Demographics & population — Dominican Republic
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Demographics & population at a glance
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators. Key figure for Dominican Republic: 10,815,857
Immigration rules and fees change frequently — confirm current requirements on official government or embassy websites.
Population overview
- Population
10,815,857
- Population Growth Rate
0.76%
- 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)
- Urban Population
- Urban population: 84.4%
- of total population Rate of urbanization: 1.64% annual rate of change
- Population in Major Urban Areas
3.524 million SANTO DOMINGO
- Population: Male/Female
- Male: 5,465,776
- Female: 5,350,081
Age & family
- Age Structure
- 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% (male 395,345/female 427,400)
- Median Age
- Total: 29.2
- years Male: 29.1
- years Female: 29.4 years
- Birth Rate - births/1,000 population
17
- Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population
7.1
- Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman
2.15
- Gross reproduction rate
1
- Child Marriage
- Women married by age 15: 9.4%
- Women married by age 18: 31.5%
- Contraceptive Prevalance Rate - female 12-49
62.8%
- Contraceptive Prevalence Rate - female 12-49
62.8%
- Currently married women (ages 15-49)
52.1%
- Mean Age for Mother's First Birth (age 25-49)
20.9
- Mother's mean age at first birth
20.9
- Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female
- At birth: 1.04
- male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.03
- male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03
- male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93
- male(s)/female Total population: 1.02 male(s)/female
Migration
- Net Migration Rate - migrant(s)/1,000 population
-2.7
Ethnicity & language
- Ethnic Groups
Mixed 70.4% (Mestizo/Indio 58%, Mulatto 12.4%), Black 15.8%, White 13.5%, other 0.3%
- Language Note
Spanish (official)
- Nationality Noun
- Dominican(s) Adjective: Dominican
Education
- Literacy - total population
95.5%
- Literacy - male
95.4%
- Literacy - female
95.6%
- Literacy Definition
Age 15 and over can read and write
- Education Expenditures - percent of GDP
4.6%
- Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary)
- Total: 14
- years Male: 13
- years Female: 15 years
Health & living conditions
- Life Expectancy at Birth
- Total population: 72.6
- years Male: 71
- years Female: 74.3 years
- Infant Mortality Rate
- Total: 21.7 deaths/1,000
- live births Male: 24.3 deaths/1,000
- live births Female: 19 deaths/1,000 live births
- Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births
- Total: 21.7 deaths/1,000
- live births Male: 24.3 deaths/1,000
- live births Female: 19 deaths/1,000 live births
- Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births
107
- Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population
1.45
- Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population
1.6
- Health Expenditures - percent of GDP
4.9%
- Major Infectious Diseases - degree of risk
- High Food or waterborne diseases: Bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A,
- and typhoid fever Vectorborne diseases: Dengue fever
- Obesity - adult prevalence rate
27.6%
- Tobacco Use
- Total: 10.6%
- Male: 14.6%
- Female: 6.5%
- Alcohol consumption per capita
- Total: 5.56
- liters of pure alcohol Beer: 3.15
- liters of pure alcohol Wine: 0.17
- liters of pure alcohol Spirits: 2.18
- liters of pure alcohol Other alcohols: 0.06 liters of pure alcohol
- Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved
- urban: 98.3%
- of population Rural: 91.7%
- of population Total: 97.2%
- urban: 1.7%
- of population Rural: 8.3%
- of population Total: 2.8% of population
- Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved
- urban: 97.4%
- of population Rural: 91.3%
- of population Total: 96.3%
- urban: 2.6%
- of population Rural: 8.7%
- of population Total: 3.7% of population
- Underweight - percent of children under five years
3%