According to current projections, the Dominican Republic’s population is expected to grow until about 2060 when the population will reach its peak of 12.89 million. After reaching its peak population, the Dominican Republic will experience a population decline that will leave the population at 11.01 million people.
The fertility rate in the Dominican Republic is currently 2.36 births per woman, a number that has decreased year over year since the 1950s. This decline in the fertility rate, in combination with negative net migration, has significantly slowed down the population growth rate. From 2019 to 2020, the population growth rate was 1.01%, adding about 109,000 people to the population.
This overall decline in the population growth rate will eventually bring the rate to zero and then begin the country’s population decline. Despite the economic growth of the Dominican Republic over the last decade, poverty is still a large problem and very little is invested in education.
The population has more than doubled in the past 50 years in the Dominican Republic, going from 4.5 million in 1970, to the 2019 population just under 11 million. The rate of growth rate, however, has been decreasing for some time and currently sits around an annual growth rate of 1%. The growth rate was three times that in 1970.
The Dominican Republic is expected to continue growing slower in the next two decades. By 2030, the population will reach 12.1 million, up more than 18% from 2012, and largely driven by a growing population aged 60 and older. Santo Domingo will hit a population of 4 million by 2030.
| Dominican Republic Population (as of 10/15/2024) | 11,455,210 |
| Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2024) | 11,427,600 |
| Births per Day | 551 |
| Deaths per Day | 196 |
| Migrations per Day | -95 |
| Net Change per Day | 260 |
| Population Change Since Jan. 1 | 74,880 |
Net increase of 1 person every 5.53 minutes
Population estimates based on interpolation of data from World Population Prospects
| One birth every 2.62 minutes | |
| One death every 7.35 minutes | |
| One emigrant every 15.15 minutes | |
| Net gain of one person every 5.53 minutes |
City | 2024 Pop. |
|---|---|
| Santo Domingo | 2,201,941 |
| Santiago de los Caballeros | 1,200,000 |
| Santo Domingo Oeste | 701,269 |
| Santo Domingo Este | 700,000 |
| San Pedro de Macoris | 217,899 |
| La Romana | 208,437 |
| Bella Vista | 175,683 |
| San Cristobal | 154,040 |
| Puerto Plata | 146,000 |
| San Francisco de Macoris | 124,763 |
The Dominican Republic occupies the east side of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, an island that it shares with Haiti. There are several smaller islands offshore that are also part of the Dominican Republic, giving the country a total surface area of 18,704 square miles (48,442 square kilometers), ranking it 131st in the world. The country had an overall population density in 2018 of 575.8 people per square mile (222.3 people per square kilometer), which ranks 43rd in the world.
The capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic is Santo Domingo, which is also the largest Caribbean city. Santo Domingo has a population of 970,000, with a metropolitan population of nearly 3 million. Other major cities include Santiago de los Caballeros (750,000), La Romana (215,000) and San Pedro de Macoris (190,000).
Year | Population | Change | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 11,427,600 | 0.96% | 236 | 85 | 64 |
| 2023 | 11,331,300 | 1% | 235 | 85 | 65 |
| 2020 | 11,008,300 | 1.05% | 228 | 84 | 64 |
| 2019 | 10,894,000 | 1.04% | 225 | 84 | 64 |
| 2018 | 10,782,100 | 1.08% | 223 | 84 | 64 |
| 2017 | 10,666,800 | 1.09% | 221 | 85 | 62 |
| 2015 | 10,434,800 | 1.22% | 216 | 87 | 61 |
| 2010 | 9,820,180 | 1.26% | 203 | 85 | 60 |
| 2005 | 9,225,030 | 1.45% | 191 | 85 | 60 |
| 2000 | 8,584,190 | 1.71% | 178 | 84 | 61 |
| 1995 | 7,888,120 | 1.98% | 163 | 84 | 61 |
| 1990 | 7,151,170 | 2.15% | 148 | 87 | 62 |
| 1985 | 6,430,400 | 2.34% | 133 | 87 | 65 |
| 1980 | 5,729,040 | 2.57% | 119 | 88 | 67 |
| 1975 | 5,046,780 | 2.78% | 104 | 88 | 71 |
| 1970 | 4,399,290 | 2.92% | 91 | 92 | 75 |
| 1965 | 3,808,960 | 3.11% | 79 | 94 | 79 |
| 1960 | 3,268,340 | 3.31% | 68 | 95 | 87 |
| 1955 | 2,777,630 | 3.14% | 57 | 96 | 92 |
Year | Population | Change | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 11,427,600 | 0.96% | 236 | 85 | 64 |
| 2025 | 11,520,500 | 0.91% | 238 | 85 | 64 |
| 2030 | 11,938,900 | 0.72% | 247 | 85 | 63 |
| 2035 | 12,289,400 | 0.58% | 254 | 88 | 62 |
| 2040 | 12,579,300 | 0.47% | 260 | 89 | 61 |
| 2045 | 12,816,000 | 0.37% | 265 | 89 | 61 |
| 2050 | 12,996,300 | 0.28% | 269 | 90 | 59 |
| 2055 | 13,109,000 | 0.17% | 271 | 91 | 57 |
| 2060 | 13,152,500 | 0.07% | 272 | 90 | 55 |
| 2065 | 13,129,700 | -0.03% | 272 | 92 | 56 |
| 2070 | 13,050,500 | -0.12% | 270 | 92 | 57 |
| 2075 | 12,920,100 | -0.2% | 267 | 93 | 59 |
| 2080 | 12,742,400 | -0.28% | 264 | 92 | 61 |
| 2085 | 12,521,500 | -0.35% | 259 | 91 | 61 |
| 2090 | 12,264,900 | -0.41% | 254 | 92 | 62 |
| 2095 | 11,980,200 | -0.47% | 248 | 92 | 61 |
The Dominican Republic represents a country rich with beautiful lands and an immense cultural heritage. It is the perfect tourist destination, with a surreal Caribbean ambiance. It is located on the eastern side of the Antilles, on the island of Hispaniola.
The history of the country dates back to when Christopher Columbus first landed at its port in 1492, in pursuit of discovering India and realizing the existence of the New World instead. Back then, the land was inhabited by the Arawak-speaking population, known as the Tainos. Following the island's discovery, the Spanish and subsequently the French ruled what is now called the Dominican Republic. The Tainos no longer exist today. They are believed to have been exterminated by the genocide incurred on the indigenous population of the Americas, following Columbusí landing.
Today, nearly 73% of the country's population is racially mixed, while 16% is White and 11% Black. The most common ethnic immigrant groups are West Indians. Many immigrants move to the Dominican Republic in search of better opportunities. There are tens of thousands of Jamaicans in the country and more than 700,000 people of Haitian descent. There are about 10,000 Puerto Rican immigrants around greater Santo Domingo.
Genealogical testing in 2012 found the average Dominican is 58% European, 35% Sub-Saharan African and 7% Asian-Native American.
Spanish is the official language in the Dominican Republic. The median age of the population in the Dominican Republic is at 28.1 years of age. The total life expectancy is near 78.3 years of age.
Christianity is both the most popular and the official religion of the Dominican Republic, and the Catholic church even receives financial assistance from the government. Of the entire population, 57% of people are Catholic, 23% are Protestant, 2% are Muslim, and 18% of people are unaffiliated with any religion. Cultural traditions in the Dominican Republic are a bit of a conglomeration, combining Roman Catholic traditions with African religious ceremonies, like Santeria.
For much of its history, agricultural goods like sugar, coffee, and tobacco dominated the economy, but things have diversified significantly over the past few decades. The service sector has taken the place that agriculture once held, due to increases in construction, tourism, and free trade zones. Their economy has been one of the fastest-growing in Latin America after the economy rebounded well from the 2008 financial crisis. Despite its strength, the Dominican economy is highly reliant upon the United States, which is the destination for nearly half of their exports and the place that they receive the most tourists from.
Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1492- naming it Hispaniola, or "Little Spain," and Spain began to colonize the area soon afterward. The Treaty of Ryswick gave the western portion of the island (Haiti) to France in 1697, which wasn't ceded until nearly 100 years later. In 1930 General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina established a dictatorship, and soon after massacred roughly 20,000 Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. Trujillo was assassinated in 1961 and Juan Bosch was elected in a democratic election. A hurricane in 1979 left 200,000 people homeless and did more than $1 billion in damages. Flooding in 2004 killed roughly 2,000, and another flood in 2016 displaced more than 20,000.