Dominican Republic flag

The Dominican Republic

Includes The Dominican Republic real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, and GDP composition by sector.

Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about The Dominican Republic economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of country best banks and safest banks are also available.

Basic Information

Government Type: Presidential republic

Capital City: Santo Domingo

GDP & Economic Information

Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data

Central Bank Central Bank of the Dominican Republic
Currency Dominican pesos (DOP)
International Reserves USD 7.6 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product – GDP USD 80.9 billion (2018, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) Intl$ 189.2 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP Data

Real GDP growth 2007 7.4%
2008 3.2%
2009 0.9%
2010 8.3%
2011 3.1%
2012 2.7%
2013 4.9%
2014 7.6%
2015 7%
2016 6.6%
2017* 4.6%
2018* 7%

*Estimate
GDP per capita – current prices USD 7,880.6 (2018, estimate)
GDP per capita – PPP Intl$ 18,424.6 (2018, estimate)
GDP (PPP) – share of world total 1980 0.11%
1990 0.10%
2000 0.11%
2010 0.12%
2019* 0.14%
GDP – composition by sector agriculture: 19.3%
industry: 19.7%
services: 48.4%

(2020 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 27.9%
services: 58.9%
(2018 estimate)
Inflation 2015 0.8%
2016 1.6%
2017 3.3%
2018* 3.6%
2019* 1.8%

*Estimate

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2015 0.8%
2016 1.6%
2017 3.3%
2018* 3.6%
2019* 1.8%

*Estimate
Government Bond Ratings
Standard & Poor’s: BB-

Moody’: Ba3

Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s
Unemployment rate 2015 7.3%
2016 7.1%
2017 5.5%
2018* 5.7%
2019* 5.5%

*Estimate
Household saving rates N/A
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) 2015 44.7%
2016 46.6%
2017 48.9%
2018* 50.5%
2019* 52.7%

*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) 2015 0%
2016 -3.1%
2017 -3.3%
2018* -2.3%
2019* -3.1%

*Estimate
Market value of publicly traded shares 2016 N/A
2017 N/A
2018 N/A
Largest Companies N/A

Import/Export

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services) 25.1% (2018)
Shares in world total merchandising export 0.06% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export 0.16% (2018)
Total exports USD 18.8 billion (2018)
Export commodities Gold, silver, cocoa, sugar, coffee, tobacco, meats, consumer goods
Total imports USD 23.6 billion (2018 estimate)
Import commodities Petroleum, foodstuffs, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Exports – major partners US 50.3%, Haiti 9.1%, Canada 8.2%, India 5.6% (2017)
Imports – major partners US 41.4%, China 13.9%, Mexico 4.5%, Brazil 4.3% (2017)

Competitiveness & Trade

Current account balance USD -1.2 billion (2018 estimate
Current account balance by percentage of GDP -1.4 % (2018 estimate)
FDI inflows 2016 USD 2,407 million
2017 USD 3,571 million
2018 USD 2,535 million
FDI Outflows 2016 USD N/A
2017 USD N/A
2018 USD N/A
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser 2015 USD 34 millionUSD 34 millionUSD 34 million
2016 N/A
2017 USD 165 million
2018 N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 N/A
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

115 out of 190 countries

Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 112 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 80 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 116 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 74 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 119 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 143 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 150 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 66 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 133 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 124 out of 190 countries
Global competitiveness ranking
78 out of 141 countries

(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom Ranking: 89 / Score: 61 (Moderately free)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

Population & Geographic Data

Total Area 48,670 sq km
Total Population 1990 7.12 Million
2000 8.4 Million
2010 9.48 million
2015 9.98 Million
2020 10.47 Million
Urban population as % of total population 1960 30.2%
1980 51.3%
2000 61.8%
2018 81.1%
Population median age 27.3 years
Population growth rate 0.99% (2018 estimate)
Life expectancy 71.3 years (2018 estimate)
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day 5.9% (last available estimate, 2016)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
45.7 (last available estimate, 2016)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Freedom House rating Partly Free
Political Rights: 3
Civil Liberties: 3 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 12%

Mobile: 84.1%

(2018)

(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 74.82 % (2018)

Language & Religon

Languages Spanish (official)
Literacy Total population: 93.8%
Male: 93.8%
Female: 93.8%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2016 est.)
Religions Roman Catholic 47.8%, Protestant 21.3%, other 2.2%, none 28%, don’t know/no response .7%(2017 est.)

World Rankings

Population 10.47 million
Mercer Cost of living index Santo Domingo: 169th (2019)
C02 Emissions per capita 2.12 metric tons per capita (2014)

Global Finance Rankings & Awards: The Dominican Republic

Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.


Data Sources:

IMF World Economic Outlook

UN World Population Prospects

World Inequality Report

S&P Global Ratings

Moody’s

Fitch Ratings

IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CIA The World Factbook

World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution

Forbes Global 2000

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