Provinces of the Dominican Republic


The Dominican Republic is divided into 31 provinces, while the national capital, Santo Domingo, is contained within its own district.
The division of the country into provinces is laid down in the constitution and enacted by law. The latter is currently Law 5220 on the Territorial Division of the Dominican Republic, issued 1959 and frequently amended to create new provinces and lower-level administrative units.

The provinces as administrative divisions

The provinces are the first-level administrative subdivisions of the country. The headquarters of the central government's regional offices are normally found in the capital cities of provinces. The president appoints an administrative governor for each province but not for the Distrito Nacional.
The provinces are divided into municipalities, which are the second–level political and administrative subdivisions of the country.
The Distrito Nacional was created in 1936. Prior to this, the Distrito Nacional was the old Santo Domingo Province, in existence since the country's independence in 1844. It is not to be confused with the new Santo Domingo Province, which split off from it in 2001. While it is similar to a province in many ways, the Distrito Nacional differs in its lack of an administrative governor and consisting only of one municipality, Santo Domingo, the city council and mayor which are in charge of its administration.

The provinces as constituencies

The provinces are also constituencies for the elections to the bicameral National Congress. Each province elects one member of the Senate and a guaranteed minimum of two members of the Chamber of Deputies.

Statistics

The following is a table of the provinces and their capital cities. The population figures are from the 2021 population estimate.
Coat Of ArmsProvince
National District		CapitalRegionDepartmentArea
Population
2021		DensityMapEstablishment year
AzuaAzuaSouthValdesia2,531.77222,61086.591844
BaorucoNeibaSouthEnriquillo1,282.23101,30677.401943
BarahonaSanta Cruz de BarahonaSouthEnriquillo1,739.38189,100108.491881
DajabónDajabónCibaoCibao Noroeste1,020.7366,67563.951938
DuarteSan Francisco de MacorísCibaoCibao Nordeste1,605.35299,583183.701896
El SeiboSanta Cruz de El SeiboEastYuma1,786.8094,04963.581844
Elías PiñaComendadorSouthEl Valle1,426.2063,30335.511942
EspaillatMocaCibaoCibao Norte838.62240,428281.971885
Hato MayorHato Mayor del ReyEastHiguamo1,329.2985,74764.371984
Hermanas MirabalSalcedoCibaoCibao Nordeste440.4392,045209.781952
IndependenciaJimaníSouthEnriquillo2,006.4458,95127.731948
La AltagraciaSalvaleón de HigüeyEastYuma3,010.34360,874104.611944
La RomanaLa RomanaEastYuma653.95274,894397.591944
La VegaConcepción de La VegaCibaoCibao Sur2,287.24412,469176.641844
María Trinidad SánchezNaguaCibaoCibao Nordeste1,271.71140,954111.171959
Monseñor NouelBonaoCibaoCibao Sur992.39174,959171.511991
Monte CristiSan Fernando de Monte CristiCibaoCibao Noroeste1,924.35117,73659.221879
Monte PlataMonte PlataEastHiguamo2,632.14191,44771.681991
PedernalesPedernalesSouthEnriquillo2,074.5335,28016.121957
PeraviaBaníSouthValdesia792.33198,499241.621944
Puerto PlataPuerto PlataCibaoCibao Norte1,852.90333,940177.291850
SamanáSanta Bárbara de SamanáCibaoCibao Nordeste853.74113,036125.621867
San CristóbalSan CristóbalSouthValdesia1,265.77643,595505.931932
San José de OcoaSan José de OcoaSouthValdesia855.453,83345.112000
San JuanSan Juan de la MaguanaSouthEl Valle3,569.39220,264266.121938
San Pedro de MacorísSan Pedro de MacorísEastHiguamo1,255.46306,00283.661907
Sánchez RamírezCotuíCibaoCibao Sur1,196.13151,888121.091952
SantiagoSantiago de los CaballerosCibaoCibao Norte2,836.511,052,088355.301844
Santiago RodríguezSan Ignacio de SabanetaCibaoCibao Noroeste1,111.1457,20951.711948
Santo DomingoSanto Domingo EsteSouthOzama1,301.842,955,3392036.082001
ValverdeMaoCibaoCibao Noroeste823.38177,865207.061959
Distrito NacionalSanto DomingoEastOzama104.441,049,5679,651.451932