What country lies directly east of Haiti on the island of Hispaniola?

The Dominican Republic lies directly east of Haiti on the island of Hispaniola. The two countries share one Caribbean island, with Haiti occupying the western portion and the Dominican Republic occupying most of the eastern portion.

Hispaniola is the second-largest island in the Caribbean after Cuba. The Dominican Republic covers about 48,000 square kilometers, while Haiti covers about 28,000 square kilometers. Their land boundary runs for roughly 390 kilometers from the Caribbean Sea in the south to the Atlantic Ocean in the north.

The countries have distinct colonial and cultural histories. Haiti developed from the former French colony of Saint-Domingue, while the Dominican Republic developed from the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo. That history helps explain why French and Haitian Creole are dominant in Haiti, while Spanish is the official language of the Dominican Republic.

A frequent mix-up is treating Hispaniola as a country. It is an island shared by two sovereign states. Another nearby fact readers often ask about is the island’s capital: Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, is the oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city in the Americas.