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The Dominican Republic is a country that occupies just over the eastern two-thirds of La Española in the Greater Antilles archipelago. The western third of the island is occupied by Haiti, so La Española is an island that is shared by two countries. Both of area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest country in the Caribbean (after Cuba), the territorial extension of 48,442 square kilometers (18,704 miles square) and is estimated to be approximately 10 million.
 
Tainos inhabited since the seventh century, the territory of Dominican Republic was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and became the site of the first European settlement in America, named as Santo Domingo, the capital city and first capital of Spain in the New World. In Santo Domingo is the first university, the first cathedral and the first castle, the last two in the Colonial City area, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
 
The Dominican Republic has the second largest economy in the Caribbean. Although known for producing sugar, the economy is now dominated by losservicios. country's economic progress has been noted more recently in the field of lastelecomunicaciones. However, unemployment, government corruption, and electricity remain significant problems for the country. It also has "marked income inequality."
 
International migration affects the country largely because it receives and sends large influx of migrants. Haitian immigration and integration of Dominicans of Haitian descent are the main problems, the total population of Haitian origin is estimated at 800,000. In the U.S. there is a large Dominican diaspora, which has 1.3 million. This national development assistance Diaspora, which send billions of dollars to their families, representing one-tenth of GDP.
 
The Dominican Republic has become the largest tourist destination in the Caribbean. In this mountainous land is the highest mountain in the Caribbean, Pico Duarte, also Enriquillo Lake, the largest lake in the Caribbean. The Dominican Republic has an average temperature of 26 ° C (78.8 ° F) and a large biodiversity.
 
Music and sport are very important in Dominican culture, with merengue and bachata as national rhythms and baseball, the sport of choice.