Santiago de los Caballeros

Santiago de los Caballeros is the Dominican Republic's second-largest city, in the Cibao region about 155 kilometers northwest of the capital Santo Domingo, with a population of 771,748 in 2022 and a metropolitan area of about 1.26 million, making it the fourth-largest city in the Caribbean. Founded in 1495, it claims to be the first Santiago established in the Americas; an earthquake destroyed the original settlement, and the city was rebuilt at its current site in 1506, later playing a strategic role in the Dominican War of Independence. It anchors the Cibao region's economy, which produced 33 percent of the country's GDP in 2022, with industries built on free-trade-zone manufacturing, rum, textiles and cigars.