Country Guide

The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the large Caribbean island of Hispaniola and has a land border with Haiti on the west. The country has an area of nearly 49,000 sq km/19,000 sq mi, twice as large as the state of Vermont or Wales.

It is the most mountainous of the Caribbean Islands, with the highest peaks rising over 3,000 m/10,000 ft, but there are also considerable areas of lowland.

Apart from the mountains, which are cooler and wetter, the weather and climate are represented by the table for Santo Domingo on the south coast. The north coast is almost twice as wet throughout the year and has rather more rain in the winter season than is usual in the Caribbean.