Santiago de los Caballeros | |
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City | |
Santiago de los Caballeros | |
Nickname: Ciudad Corazón | |
Motto(s): "La Ciudad Corazón", "Primer Santiago de América" (in Spanish) ("The Heartland City", "First Santiago of the Americas") | |
Coordinates: 19°27′26″N 70°41′20″W / 19.45722°N 70.68889°W | |
Country | ![]() |
Province | Santiago |
Municipality | Santiago de los Caballeros |
Founded | 1495 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Ulises Rodriguez |
Area | |
• Total | 524.01 km2 (202.32 sq mi) |
Elevation | 175 m (574 ft) |
Population (2022 census)[2] | |
• Total | 771,748 |
• Rank | 3 |
• Density | 1,500/km2 (3,800/sq mi) |
• Rank | 2 |
• Metro | 959,498 |
• Demonym | Spanish: Santiaguero; Santiagueño |
GDP (PPP, constant 2015 values) | |
• Year | 2023 |
• Total | $16.0 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $23,200 |
Time zone | UTC-4 (Atlantic Standard Time) |
Climate | Am |
Municipal districts | 5 |
Website | [1] |
Santiago de los Caballeros ("Saint James of the Knights"), often shortened to Santiago, is the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic and the fourth-largest city in the Caribbean by population.[5] It is the capital of Santiago Province and the largest major metropolis in the Cibao region of the country. Santiago is the largest Caribbean city that is not a capital city, and the largest non-coastal metropolis in the Caribbean islands. It is approximately 155 km (96 mi) northwest of the capital, Santo Domingo, with an average altitude of 178 m (584 ft). The city has a population of 771,748 inhabitants (2022).[2] Santiago's metropolitan area population composed by the municipalities of Santiago-Licey Al Medio-Baitoa-Tamboril-Puñal-Villa González is 959,498 as of 2022, making it the Dominican Republic's second-largest.
Founded in 1495 during the first wave of European settlement in the New World, the city is the "first Santiago of the Americas".[6] Today it is one of the Dominican Republic's cultural, political, industrial and financial centers. Due to its location in the fertile Cibao Valley, it has a robust agricultural sector and is a leading exporter of rum, textiles, and cigars.[7] Santiago is known as "La Ciudad Corazón" (the "Heartland City").[8]
Santiago de los Caballeros was an important strategic city in the Dominican War of Independence. The city's name, Saint James of the Knights, refers to the Hidalgos de la Isabela, a group of knights who came from La Isabela city to stay in Santiago. Sometimes, the city is called Santiago de los 30 Caballeros (English: Saint James of the 30 Knights).