<Tr> <Th> Pop . density </Th> <Td> 280.8 / km (727.3 / sq mi) </Td> </Tr> <P> Hispaniola (Spanish: La Española; Latin and French: Hispaniola; Haitian Creole: Ispayola; Taino: Haiti) is an island in the Caribbean island group known as the Greater Antilles . It is the second largest island in the Caribbean after Cuba, and the most populous island in the Caribbean; it is also the eleventh most populous island in the world . </P> <P> The 76,192 - square - kilometre (29,418 sq mi) island is divided between two separate, sovereign nations: the Spanish - speaking Dominican Republic (48,445 km, 18,705 sq mi) to the east, and French Creole - speaking Haiti (27,750 km, 10,710 sq mi) to the west . The only other shared island in the Caribbean is Saint Martin, which is shared between France (Saint - Martin) and the Netherlands (Sint Maarten). </P> <P> Hispaniola is the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, founded by Christopher Columbus on his voyages in 1492 and 1493 . </P>

This country occupies the western part of hispaniola