Which island is divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic?

Hispaniola is the Caribbean island divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Haiti occupies the western portion, while the Dominican Republic occupies the eastern portion, making the island one of the world’s best-known divided islands.

With an area of about 76,192 square kilometers, Hispaniola is the second-largest island in the Caribbean after Cuba. Its terrain includes major mountain ranges, fertile valleys, coastal plains, and Lake Enriquillo, the largest lake in the Caribbean. The island is also home to Pico Duarte, the highest mountain in the Caribbean.

European maps once commonly used names connected with Santo Domingo, while “Hispaniola” derives from the Spanish name La Española, associated with Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage. Colonial history later shaped the island’s political division: France controlled the western colony of Saint-Domingue, while Spain controlled the east. Haiti became independent in 1804, and the Dominican Republic emerged as an independent state in 1844.

A common mix-up is to call Haiti the island. Haiti is a country on Hispaniola; the island itself contains both Haiti and the Dominican Republic.