The Dominican Republic is a North American country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and a land border with Haiti to the west, occupying the eastern five-eighths of Hispaniola which, along with Saint Martin, is one of only two islands in the Caribbean shared by two sovereign states. In the Antilles, the country is the second-largest nation by area after Cuba at 48,671 square kilometers (18,792 sq mi) and second-largest by population after Haiti with approximately 11.4 million people in 2024, of whom 3.6 million reside in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.
The culture of the Dominican Republic is a diverse mixture of different influences from around the world. The Dominican people and their customs have origins consisting predominantly in a European cultural basis, with native Taíno and African influences.
The Dominican Republic national football team represents the Dominican Republic in men's international football, and is governed by the Dominican Football Federation. The team is a member of the Caribbean Football Union of CONCACAF, the governing body of football in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Julio Antonio Gervacio is a former boxer and world Super Bantamweight champion from the Dominican Republic.
The 1991 Pan American Games, officially known as the XI Pan American Games and commonly known as Havana 1991, were held in Havana, Cuba from 2 to 18 August 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was the Estadio Panamericano, a multi-use stadium in Havana that holds 50,000 people.
The 2003 Pan American Games, officially the XIV Pan American Games and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America.
Cocolo is a term used in the Hispanic Caribbean to refer to Afro-Caribbean migrant descendants. The term originated in the Dominican Republic and is historically used to refer to the Anglophone Caribbean immigrants and their descendants and more rarely, towards those from the Francophone Caribbean. It is mainly used to refer to the migrants in San Pedro de Macorís, Puerto Plata, the Samaná Peninsula, and other Afro-descendants who arrived in the Atlantic coastal areas of the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s. At the time these migrants were culturally distinct from the lighter Dominicans who primarily lived in the northern interior of the country and had a higher degree of colonial European ancestry.
The 15th Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic from June 24 to July 5, 1986, and included 2,963 athletes from 26 nations, competing in 25 sports.
Boxing competitions at the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan were held from July 2 to 14 at the Trujillo Alto Coliseum and the Roberto Clemente Coliseum.
The Dominican Republic first participated in the Olympic Games in 1964, when Alberto Torres de la Mota participated in the 10th heat of the 100m competition and ran 10.9 seconds, finishing 6th, not qualifying for the next round.
The Dominican Republic competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dominican Republic refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Dominican Republic. The LDS Church has had a presence in the Dominican Republic since 1978. With 147,566 members in 203 congregations, Dominican Republic has the largest body of LDS Church members in the Caribbean. It also has the highest members per capita rate in the Caribbean.
Sports are a central part of the culture of the Dominican Republic, and have been practiced in the whole country since the native inhabitants were living in the island. Sports play a key role in the culture and makeup of Dominican Republic society. Baseball is the most popular sport on the island country and Major League Baseball has been recruiting players from the Dominican Republic since the 1960s. Basketball, football, volleyball, and boxing are other sports played in the country.
Yenebier Adelina Guillén Benítez is a Dominican boxer who competes as a 75 kilogram middleweight, Pan American Champion and Female Boxer in 2013 and silver medal at the 2011 Pan American Games. She also won the gold medal at the 2008 Central American and Caribbean Championship, 2013 Bolivarian Games and 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Dominican Republic competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's fourteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
The 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships was held at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena in Doha, Qatar from 5 to 18 October 2015. This was a qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Arlen López Cardona is a Cuban professional boxer. López was a highly accomplished amateur, winning gold medals at both the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. López also won gold medals at both the 2015 and 2019 Pan American Games, the 2014 and 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games and the 2015 World Championships. As a professional, he has qualified for his third Olympics in 2024.
The North American continent is the birthplace of several organized sports, such as basketball, charrería/rodeo, gridiron football, ice hockey, jaripeo/bull riding, lacrosse, ollamaliztl, mixed martial arts (MMA), padel, pickleball, racquetball, ultimate, and volleyball. The modern versions of baseball and softball, skateboarding, snowboarding, stock car racing, and surfing also developed in North America.
The Dominican Republic competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's fifteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Dominican Republic left the Summer Olympics with 3 silver medals and 2 bronze medals with moderate success, but not able to secure a single gold medal in any of the events.
Danilo Cabrera is a former professional boxer from the Dominican Republic. Known in professional boxing circles as "Cuero Duro", he fought for world championships three times, losing to International Boxing Hall of Fame members Barry McGuigan, Azumah Nelson and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., respectively.
Jesús Beltre (DOM)
Rogelio Marcelo (CUB)
Marcelino Bolivar (VEN)
Julio Coronell (COL)
Eduardo López (PAN)
Angel Vargas (PUR)
Donald Allison (GUY)
Mark Kennedy (JAM)
Joseph Anthony (TRI)
Marvin Smith (BAH)
