Description
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of only two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that are shared by two sovereign states. The Dominican Republic is the second-largest Caribbean nation by area (after Cuba) at 48,671 square kilometres (18,792 sq mi), and third by population with approximately 10,299,000 people (July 2018 est.), of whom approximately three million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.
The flag of the Dominican Republic features a centred white cross that extends to the edges and divides the flag into four rectangles; the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue. The blue on the flag stands for liberty, the white for salvation, and the red for the blood of heroes. The national coat of arms, featuring a shield with the flag design and supported by a bay laurel branch (left) and a palm frond (right), is at the centre of the cross. Above the shield, a blue ribbon displays the national motto Dios, Patria, Libertad (English: God, Fatherland, Liberty). Below the shield, the words República Dominicana appear on a red ribbon (this red ribbon is depicted in more recent versions as having its tips pointing upward). In the centre of the shield, flanked by three spears (two of them holding Dominican banners) on each side, is a Bible with a small cross above it and said to be opened to the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 32, which reads Y la verdad os hará libres (And the truth shall make you free).