Location: Caribbean, in the northern Caribbean Sea, about halfway between Cuba and Puerto Rico

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 48,730 sq km
land area: 48,380 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire

Land boundaries: total 275 km, Haiti 275 km

Coastline: 1,288 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or the outer edge of continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 6 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall

Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed

Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver

Land use:
arable land: 23%
permanent crops: 7%
meadows and pastures: 43%
forest and woodland: 13%
other: 14%

Irrigated land: 2,250 sq km (1989)

Environment:
current issues: water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation
natural hazards: subject to occasional hurricanes (July to October)
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti)

NOTE: The information regarding Dominican Republic on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Dominican Republic Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Dominican Republic Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.