Higuey is the capital of La Altagracia Province in the Dominican Republic, founded under Spanish conquest in 1503 by Juan de Esquivel as Salvaleon de Higuey and made a municipality in 1844. Its population was 115,084 at the 2022 census, and its economy rests on tourism linked to nearby Punta Cana, tropical agriculture, livestock and fishing. It is a major pilgrimage destination: the Basilica of La Altagracia holds a 15th-century painting of the Virgin brought by Spanish missionaries, considered among the earliest Marian shrines in the Americas, and every 21 January tens of thousands of pilgrims visit for the national Virgin of La Altagracia holiday.
Facts
Founding Year Sources
1. Wikipedia: Higüey
en.wikipedia.org infobox settlement, population_total field (as of 2022), read 2026-09-27Quote, en.wikipedia.org infobox settlement, population_total field (as of 2022), read 2026-09-27
population_total='115084' population_as_of='2022'
2. Higüey (Wikipedia)
Higuey (Wikipedia)
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