The Dominican Republic is located in the Caribbean Sea and is part of the West Indies. The island of Hispanola, as it was called when Christopher Columbus discovered it when he was on his voyage in 1492, is shared with Haiti, a country to the left of the Dominican Republic. The island played a major role in the economic growth that Eupeans had when the new world was discovered.
The total population of the Dominican Republic is about 8.5 million people, more than one third of the people live in the capitol known as Santo Domingo, which is the only urban city in the country. The second largest city is set on the cliffs above the Yaque River and is known as Santiago (de los Caballeros). With over half a million people, the city is a major source of income for the country, close by Santiago, they have a long tradition of growing, harvesting and marketing tobacco.
The Dominican Republic economically is a middle income developing country that is dependent on agriculture, trade, and, of course, tourism. Exporting goods such as sugar, coffee, cocoa, bananas, rice, plantain are among the goods that help this country prosper economically.