Employer of Record in Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation in the Caribbean area situated on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with Haiti, making Hispaniola, along with Saint Martin, one of only two Caribbean islands shared by two sovereign governments. The Dominican Republic is the second-largest country in the Antilles by land (after Cuba), and the third-largest by population, with around 10.8 million inhabitants (2020 estimate), 3.3 million of whom reside in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city. The country's official language is Spanish.

Before Europeans arrived, the original Tano people occupied Hispaniola, dividing it into five chiefdoms. They had built a sophisticated agricultural and hunting community and were on their way to establishing an organized civilization. The Tanos was also found in Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. Christopher Columbus, a Genoese mariner, explored and claimed the island for Castile on his first expedition in 1492. Santo Domingo became the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, as well as the first seat of Spanish colonial administration in the New World. Spain accepted French control over the western portion of the island in 1697, and Haiti became an independent state in 1804.

In November 1821, the Dominicans proclaimed independence from Spain after more than 300 years of domination. The leader of the independence movement, José Nez de Cáceres, hoped to merge the Dominican nation with Gran Colombia, but the newly independent Dominicans were annexed by Haiti in February 1822. Independence occurred 22 years later, in 1844 when the Dominican War of Independence was won. The Dominican Republic underwent largely internal conflicts (funded by loans from European merchants), multiple unsuccessful invasions by its neighbor, Haiti, and a temporary restoration to Spanish colonial status until ultimately removing the Spanish during the Dominican War of Restoration of 1863–1865. Three presidents were murdered during this time period: José Antonio Salcedo in 1864, Ulises Heureaux in 1899, and Ramón Cáceres in 1911.

The United States invaded the Dominican Republic (1916–1924) in response to concerns of international debt default; a subsequent tranquil and successful six-year era under Horacio Vásquez followed. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo's dictatorship governed from 1930 until his murder in 1961. Juan Bosch was elected president in 1962 but overthrown in a military coup in 1963. The country's last civil war, in 1965, was halted by US military involvement and was followed by the authoritarian leadership of Joaquin Balaguer (1966–1978 and 1986–1996). Since 1978, the Dominican Republic has progressed toward representative democracy, with Leonel Fernández serving as President for the majority of the period since 1996. Danilo Medina replaced Fernández in 2012, defeating ex-President Hipólito Meja with 51 percent of the vote. In the 2020 presidential election, he was replaced by Luis Abinader.

According to the US State Department and the World Bank, the Dominican Republic has the biggest economy in the Caribbean and Central America area, and is the seventh-largest in Latin America. The Dominican Republic has had the fastest-growing economy in the Western Hemisphere for the previous 25 years, with an average real GDP growth rate of 5.3 percent between 1992 and 2018. GDP growth rates in 2014 and 2015 were the highest in the Western Hemisphere, at 7.3 and 7.0 percent, respectively. The Dominican economy increased 7.4 percent in the first half of 2016, maintaining its history of high economic expansion. Construction, manufacturing, tourism, and mining have all contributed to recent prosperity. The nation is home to the world's third-biggest gold mine, the Pueblo Viejo mine. Because of low inflation (under 1% on average in 2015), job creation, and a high level of remittances, private spending has been solid. Illegal Haitian immigration is a major issue in the Dominican Republic, straining the Dominican economy and heightening tensions between Dominicans and Haitians. The Dominican Republic also has 114,050 illegal Venezuelan immigrants.

The Dominican Republic is the Caribbean's most popular tourist destination. The golf courses are quite popular all year. The Dominican Republic, a physically diversified country, is home to both the Caribbean's highest mountain peak, Pico Duarte, and the Caribbean's biggest lake and lowest point, Lake Enriquillo. The island has a high climatic and ecological variety, with an average temperature of 26 °C (78.8 °F). The nation is also home to the first cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortification erected in the Americas, which can be found in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Baseball is the undisputed national sport.