [[Mixed Dominicans|Indio]]/a{{efn|The term "indio" in the Dominican Republic is not associated with people of indigenous ancestry but people of mixed ancestry or skin color between light and dark}}||2,946,377||34.2
|-
| colspan="2"| [[Mixed Dominicans|Moreno]]/a|| 2,237,370 || 26.1
|-
| colspan="2"| [[White Dominicans|White]]|| 1,611,752|| 18.7
|-
| colspan="2"| [[Mestizo]]/a || 665,387|| 7.7
|-
| colspan="2"| [[Afro-Dominicans|Black]] || 642,018|| 7.5
|-
| colspan="2"| [[Mixed Dominicans|Mulatto]]/a || 330,207 || 3.8
|-
| colspan="2"| [[Asian Latin Americans|Asian]]|| 28,343|| 0.3 
|-
| colspan="2"| Other || 31,802|| 0.3
|-
| colspan="2"| Don't know / no response || 123,039|| 1.4
|-
! colspan="2"| Total||align=center| 8,616,295 ||align=center|100
|-
|}

[[File:Dominican-people-cibao-1.jpg|thumb|280px|Dominican people in the town of [[Moca, Espaillat|Moca]].]]

A previous survey published in 2021, shows similar results with 74% of Dominicans self-identified as [[Mixed Dominicans|mixed]] (''Indio''{{efn|The term "indio" in the Dominican Republic is not associated with people of indigenous ancestry but people of mixed ancestry or skin color between light and dark}} 45%, [[mulatto]]/''moreno'' 25%, [[mestizo]]/''jabao'' 2%), 18% as [[White Dominicans|white]], 8% [[Afro-Dominican (Dominican Republic)|black]], and 0.5% as "other".<ref name="ONE-Encuesta-Autopercepcion">{{cite web|date=September 2021|location=Santo Domingo |title=Breve Encuesta Nacional de Autopercepción Racial y Étnica en la República Dominicana |publisher=Oficina Nacional de Estadística de la República Dominicana|url=https://dominicanrepublic.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/encuesta_nacional_de_autopercepcion_racial_y_etnica_en_rd_100322.pdf|page=22|accessdate=November 3, 2022}}</ref>
Previously, in the 1996 electoral roll, 82.5% of the adult population were ''Indio'', 7.55% white, 4.13% black, and 2.3% mulatto.<ref name="History-of-the-Dominican-Republic-MoyaPons">{{cite book|last=Moya Pons|first=Frank|author-link=Frank Moya Pons|editor=Frank Moya Pons|title=Historia de la República Dominicana|trans-title=History of the Dominican Republic |language=es |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wor3UqsHkToC&pg=PA50|access-date=14 July 2017|volume=2|location=Santo Domingo|year=2010|publisher=[[CSIC Press]]|isbn=978-84-00-09240-5|pages=50–53|chapter=Evolución de la población dominicana}}</ref> Other estimates puts the Dominican population at 60% mixed, 35% black, and 5% white.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nan3oIDq42wC&dq=dominican+republic+60%25+mulatto+35%25+black+5%25+white&pg=PA50 | title=The Adventure Guide to the Dominican Republic | isbn=978-1-55650-629-1 | last1=Pariser | first1=Harry S. | date=October 1994 | publisher=Harry S. Pariser }}</ref>

Other groups in the country include the descendants of [[Western Asia|West Asia]]ns—mostly [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]], [[Demographics of Syria|Syrians]] and [[Palestinian people|Palestinians]]. A smaller, yet significant presence of [[East Asia]]ns (primarily [[Overseas Chinese|ethnic Chinese]] and [[Japanese people|Japanese]]) can also be found throughout the population. Dominicans are also composed of [[Sephardic Jews]] that were exiled from [[Spain]] and the Mediterranean area in 1492 and 1497,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html|title=The Exile of the Jews due to the Spanish Inquisition|access-date=2013-05-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813044820/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html|archive-date=2011-08-13|url-status=live}}</ref> coupled with other migrations dating to the 1700s<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_05317.html|title=Jews migration in the 1700s|access-date=2013-05-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002132606/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_05317.html|archive-date=2013-10-02|url-status=live}}</ref> and during the [[Second World War]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/sosua.html|title=Jews migration to the Dominican Republic to seek refuge from the Holocaust|access-date=2013-05-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113041300/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/sosua.html|archive-date=2013-01-13|url-status=live}}</ref> contribute to Dominican ancestry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geschichteinchronologie.ch/am-M/santo-domingo/EncJud_juden-in-Santo-Domingo-ENGL.html|title=A partial, brief summary of Jews in the Dominican Republic|access-date=2013-05-15|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626162005/http://www.geschichteinchronologie.ch/am-M/santo-domingo/EncJud_juden-in-Santo-Domingo-ENGL.html|archive-date=2013-06-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblediscovered.com/jewish-hebrew-people-in-the-world/dominican-republic-jews-2/|title=Dominican Republic-Jews|access-date=2013-05-15|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001221327/https://www.biblediscovered.com/jewish-hebrew-people-in-the-world/dominican-republic-jews-2/|archive-date=2013-10-01}}</ref>

In recent times, Dominican and Puerto Rican researchers identified in the current Dominican population the presence of genes belonging to the aborigines of the [[Canary Islands]] (commonly called [[Guanches]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.soitu.es/soitu/2008/10/09/info/1223573146_635959.html |title=Un estudio descubre la presencia de genes guanches en la República Dominicana |access-date=2018-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216163707/http://www.soitu.es/soitu/2008/10/09/info/1223573146_635959.html |archive-date=2018-12-16 |url-status=live }}</ref> These types of genes have also been detected in [[Puerto Rico]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lacomunidad.elpais.com/amazonasfilm/2009/7/12/un-estudio-del-genoma-taino-y-guanche-adn-o-dna-primera-parte|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206133647/http://lacomunidad.elpais.com/amazonasfilm/2009/7/12/un-estudio-del-genoma-taino-y-guanche-adn-o-dna-primera-parte|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 6, 2010|title=La Comunidad » DOCUMENTALES GRATIS » UN ESTUDIO DEL GENOMA TAINO Y GUANCHE. ADN o DNA. Primera parte|date=February 6, 2010}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Genetic ancestry of Dominican population
|-
!Study
!Year
!Caucasoid
!{{Abbr|SSA|Sub-Saharan African}}
!Amerindian
|-
| Genome-wide patterns of population structure and admixture among Hispanic/Latino populations<ref>[https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0914618107 Genome-wide patterns of population structure and admixture among Hispanic/Latino populations]</ref>
| 2010
| 51%
| 42%
| 7%
|-
| Reconstructing the Population Genetic History of the Caribbean<ref name="Genetic History">{{cite journal | doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1003925 | title=Reconstructing the Population Genetic History of the Caribbean | year=2013 | last1=Moreno-Estrada | first1=Andrés | last2=Gravel | first2=Simon | last3=Zakharia | first3=Fouad | last4=McCauley | first4=Jacob L. | last5=Byrnes | first5=Jake K. | last6=Gignoux | first6=Christopher R. | last7=Ortiz-Tello | first7=Patricia A. | last8=Martínez | first8=Ricardo J. | last9=Hedges | first9=Dale J. | last10=Morris | first10=Richard W. | last11=Eng | first11=Celeste | last12=Sandoval | first12=Karla | last13=Acevedo-Acevedo | first13=Suehelay | last14=Norman | first14=Paul J. | last15=Layrisse | first15=Zulay | last16=Parham | first16=Peter | last17=Martínez-Cruzado | first17=Juan Carlos | last18=Burchard | first18=Esteban González | last19=Cuccaro | first19=Michael L. | last20=Martin | first20=Eden R. | last21=Bustamante | first21=Carlos D. | journal=PLOS Genetics | volume=9 | issue=11 | pages=e1003925 | pmid=24244192 | pmc=3828151 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
| 2013
| 57%
| 35%
| 8%
|-
| Unravelling the hidden ancestry of American admixed populations<ref name="Supplementary Data"/>
| 2015
| 52%
| 40%
| 8%
|-
| A continuum of admixture in the Western Hemisphere revealed by the African Diaspora genome<ref>[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27725671/ A continuum of admixture in the Western Hemisphere revealed by the African Diaspora genome]</ref>
| 2016
| 52%
| 38%
| 10%
|-
| Admixture in the Americas: Regional and National Differences<ref name="Regional admixture">{{cite web |title=Admixture in the Americas: Regional and National Differences |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298214364}}<!-- auto-translated from Spanish by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>
| 2016
| 47%
| 42%
| 12%
|-
| Y Haplogroup Diversity of the DR: Reconstructing the Effect of the European Colonization and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trades <ref>
[https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/12/9/1579/5896526 Y Haplogroup Diversity of the DR: Reconstructing the Effect of the European Colonization and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trades]</ref>
|2020
|59%
|38%
|3%
|-
| Admixture mapping of peripheral artery disease in a Dominican population reveals a putative risk locus on 2q35<ref>[https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2023.1181167/full#:~:text=Admixture%20mapping%20of%20PAD%20in,an%20increased%20risk%20for%20PAD. Admixture mapping of peripheral artery disease in a Dominican population reveals a putative risk locus on 2q35]</ref>
| 2023
| 56%
| 37%
| 6%
|}

===In Dominican Republic===
Dominican Republic employs the [[jus sanguinis]] [[nationality law]] principle, unlike majority of other countries in the Americas. Therefore, citizenship is inherited through at least one parent or legal guardian who is a Dominican citizens or alternatively by invoking and proving one's ancestral link to the country.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/dominican-republic-erased-birthright-citizenship/575527/ | title=What Happened When a Nation Erased Birthright Citizenship | access-date=2024-05-30 | website=www.theatlantic.com | first=Jonathan M. | last=Katz | date=2018-11-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rosalux-geneva.org/dominican-republic-changing-the-rules/,%20https://rosalux-geneva.org/dominican-republic-changing-the-rules/|title=Dominican Republic: Changing the rules - RLS Geneva|first=Eva|last=Wuchold|date=January 18, 2021}}</ref> This means that being a ''Dominican citizen'' and being an ''ethnic Dominican'' is not always interchangeable, as the former implies citizenship that one can receive moving from any country in the world to Dominican Republic, while the latter implies a people tied by ancestry and culture. '''''Ethnic Dominicans''''' are people who are not only born in Dominican Republic (and have legal status) or born abroad with ancestral roots in the country, but more importantly have family roots in the country going back several generations and descend from a mix of varying degrees of Spanish, Taino, and African, the three principal foundational roots of Dominican Republic.<ref name="ancestry">{{Cite web | url=https://thedominicans.org/2019/01/11/ancestry-dna-results-dominicans-are-spaniards-mixed-with-africans-and-tainos/ | title=Ancestry DNA Results: Dominicans are Spaniards Mixed with Africans and Tainos | work=The Dominicans | date=2019-11-01 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603184351/https://thedominicans.org/2019/01/11/ancestry-dna-results-dominicans-are-spaniards-mixed-with-africans-and-tainos/ | archive-date=2023-06-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | url=https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/black_studies_fac/22/ | title=Not Everyone Who Speaks Spanish is From Spain: Taino Survival in the 21st Century Dominican Republic | journal=Journal of Caribbean Amerindian History and Anthropology | date=January 2002 | access-date=2024-05-30 | last1=Ferbel-Azcarate | first1=Pedro }}</ref> Nearly all Dominicans are mixed race, with 75% being "visibly" and "evenly" [[Mixed Dominicans|mixed]], and the remaining 25% being predominantly of African or European blood but still with notable admixture.<ref name="auto1"/> According to a 2017 estimate from the Dominican government, Dominican Republic had a population of 10,189,895, of which 847,979 were immigrants or descendants of recent immigrants and 9,341,916 were ''ethnic Dominicans''.<ref name="auto"/>

==Immigration in the 20th and 21st centuries==
In the twentieth century, many [[Chinese people|Chinese]], [[Arab]]s (primarily from [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]]), [[Japanese people|Japanese]] and to a lesser degree [[Koreans]] settled in the country, working as agricultural laborers and merchants. Waves of Chinese immigrants, the latter ones fleeing the [[People's Republic of China|Chinese Communist]] [[People's Liberation Army]] (PLA), arrived and worked in mines and building railroads. The current [[Ethnic Chinese in the Dominican Republic|Chinese Dominican]] population totals 50,000 (2010 year).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dr1.com/articles/chinese.shtml |title=The Chinese Community and Santo Domingo's Barrio Chino |access-date=2008-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807200027/http://dr1.com/articles/chinese.shtml |archive-date=2017-08-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Arab]] community is also rising at an increasing rate.

[[File:Non-Haitian immigrants in the DR.png|thumb|upright=1.25|Population of foreign origin (excluding Haitians) in the Dominican Republic, by [[Geographic Regions of the Dominican Republic|regions]].]]
In addition, there are descendants of immigrants who came from other Caribbean islands, including [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]], [[Dominica]], [[Antigua]], [[Saint Vincent (island)|St. Vincent]], [[Montserrat]], [[Tortola]], [[St. Croix]], [[St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas]], [[Martinique]], and [[Guadeloupe]]. They worked on sugarcane plantations and docks and settled mainly in the cities of [[San Pedro de Macorís]] and [[San Felipe de Puerto Plata|Puerto Plata]], they have a population of 28,000. There is an increasing number of [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]] immigrants in and around [[Santo Domingo]]; they are believed to number at about 10,000. Before and during World War II 800 Jewish refugees moved to the Dominican Republic, and many of their descendants live in the town of [[Sosúa]].<ref>{{cite press release|title=CCNY Jewish Studies Class to Visit Dominican Village that Provided Refuge to European Jews During World War II|publisher=City College of New York|url= http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/advancement/pr/Sosua-Jewish-Studies.cfm|access-date=2007-05-22|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510103344/http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/advancement/pr/Sosua-Jewish-Studies.cfm|archive-date=2011-05-10}}</ref> Nationwide, there are an estimated 100 [[Jews]] left.<ref name="jp">{{cite web |url=http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php |title=Joshua Project People-in-Country Profile |access-date=2008-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208164306/http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php |archive-date=2010-02-08 |url-status=live }}</ref> 82,000 [[United States|Americans]] (in 1999),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aca.ch/amabroad.pdf |title=American Citizens Living Abroad by Country |access-date=2008-10-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019014426/http://www.aca.ch/amabroad.pdf |archive-date=October 19, 2008 }}</ref> 40,000 Italians,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mclink.it/com/inform/art/08n01933.htm |title=* INFORM *; Giovani italiani nel Centro America e Caraibi |access-date=2008-10-20 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804163550/http://www.mclink.it/com/inform/art/08n01933.htm |archive-date=2012-08-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 1,900 French,<ref name=jp/> and 800 Germans.<ref name=jp/>

The [[2010 Dominican Republic Census|2010 Census]] registered 311,969 Haitians; 24,457 Americans; 6,691 Spaniards; 5,763 Puerto Ricans; and 5,132 Venezuelans.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Oficina Nacional de Estadística|title=IX Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2010: Volumen 1 (Informe General)|url=http://censo2010.one.gob.do/volumenes_censo_2010/vol1.pdf|access-date=21 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202090504/http://censo2010.one.gob.do/volumenes_censo_2010/vol1.pdf|archive-date=2 December 2012|location=Santo Domingo|language=es|date=June 2012|pages=99–103}}</ref>

In 2012, the Dominican government made a survey of immigrants in the country and found that there were: 329,281 [[Haitians in the Dominican Republic|Haitian-born]]; 25,814 [[Americans|U.&nbsp;S.]]-born (excluding Puerto Rican-born); 7,062 [[Spanish people|Spanish]]-born; 6,083 [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]]-born; 5,417 [[Venezuelan people|Venezuelan]]-born; 3,841 [[Cubans|Cuban]]-born; 3,795 [[Italians|Italian]]-born; 3,606 [[Colombian people|Colombian]]-born; 2,043 [[French people|French]]-born; 1,661 [[Germans|German]]-born; 1,484 [[Ethnic Chinese in the Dominican Republic|Chinese-born]]; among others.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/interacciones-entre-politicas-publicas-migracion-y-desarrollo-en-republica-dominicana/el-panorama-de-la-migracion-en-republica-dominicana_9789264276918-6-es;jsessionid=LtaWJ2QL99oCn4TlMWGks21JDT4Bf8chm4wbKcF-.ip-10-240-5-115|chapter=El panorama de la migración en República Dominicana|date=June 22, 2017|pages=39–59|doi=10.1787/9789264276918-6-es |via=OECD iLibrary |title=Interacciones entre Políticas Públicas, Migración y Desarrollo en República Dominicana |series=Caminos de Desarrollo |isbn=978-92-64-27690-1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Martínez|first=Darlenny|title=Estudio: en RD viven 534,632 extranjeros|url=http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2013/05/02/estudio-viven-534632-extranjeros|access-date=29 May 2014|newspaper=El Caribe|date=2 May 2013|language=es|quote=Según la Primera Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes de la República Dominicana (ENI-2012), (...) Después de Haití, explica la investigación, las 10 naciones de donde proceden más inmigrantes son Estados Unidos, con 13,524; España, con 6,720, y Puerto Rico, con 4,416. Además Italia, con 4,040; China, con 3,643; Francia, con 3,599; Venezuela, con 3,434; Cuba con 3,145 inmigrantes; Colombia con 2,738 y Alemania con 1,792.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212011803/http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2013/05/02/estudio-viven-534632-extranjeros|archive-date=12 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=ONE>[http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/dominicanrepublic/drive/InformeENI-2012-General.pdf "Primera Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes (ENI-2012)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621051704/http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/dominicanrepublic/drive/InformeENI-2012-General.pdf |date=2015-06-21 }} (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (former 'Oficina Nacional de Estadística') & [[United Nations Population Fund]]. p.&nbsp;63. 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Juan Bolívar Díaz|title=RD país de emigrantes más que de inmigrantes|url=http://hoy.com.do/rd-pais-de-emigrantes-mas-que-de-inmigrantes/|publisher=Hoy|access-date=20 August 2014|language=es|date=4 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821134118/http://hoy.com.do/rd-pais-de-emigrantes-mas-que-de-inmigrantes/|archive-date=21 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the second half of 2017, a second survey of foreign population was conducted in the Dominican Republic. The total population in the Dominican Republic was estimated at 10,189,895, of which 9,341,916 were Dominicans with no foreign background. According to the survey, the majority of the people with foreign background were of Haitian origin (751,080 out of 847,979, or 88.6%), breaking down as follows: 497,825 were Haitians born in Haiti, 171,859 Haitians born in the Dominican Republic and 81,590 Dominicans with a Haitian parent. Other main sources of foreign-born population were Venezuela (25,872), the United States (10,016), Spain (7,592), Italy (3,713), [[Two Chinas|China]] (3,069), Colombia (2,642), Puerto Rico (2,356), and Cuba (2,024).<ref name=ENI-2017/>

==Emigration==
===United States===
{{Main|Dominican American}}
The first recorded person of Dominican descent to migrate to what is now known as the [[United States]] was sailor-turned-merchant [[Juan (Jan) Rodriguez|Juan Rodriguez]]. He arrived on [[Manhattan]] in 1613 from his home in [[Captaincy General of Santo Domingo|Santo Domingo]], which makes him the first non-[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] person to spend substantial time in the island. He also became the first Dominican, the first [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latino]], first Caribbean and the first person with [[Ethnic groups in Europe|European]] (specifically [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]]) and [[Ethnic groups of Africa|African]] ancestry to settle in what is present day [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.voicesofny.org/tag/juan-rodriguez/|title=Dominican Who was City's First Settler to Get Street|date=December 11, 2012|website=Voices Of NY|access-date=October 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030014012/http://www.voicesofny.org/tag/juan-rodriguez/|archive-date=October 30, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

Dominican emigration to the United States continued throughout the centuries. Recent research from the [[CUNY|CUNY Dominican Studies Institute]] has documented some 5,000 Dominican emigrants who were processed through [[Ellis Island]] between 1892 and 1924.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cunydsi.typepad.com/blog/2010/10/preview-of-research-findings-october-22-dominican-immigration-through-ellis-island.html|title=Preview of Research Findings October 22: Dominican Immigration Through Ellis Island|website=CUNY Dominican Studies Institute News|access-date=2014-01-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319055908/http://cunydsi.typepad.com/blog/2010/10/preview-of-research-findings-october-22-dominican-immigration-through-ellis-island.html|archive-date=2015-03-19|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the second half of the twentieth century, there were three significant waves of immigration to the [[United States]]. The first period began in 1961, when a coalition of high-ranking Dominicans, with assistance from the [[CIA]], assassinated General [[Rafael Trujillo]], the nation's military dictator.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB222/family_jewels_wilderotter.pdf |title=Justice Department Memo, 1975 |publisher=[[National Security Archive]] |access-date=2009-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070627012435/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB222/family_jewels_wilderotter.pdf |archive-date=2007-06-27 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the wake of his death, fear of retaliation by Trujillo's allies, and political uncertainty in general, spurred migration from the island. In 1965, the United States began a military [[Operation Power Pack|occupation of the Dominican Republic]] and eased travel restrictions, making it easier for Dominicans to obtain American visas.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.2307/2546161 |jstor=2546161|title=International Migration in the Dominican Republic: Implications for Development Planning|journal=International Migration Review|volume=16|issue=4|pages=819–36|year=1982|last1=Morrison|first1=Thomas K.|last2=Sinkin|first2=Richard|pmid=12265312}}</ref> From 1966 to 1978, the exodus continued, fueled by high unemployment and political repression. Communities established by the first wave of immigrants to the U.S. created a network that assisted subsequent arrivals. In the early 1980s, unemployment, inflation, and the rise in the value of the dollar all contributed to the third and largest wave of emigration from the island nation, this time mostly from the lower-class. Today, emigration from the Dominican Republic remains high, facilitated by the social networks of now-established Dominican communities in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/socialstudies/9_12/weir/background.html|title=Social Studies In Action: Migration From Latin America|website=www.learner.org|access-date=2009-10-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913152855/http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/socialstudies/9_12/weir/background.html|archive-date=2008-09-13|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Besides the United States, significant numbers of Dominicans have also settled in [[Spain]] and in the nearby U.S. territory of [[Puerto Rico]].
[[File:Dominican Day Parade 2019 (50335870922).jpg|thumb|right|Dominicans in New York Dominican Day Parade.]]
[[File:Fallas2018 - Cavalcada Patrimoni 14 - Merengue República Dominicana.jpg|thumb|right|Dominicans in Spain dance in culture parade of Valencia.]]

===Dominican Emigration===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|+ '''Top Dominican Emigration (2022)'''<ref name="datosmacro.expansion.com"/>
|-
! Rank
! Country
! Dominican Population
|-
| 1
| {{flagicon|USA}} [[United States]]
| 2,453,185
|-
| 2
| {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Spain]]
| 158,393
|-
| 3
| {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Italy]]
| 43,012
|-
| 4
| {{flagicon|Venezuela}} [[Venezuela]]
| 14,972
|-
| 5
| {{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[Switzerland]]
| 11,154
|-
| 6
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Germany]]
| 11,127
|-
| 7
| {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Canada]]
| 9,823
|-
| 8
| {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Netherlands]]
| 9,383
|-
| 9
| {{flagicon|Panama}} [[Panama]]
| 8,358
|-
| 10
| {{flagicon|Haiti}} [[Haiti]]
| 5,110
|-
| 11
| {{flagicon|France}} [[France]]
| 3,544
|-
| 12
| {{flagicon|Austria}} [[Austria]]
| 3,441
|-
| 13
| {{flagicon|Mexico}} [[Mexico]]
| 2,043
|-
| 14
| {{flagicon|Antigua and Barbuda}} [[Antigua and Barbuda]]
| 1,819
|-
| 15
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]]
| 1,217
|-
| 16
| {{flagicon|Costa Rica}} [[Costa Rica]]
| 1,104
|-
| 17
| {{flagicon|Norway}} [[Norway]]
| 856
|-
| 18
| {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Belgium]]
| 745
|-
| 19
| {{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Sweden]]
| 741
|-
| 20
| {{flagicon|Argentina}} [[Argentina]]
| 709
|-
| 21
| {{flagicon|Greece}} [[Greece]]
| 555
|-
| 22
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Colombia]]
| 410
|-
| 23
| {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Brazil]]
| 381
|-
| 24
| {{flagicon|Ecuador}} [[Ecuador]]
| 363
|-
| 25
| {{flagicon|Bahamas}} [[Bahamas]]
| 303
|-
| 26
| {{flagicon|Chile}} [[Chile]]
| 289
|-
| 27
| {{flagicon|Finland}} [[Finland]]
| 204
|-
| 28
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Australia]]
| 187
|-
| 29
| {{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Denmark]]
| 187
|-
| 30
| {{flagicon|Peru}} [[Peru]]
| 185
|-

|}

===Dominican Immigration===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|+ '''Top Countries Immigration to the Dominican Republic (2022)'''<ref>{{cite web|title=República Dominicana - Inmigración|language=es|url=https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/inmigracion/republica-dominicana|website=Datosmacro.com|access-date=2019-04-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401191751/https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/inmigracion/republica-dominicana|archive-date=2019-04-01|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! Rank
! Country
! Population in the Dominican Republic
|-
| 1
| {{flagicon|Haiti}} [[Haiti]]
| 496,112
|-
| 2
| {{flagicon|Venezuela}} [[Venezuela]]
| 34,063
|-
| 3
| {{flagicon|USA}} [[United States]]
| 14,626
|-
| 4
| {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Spain]]
| 7,272
|-
| 5
| {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Italy]]
| 4,375
|-
| 6
| {{flagicon|China}} [[China]]
| 3,942
|-
| 7
| {{flagicon|France}} [[France]]
| 3,894
|-
| 8
| {{flagicon|Cuba}} [[Cuba]]
| 3,402
|-
| 9
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Colombia]]
| 2,962
|-
| 10
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Germany]]
| 1,938
|-
| 11
| {{flagicon|Mexico}} [[Mexico]]
| 1,563
|-
| 12
| {{flagicon|Peru}} [[Peru]]
| 1,489
|-
| 13
| {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Canada]]
| 1,267
|-
| 14
| {{flagicon|Argentina}} [[Argentina]]
| 1,116
|-
| 15
| {{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[Switzerland]]
| 1,088
|-
| 16
| {{flagicon|Panama}} [[Panama]]
| 789
|-
| 17
| {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Brazil]]
| 671
|-
| 18
| {{flagicon|Chile}} [[Chile]]
| 661
|-
| 19
| {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Netherlands]]
| 617
|-
| 20
| {{flagicon|Ecuador}} [[Ecuador]]
| 605
|-
| 21
| {{flagicon|South Korea}} [[South Korea]]
| 587
|-
| 22
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]]
| 503
|-
| 23
| {{flagicon|Russia}} [[Russia]]
| 503
|-
| 24
| {{flagicon|Guatemala}} [[Guatemala]]
| 446
|-
| 25
| {{flagicon|Honduras}} [[Honduras]]
| 442
|-
| 26
| {{flagicon|Japan}} [[Japan]]
| 359
|-
| 27
| {{flagicon|Costa Rica}} [[Costa Rica]]
| 320
|-
| 28
| {{flagicon|Nicaragua}} [[Nicaragua]]
| 303
|-
| 29
| {{flagicon|El Salvador}} [[El Salvador]]
| 278
|-
| 30
| {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Belgium]]
| 266
|-

|}

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of the Dominican Republic|Dominican Spanish}}
The culture of the Dominican Republic, like its Caribbean neighbors, is a blend of the cultures of the European settlers, African slaves and settlers, and Taíno natives. Spanish is the official language. Other languages, such as English, French, German, Italian, and Chinese are also spoken to varying degrees. European, African, and Taíno cultural elements are most prominent in food, family structure, religion, and music. Many Arawak/Taíno names and words are used in daily conversation and for many foods native to the Dominican Republic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.afsusa.org/countries/dominican-republic/#:~:text=Dominican%20culture%20is%20a%20mixture,structure%2C%20religion%2C%20and%20music.|title=Dominican Republic: Explore Dominican Culture}}</ref>

===National symbols===
[[File:Dominican Republic People.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Dominican flag.]]

Some of the Dominican Republic's important symbols are the [[Flag of the Dominican Republic|flag]], [[Coat of arms of the Dominican Republic|the coat of arms]], and the national anthem, titled ''[[National Anthem of the Dominican Republic|Himno Nacional]]''. The flag has a large white cross that divides it into four quarters. Two quarters are red and two are blue. Red represents the blood shed by the liberators. Blue expresses God's protection over the nation. The white cross symbolizes the struggle of the liberators to bequeath future generations a free nation. An alternative interpretation is that blue represents the ideals of progress and liberty, whereas white symbolizes peace and unity among Dominicans.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.ejercito.mil.do/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=165&Itemid=132 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113181033/http://www.ejercito.mil.do/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=165&Itemid=132 |archive-date=January 13, 2009 |title=Ejército Nacional de la República Dominicana&nbsp;– Bandera Nacional |access-date=October 20, 2008 |publisher=National Army of the Dominican Republic |language=es}}</ref>
[[File:FDBteatro.jpg|thumb|right|Dominicans in Santiago de los Caballeros.]]
In the center of the cross is the Dominican coat of arms, in the same colors as the national flag. The coat of arms pictures a red, white, and blue flag-draped shield with a Bible, a gold cross, and arrows; the shield is surrounded by an olive branch (on the left) and a palm branch (on the right). The Bible traditionally represents the truth and the light. The gold cross symbolizes the redemption from slavery, and the arrows symbolize the noble soldiers and their proud military. A blue ribbon above the shield reads, "Dios, Patria, Libertad" (meaning "God, Fatherland, Liberty"). A red ribbon under the shield reads, "República Dominicana" (meaning "Dominican Republic"). Out of all the flags in the world, the depiction of a Bible is unique to the Dominican flag.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

The [[Floral emblem|national flower]] is the [[Pereskia quisqueyana|Bayahibe Rose]] and the [[national tree]] is the [[Swietenia mahagoni|West Indian Mahogany]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.listindiario.com/la-vida/2011/7/16/196080/La-rosa-de-Bayahibe-nuestra-flor-nacional |title=La rosa de Bayahíbe, nuestra flor nacional|author=López, Yaniris |work=Listin Diario |date=July 17, 2011}}</ref> The national bird is the ''Cigua Palmera'' or [[Palmchat]] ("Dulus dominicus").<ref name=depaul>{{cite web|url=http://www.diariodigital.com.do/articulo,30016,html |title=El jardín Botánico Nacional |trans-title=The National Botanical Garden |language=es |last=Pérez |first=Faustino |work=DiarioDigitalRD.com |access-date=October 20, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023033403/http://www.diariodigital.com.do/articulo%2C30016%2Chtml |archive-date=October 23, 2008 }}</ref>

===Language===
Spanish is the predominant language in the [[Dominican Republic]]; the local dialect is called [[Dominican Spanish]], it closely resembles [[Canarian Spanish]], [[Andalusian Spanish]], and has influences from Arawak languages.<ref name=HenriquezUrenna>{{cite book|last1=Henríquez Ureña|first1=Pedro|author-link1=Pedro Henríquez Ureña|title=El Español en Santo Domingo|date=1940|publisher=Instituto de Filología de la Universidad de Buenos Aires|location=Buenos Aires|language=es}}</ref> Schools are based on a Spanish educational model, with English and French being taught as secondary languages in both private and public schools. [[Haitian Creole]] is spoken by the population of Haitian descent.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YgtSqB9oqDIC&pg=PA389 |title=Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education |editor1-last=Baker |editor1-first=Colin |editor2-last=Prys Jones |editor2-first=Sylvia |page=389 |year=1998 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-85359-362-8 |access-date=20 November 2015}}</ref> There is a community of about 8,000 speakers of Samaná English in the Samaná Peninsula. They are the descendants of formerly-enslaved [[African Americans]] who arrived in the 19th century. Tourism, American pop culture, the influence of Dominican Americans, and the country's economic ties with the United States motivate other Dominicans to learn English.

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in the Dominican Republic}}
[[File:Iglesia Sagrado Corazon de Jesus Moca.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Iglesia Sagrado Corazón de Jesus in [[Moca, Dominican Republic]].]]
The Dominican Republic is 80% Christian, including 57% [[Roman Catholic]] and 23% [[Protestantism|Protestant]].<ref name="PewResearch">{{cite web|title=Religion in Latin America: Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2014/11/Religion-in-Latin-America-11-12-PM-full-PDF.pdf|access-date=22 October 2018|language=en|date=November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021065936/http://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2014/11/Religion-in-Latin-America-11-12-PM-full-PDF.pdf|archive-date=21 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Recent but small scale immigration, as well as proselytizing, has brought other religions, with the following shares of the population: [[Kardecist spiritism|Spiritist]]: 1.2%,<ref name=religiousfreedom/> [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]: 1.1%,<ref name="ldsnewsroom">{{cite web|url=http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/contact-us/dominican-republic |title=Country Profiles > Dominican Republic |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017060008/http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/contact-us/dominican-republic |archive-date=October 17, 2009 }}</ref> Buddhist: 0.10%, [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]]: 0.1%,<ref name=religiousfreedom/> Islam: 0.02%, Judaism: 0.01%, [[Chinese folk religion]]: 0.1%.<ref name="religiousfreedom">{{cite web |url=http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Dominican_Republic/rbodies.html |title=Religious Freedom Page |access-date=2009-02-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617175719/http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Dominican_Republic/rbodies.html |archive-date=2008-06-17 }}</ref>
[[File:Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia Catedral Primada de America CCSD 01 2018 6772.jpg|thumb|right|240px|People attending mass in [[Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor|Cathedral of Santo Domingo]].]]
Roman Catholicism was introduced by Columbus and Spanish missionaries. Religion was not really the foundation of their entire society, as it was in other parts of the world at the time, and most of the population did not attend church on a regular basis. Nonetheless, most of the education in the country was based upon the Catholic religion, as the [[Bible]] was required in the curricula of all public schools. Children would use religious-based dialogue when greeting a relative or parent. For example, a child would say "Bless me, mother", and the mother would reply "May God bless you". The nation has two patroness saints: ''Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia'' (Our Lady Of High Grace) is the patroness of the Dominican people, and ''Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes'' (Our Lady Of Mercy) is the patroness of the Dominican Republic. The Catholic Church began to lose popularity in the late nineteenth century. This was due to a lack of funding, of priests, and of support programs. During the same time, the Protestant [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] movement began to gain support. Religious tension between Catholics and Protestants in the country has been rare.

There have always been religious freedom throughout the entire country. Not until the 1950s were restrictions placed upon churches by Trujillo. Letters of protest were sent against the mass arrests of government adversaries. Trujillo began a campaign against the church and planned to arrest priests and bishops who preached against the government. This campaign ended before it was even put into place, with his assassination.

Judaism appeared in the Dominican Republic in the late 1930s. During World War II, a group of Jews escaping [[Nazi Germany]] fled to the Dominican Republic and founded the city of [[Sosúa]]. It has remained the center of the Jewish population since.<ref>{{cite web |last=Haggerty |first=Richard |title=Dominican Republic - Religion |website=Dominican Republic: A Country Study |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress |year=1989 |url=http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/33.htm |access-date=2006-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923042535/http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/33.htm |archive-date=2006-09-23 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Cuisine of the Dominican Republic}}
Dominican cuisine is predominantly made up of a combination of Spanish, Native American, and African influences over the last few centuries. The typical cuisine is quite similar to what can be found in other Latin American countries, but many of the names of dishes are different. One breakfast dish consists of eggs and ''mangú'' (mashed, boiled [[cooking bananas|plantain]]). For heartier versions, these are accompanied by deep-fried meat (typically Dominican salami) and/or cheese. Similarly to Spain, lunch is generally the largest and most important meal of the day. Lunch usually consists of rice, some type of meat (chicken, beef, pork, or fish), beans, plantains, and a side portion of salad. "La Bandera" (literally, The Flag), the most popular lunch dish, consists of meat and red beans on white rice. There is a famous soup "Sancocho" a typical national soup made with seven kinds of variety of meats.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://togetherwomenrise.org/customsandcuisine/customs-cuisine-of-the-dominican-republic/#:~:text=The%20cuisine%20of%20the%20Dominican,food%20of%20the%20Dominican%20Republic.|title=Customs & Cuisine of the Dominican Republic - Together Women Rise|date=10 June 2021 }}</ref>

Dominican cuisine usually accommodates all the food groups, incorporating meat or seafood; rice, potatoes, or plantains; and is accompanied by some other type of vegetable or salad. However, meals usually heavily favor starches and meats over dairy products and vegetables.<!--no mention of fruits--> Many dishes are made with ''[[sofrito]]'', which is a mix of local herbs and spices sautéed to bring out all of the dish's flavors. Throughout the south-central coast, [[bulgur]], or whole wheat, is a main ingredient in [[Tabbouleh|''quipes'' or ''tipili'']] (bulgur salad). Other favorite Dominican dishes include ''[[chicharrón]]'', ''[[Cassava|yuca]]'', ''[[Tapioca|casabe]]'', and ''[[pastelitos]]'' ([[empanada]]s), ''[[Sweet potato|batata]]'', ''pasteles en hoja'', (ground-roots pockets)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dominicancooking.com/forums/starters-buffet-food/1299-pasteles-hoja-ground-roots-pockets.html |title=Pasteles en hoja (Ground-roots pockets) - Dominican Cooking |access-date=2008-10-20 |date=2002-12-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021011142/http://www.dominicancooking.com/forums/starters-buffet-food/1299-pasteles-hoja-ground-roots-pockets.html |archive-date=2008-10-21 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[chimichurris]]'', ''plátanos maduros'' (ripe plantain), and ''[[tostones]]''.

Some treats Dominicans enjoy are ''[[Rice pudding|arroz con dulce]]'' (or ''arroz con leche''), ''bizcocho dominicano'' (lit. Dominican cake), ''habichuelas con dulce'' (sweet creamed beans), [[Crème caramel|flan]], ''[[Snow cone|frío frío]]'' (snow cones), [[dulce de leche]], and ''caña'' ([[sugarcane]]).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f1yNFyO-W_cC&dq=dominican+republic+desserts+dulce+de+leche&pg=PA41|title=Dominican Republic|page=41|isbn=978-0-8368-3110-8 |last1=Morris |first1=Kerry-Ann |last2=Ismail |first2=Nafisah |date=2004 |publisher=Gareth Stevens }}</ref>

The beverages Dominicans enjoy include ''[[Morir Soñando]]'', [[rum]], [[beer]], ''[[Mama Juana]]'', ''batida'' (smoothie), jugos naturales (freshly squeezed fruit juices), ''[[Mauby|mabí]]'', and coffee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hispaniola.com/dominican_republic/info/society_cuisine.php |title=Dominican Republic Cuisine by Hispaniola.com |access-date=2009-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212043214/http://www.hispaniola.com/dominican_republic/info/society_cuisine.php |archive-date=2009-12-12 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Music and dance===
{{Main|Music of the Dominican Republic}}
[[Image:Fernando Villalona 3.jpg|thumb|Dominican merengue singer [[Fernando Villalona]]]]
Musically, the Dominican Republic is known for the creation of the musical style called ''[[Merengue music|merengue]]'',<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Harvey
 | first = Sean
 | title = The Rough Guide to The Dominican Republic
 | publisher = Rough Guides
 | date = January 2006
 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/roughguidetodo00sean/page/376 376–7]
 | isbn = 978-1-84353-497-6
 | url = https://archive.org/details/roughguidetodo00sean/page/376
 }}</ref> a type of lively, fast-paced rhythm and dance music consisting of a tempo of about 120 to 160 beats per minute (it varies wildly) based on musical elements like drums, brass, and chorded instruments, as well as some elements unique to the music style of the DR. It includes the use of the ''tambora'' (Dominican drum), accordion, and ''[[güira]]''. Its [[Syncopation|syncopated beats]] use [[Latin percussion]], [[brass instruments]], [[Bass guitar|bass]], and [[piano]] or [[Musical keyboard|keyboard]]. Between 1937 and 1950 the merengue music was promoted internationally, by some Dominicans groups like, Billo's Caracas Boys, Chapuseaux and Damiron Los Reyes del Merengue, Joseito Mateo and others. Later on it was more popularized via television, radio and international media, well-known merengue singers include singer/songwriter [[Juan Luis Guerra]], [[Fernando Villalona]], [[Eddy Herrera]], [[Sergio Vargas]], [[Toño Rosario]], [[Johnny Ventura]], and [[Milly Quezada]] and [[Chichí Peralta]]. Merengue became popular in the United States, mostly on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]], during the 1980s and 90s,<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Harvey
 | first = Sean
 | title = The Rough Guide to The Dominican Republic
 | publisher = Rough Guides
 | date = January 2006
 | page = [https://archive.org/details/roughguidetodo00sean/page/375 375]
 | isbn = 978-1-84353-497-6
 | url = https://archive.org/details/roughguidetodo00sean/page/375
 }}</ref> when many Dominican artists, among them Victor Roque y La Gran Manzana, Henry Hierro, Zacarias Ferraira, Aventura, Milly, and Jocelyn Y Los Vecinos, residing in the U.S. (particularly [[New York City]]) started performing in the Latin club scene and gained radio airplay. The emergence of ''[[Bachata (music)|bachata]]'', c along with an increase in the number of Dominicans living among other [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latino]] groups in New York, [[New Jersey]], and [[Florida]] have contributed to Dominican music's overall growth in popularity.<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Harvey
 | first = Sean
 | title = The Rough Guide to The Dominican Republic
 | publisher = Rough Guides
 | date = January 2006
 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/roughguidetodo00sean/page/378 378]
 | isbn = 978-1-84353-497-6
 | url = https://archive.org/details/roughguidetodo00sean/page/378
 }}</ref>
[[Image:Juan Luis Guerra.jpg|thumb|Dominican musician Juan Luis Guerra]]
[[Bachata (music)|Bachata]], a form of music and dance that originated in the countryside and rural marginal neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic, has become quite popular in recent years. Its subjects are often romantic; especially prevalent are tales of heartbreak and sadness. In fact, the original name for the genre was ''amargue'' ("bitterness", or "bitter music", or blues music), until the rather ambiguous (and mood-neutral) term ''bachata'' became popular. Bachata grew out of and is still closely related to, the pan-Latin American romantic style called ''[[bolero]]''. Over time, it has been influenced by merengue and by a variety of Latin American guitar styles.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

[[Salsa music]] has had a great deal of popularity in the country. During the late 1960s Dominican musicians like [[Johnny Pacheco]], creator of the Fania All Stars played a significant role in the development and popularization of the genre.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oLdkCugOAOcC&dq=salsa+music+dominican+republic%C2%A0Johnny+Pacheco&pg=PA107|page=107 |title=Bachata: A Social History of a Dominican Popular Music |isbn=978-1-56639-300-3 |last1=Hernandez |first1=Deborah Pacini |date=1995 |publisher=Temple University Press }} - Article on the book: ''[[Bachata: A Social History of a Dominican Popular Music]]''</ref>

===Visual arts===
{{Main|Dominican art}}
[[File:Dario Suro 01.jpg|thumb|200px|Lluvia en el mercado (English: Rain in the Market), 1942 (Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo).]]

Historically, the painting of this time were centered around images connected to national independence, historical scenes, portraits but also landscapes and images of still life. Styles of painting ranged between [[neoclassicism]] and [[romanticism]]. Between 1920 and 1940 the art scene was influenced by styles of [[realism (arts)|realism]] and [[impressionism]]. Dominican artists were focused on breaking from previous, academic styles in order to develop more independent and individual styles. The artists of the times were [[Celeste Woss y Gil]] (1890–1985), [[Jaime Colson]] (1901–1975), [[Yoryi Morel|Yoryi O. Morel]] (1906–1979) and [[Darío Suro]] (1917–1997).

<gallery class="center">
File:El Puerto sobre el Río Ozama.png|El Puerto sobre el Río Ozama. Alejandro Bonilla 1868
File:Al Amor que Llega.jpg|El amor que llega. Abelardo Rodriguez Urdaneta without date
File:Urdaneta Mujer de espalda.png|Abelardo Rodríguez Urdaneta. Urdaneta. Mujer de espalda. date unknown
File:Urdaneta Marina.png|Abelardo Rodríguez Urdaneta. Marina. date unknown.
File:Grullon El Moro.png|El Moro. Arturo Grullón. 1900
File:Grullón still life with bird.png|Arturo Grullon – Still life with bird, 1898
File:Arturo Grullon – Water from the fountain.jpg|Arturo Grullon – Water from the fountain
File:Grullon Retrato de Monsieur.jpg|Grullon Retrato de Monsieur
File:Grullón, Paisaje Urbano.jpg|Grullón, Paisaje Urbano
File:Navarro Canastera.png|Canastera. Leopoldo Navarro 1900
File:The Spinners Navarro.png|The Spinners Navarro
</gallery>

Between 1950 and 1970 Dominican art expressed the social and political conditions of the time. A need for a renewal of the image language emerged and, as a result, paintings were created in non-figurative, abstract, geometric and cubistic styles. The most notable artists included [[Paul Giudicelli]] (1921–1965), [[Clara Ledesma]] (1924–1999), [[Gilberto Hernández Ortega|Gilberto Hernandez Ortega]] (1924–1979), Gaspar Mario Cruz (1925–2006), Luichy M. Richiez (1928–2000), [[Eligio Pichardo]] (1929–1984), Domingo Liz (b. 1931), Silvano Lora (1934–2003), [[Cándido Bidó]] (1936–2011) and José Ramírez Conde (1940–1987).

===Fashion===
In only seven years, the Dominican Republic's [[fashion week]] has become the most important event of its kind in all of the Caribbean and one of the fastest-growing fashion events in the entire Latin American fashion world. The country boasts one of the ten most important design schools in the region, La Escuela de Diseño de Altos de Chavón, which is making the country a key player in the world of fashion and design.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

World-famous fashion designer [[Oscar de la Renta]] was born in the Dominican Republic in 1932 and became a US citizen in 1971. He studied under the leading Spaniard designer [[Cristóbal Balenciaga]] and then worked with the house of [[Lanvin (clothing)|Lanvin]] in Paris. Then by 1963, de la Renta had designs carrying his own label. After establishing himself in the US, de la Renta opened boutiques across the country. His work blends French and Spaniard fashion with American styles.<ref>[http://www.wcax.com/story/7036793/fashion-oscar-de-la-renta-dominican-republic Fashion: Oscar de la Renta (Dominican Republic)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116205803/http://www.wcax.com/story/7036793/fashion-oscar-de-la-renta-dominican-republic |date=2013-01-16 }} WCAX.com – Retrieved October 31, 2012.</ref><ref name="britannica de la renta">[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/764644/Oscar-de-la-Renta Oscar de la Renta] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120111251/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/764644/Oscar-de-la-Renta |date=2013-01-20 }}. [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]. Retrieved October 31, 2012.</ref> Although he settled in New York, de la Renta also marketed his work in Latin America, where it became very popular, and remained active in his native Dominican Republic, where his charitable activities and personal achievements earned him the Juan Pablo Duarte Order of Merit and the Order of Cristóbal Colón.<ref name="britannica de la renta"/>

===Sports===
{{Main|Sports in the Dominican Republic}}
[[Image:Albert Pujols4.jpg|300px|thumb|Dominican native and [[Major League Baseball]] player [[Albert Pujols]]]]
[[Baseball]] is by far the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic.<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Harvey
 | first = Sean
 | title = The Rough Guide to The Dominican Republic
 | publisher = Rough Guides
 | date = January 2006
 | page = [https://archive.org/details/roughguidetodo00sean/page/59 59]
 | isbn = 978-1-84353-497-6
 | url = https://archive.org/details/roughguidetodo00sean/page/59
 }}</ref> After the United States, the Dominican Republic has the second-highest number of [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) players. Some of these players have been regarded among the best in the game.
Historically, the Dominican Republic has been linked to MLB since [[Ozzie Virgil Sr.]] became the first Dominican to play in the league. [[Juan Marichal]] is the first Dominican-born player in the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://baseballhall.org/node/1255 |title=Marichal, Juan |work= Baseball Hall of Fame|access-date=July 29, 2010}}</ref>
[[File:Dominican Republic Baseball.jpg|right|upright|thumb|Dominican ambassador Jonny de Jesús Martínez showcasing baseball culture.]]
[[Olympic Games|Olympic]] gold medalist and world champion over 400&nbsp;m hurdles [[Félix Sánchez (hurdler)|Félix Sánchez]] hails from the Dominican Republic, as does current [[defensive end]] for the [[San Diego Chargers]] ([[National Football League]] [NFL]), [[Luis Castillo (American football)|Luis Castillo]]. Castillo was the cover athlete for the [[Spanish language]] version of [[Madden NFL 08]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Shanahan |first=Tom |title=San Diego Hall of Champions - Sports at Lunch, Luis Castillo and Felix Sanchez |publisher=San Diego Hall of Champions |date=2007-03-24 |url=http://www.sdhoc.com/main/articles/sportsatlunch/Sportsatlunch2007/Sanchezcastillo |access-date=2007-05-29 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070605034355/http://www.sdhoc.com/main/articles/sportsatlunch/Sportsatlunch2007/Sanchezcastillo |archive-date=June 5, 2007 }}</ref>

===Holidays===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Name
!
|-
| January 1 || [[New Year's Day]]
|style="font-size:95%;"| Non-working day.
|-
| January 6 || [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] day of the [[Epiphany (Christian)|Epiphany]]
|style="font-size:95%;"| Movable.
|-
| January 21 || [[Día de la Altagracia]]
|style="font-size:95%;"| Non-working day. [[Patron saint|Patroness Day]] (Catholic).
|-
| January 26 || [[Juan Pablo Duarte|Duarte]]'s Day
|style="font-size:95%;"| Movable. Founding Father.
|-
| February 27 || [[Dominican War of Independence|Independence Day]]
|style="font-size:95%;"| Non-working day. [[National Day]].
|-
|| (Variable date) || [[Holy Week]]
|style="font-size:95%;"| Working days, except [[Good Friday]].<br />A Catholic holiday.
|-
| May 1 || [[International Workers' Day]]
|style="font-size:95%;"| Movable.
|-
| Last Sunday of May ||[[Mother's Day]]
|-
| (Variable date) || Catholic [[Corpus Christi (feast)|Corpus Christi]]
|style="font-size:95%;"| Non-working day. A Thursday in May or June <br />(60 days after Easter Sunday).
|-
| August 16|| [[Dominican Restoration War|Restoration Day]]
|style="font-size:95%;"| Non-working day.
|-
| September 24 || ''Virgen de las Mercedes''
|style="font-size:95%;"| Non-working day. A [[Patron saint|Patroness Day]] (Catholic)
|-
| November 6 || [[Constitution Day]]
|style="font-size:95%;"| Movable.
|-
| December 25 || [[Christmas]]
|style="font-size:100%;"| Non-working days.
|}
''Notes'':
* ''Non-working holidays are not moved to another day.''
* ''If a movable holiday falls on Saturday, Sunday or Monday then it is not moved to another day. If it falls on Tuesday or Wednesday, the holiday is moved to the previous Monday. If it falls on Thursday or Friday, the holiday is moved to the next Monday.''

==Notable people==
* [[List of people from the Dominican Republic]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Dominican Republic}}
* [[Dominican American]]
* [[Dominican Republic immigration to Puerto Rico|Dominican-Puerto Rican]]
* [[List of Dominican Americans]]
* [[Dominicans in Spain]]
* [[Culture of the Dominican Republic]]
* [[Demographics of the Dominican Republic]]
* [[History of the Dominican Republic]]
* [[Mixed Dominicans]]
* [[White Dominicans]]
* [[Afro-Dominicans]]
* [[Criollo people]]
* [[Hispanics]]

==Sources==
* ''The Mulatto Republic: Class, Race, and Dominican National Identity''. [[April Mayes|April J. Mayes]]. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2014. {{ISBN|978-0-8130-4919-9}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190217155611/http://conapofa.gov.do/ Consejo Nacional de Población y Familia] (National Council of Population and Family) – The demographics department of the Dominican government

{{People of the Dominican Republic}}
{{Dominican Republic topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Dominican Republic people| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Dominican Republic]]