Santo Domingo de Guzmán (known as Santo Domingo) population 2,061,200 (Metro) (2003), estimated 2,253,437 (Metro) in 2006, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. The city is located at in the Caribbean Sea at the mouth of the Ozama River. It is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas, and was the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the New World . In 1930, the city of Santo Domingo was almost completely demolished by a tropical hurricane called San Zenon. Dictator Rafael Trujillo, the incumbent at the time, reconstructed the city and named it Ciudad Trujillo after himself. After his assassination in 1961, Ciudad Trujillo became Santo Domingo de Guzman as today's actual name. Santo Domingo de Guzman is within the boundaries of the Distrito Nacional (D.N.) and the Santo Domingo Province surrounds it. In 2001 a law was approved making Santo Domingo de Guzmán (The City & D.N) less than 200 km² in size, making it the smallest administrative division in the country.

Please note that when the article refers to Santo Domingo it is most likely referring to the Greater Santo Domingo Area (D.N + Santo Domingo Province) to avoid confusion of the terms. In some cases it may say D.N. which specifically means the city Boundaries without including the surrounding Santo Domingo province.