World Factbook
Dominican Republic
República Dominicana
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
93.6% (2024 est.)
female
94.4% (2024 est.)
total population
94% (2024 est.)
Languages
Languages
Spanish (official)
major-language sample(s)
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Evangelical 50.2%, Roman Catholic 30.1%, none 18.5%, unspecified 1.2% (2023 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.04 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.03 male(s)/female
total population
1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.93 male(s)/female
Birth rate
17.4 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6.97 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
29.1 years
total
29.6 years (2025 est.)
female
29.4 years
Population
male
5,506,679
total
10,899,292 (2025 est.)
female
5,392,613
Nationality
noun
Dominican(s)
adjective
Dominican
Tobacco use
male
13.5% (2025 est.)
total
9.7% (2025 est.)
female
5.9% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
84.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.64% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
25.5% (male 1,402,847/female 1,358,833)
15-64 years
66.9% (male 3,667,584/female 3,563,848)
65 years and over
7.6% (2024 est.) (male 395,345/female 427,400)
Ethnic groups
mixed 70.4% (Mestizo/Indio 58%, Mulatto 12.4%), Black 15.8%, White 13.5%, other 0.3% (2014 est.)
note: respondents self-identified their race; the term "indio" in the Dominican Republic is not associated with people of indigenous ancestry but people of mixed ancestry or skin color between light and dark
Child marriage
women married by age 15
9.4% (2019)
women married by age 18
31.5% (2019)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
49.6 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
37.8 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
8.5 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
11.8 (2025 est.)
Physician density
2.43 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
4.9% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
14.4% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
1.4 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.17 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 91.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 96.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 97.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 8.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 3.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 2.2% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
3.8% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
20.9% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
24.3 deaths/1,000 live births
total
20.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
19 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.78% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.06 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
coastal development is significant, especially in the southern coastal plains and the Cibao Valley, where population density is highest; smaller population clusters exist in the interior mountains (Cordillera Central)
Life expectancy at birth
male
71 years
female
74.3 years
total population
72.6 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
124 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 91.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 96.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 97.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 8.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 3.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 2.6% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
3.15 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
5.56 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
2.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
3.524 million SANTO DOMINGO (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
27.6% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
20.9 years (2013 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
53.2% (2019 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
3% (2019 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
13 years (2022 est.)
total
14 years (2022 est.)
female
15 years (2022 est.)