The Dominican Republic is one of thirteen countries that make up the Insular, Caribbean or Caribbean Islands, one of the thirty-fifth of the American continent. Its capital and most populated city is Santo Domingo. It is located in the central part of the Antilles, in the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola, bordering on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by the Mona Channel, which separates it from Puerto Rico, on the south by the sea Caribbean, and to the west with Haiti, which is the other country located in Hispaniola. With 48,670 km² it is the second largest country - behind Cuba - and with almost 10 500 000 inhabitants. in 2010, the second most populous, again behind Cuba.4 7

Inhabited by Tainos since the 7th century, the territory of the country was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and became the site of the first European settlement in America, named as Santo Domingo, the current capital of the country and the first capital of Spain in the New World. After three centuries of Spanish domination, the country reached the first independence in 1821 but was quickly seized by Haiti in 1822.

After the victory obtained in the War of the Dominican Independence in 1844, the Dominicans underwent several struggles, mostly internal, and also a brief return of the Spanish domination (1861-1865). The American occupation of 1916 to 1924 and, later, the six years in calm and prosperity of Horacio Vásquez (1924-1930) were followed by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo until 1961. The civil war of 1965 ended with a intervention led by States United States and was followed by several periods of repressive governments by Joaquín Balaguer (1966-1978). Since then, the Dominican Republic has moved towards a representative democracy.

The Dominican Republic has the ninth largest economy in Latin America and the largest in Central America and the Caribbean.10 Although known for sugar production, the economy is now dominated by services. Nonetheless, unemployment, 1 government corruption and electric service remain major problems for the country. It also has a marked income inequality.5

The country's economic progress is exemplified by its advanced telecommunication system.11 International migration affects the country to a large extent, as it receives and sends large numbers of migrants. The irregular immigration of Haitians and the legal integration of the descendants of these are the main immigration problem; the total population of Haitian origin is estimated at about 800 000.12 In the United States there is a large Dominican diaspora, with 1.3 million people; 13 that diaspora helps national development, sending billions of dollars to its families, representing one-tenth of GDP.14