Hispaniola is an island in the Caribbean archipelago known as the Greater Antilles. It is the second largest island in the West Indies after Cuba, and the most populous island in the West Indies; it is also the eleventh most populous island in the world.The 76,192-square-kilometre (29,418 sq mi) island is divided into two separate, sovereign nations: the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic (48,445 km2, 18,705 sq mi) to the east, and French / French-based Haitian Creole-speaking Haiti (27,750 km2, 10,710 sq mi) to the west.