Provinces of the Dominican Republic provinces and their capital cities. The population figures are from the 2014 population estimate. Provinces of the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is divided into thirty–one "provincias" (provinces; singular "provincia"), while the national capital, Santo Domingo, is contained within its own Distrito Nacional ("National District"; "D.N." on the map below). The division of the country into provinces is laid down in the constitution (Title I, Section II, Article 5) and enacted by law. The latter is currently Law 5220 on the Territorial Division of the Dominican Republic ("Ley No. 5220 sobre División Territorial de la República Dominicana"), issued 1959 and
People of the Dominican Republic time mostly from the lower-class. Today, emigration from the Dominican Republic remains high, facilitated by the social networks of now-established Dominican communities in the United States. Besides the United States, significant numbers of Dominicans have also settled in Spain and in the nearby U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. The culture of the Dominican Republic, like its Caribbean neighbors, is a blend of the cultures of the European colonists, African slaves, and Taíno natives. Spanish is the official language. Other languages, such as English, French, German, Italian, and Chinese are also spoken to varying degrees. European, African, and Taíno cultural elements