The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
The island is sandwiched between Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east.
At about 19,000 square miles in area, the Dominican Republic is a little smaller than West Virginia but much more densely populated, with about 8 million people.
Two million live in the capital, Santo Domingo, named for Spain’s Saint Dominic.
