Demographics of the Dominican Republic

This is a demography of the population of the Dominican Republic including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Population
The area was first included in world trade in 1492 when Christopher Columbus docked on the island of Hispaniola. When Spain occupied the country in 1496, the population consisted of Arawak (Taíno Indians). When Spain returned in 1496, they founded the current capital, Santo Domingo, as the first Europe city in America. The country came under Spanish rule. France took over the part of Hispaniola that is today Haiti. During the colony era, The Dominican Republic acted as a sugar supplier to Spain and France. Many whites moved to the country during this period. In 1496, Santo Domingo was built and became the new capital, and remains the oldest continuously inhabited European city in the Americas. Today, two other large groups have joined, while the indigenous population has mostly disappeared. 45% of Dominicans consider themselves to have some significant Indigenous/Endemic ancestry, 18% are white, 7.8% are fully or predominantly black and 74% are mixed (Mestizo/Mulatto/"Indio"/Trigueño). About 9.2% of the Dominican population claims a European immigrant background, according to the 2021 Fondo de Población de las Naciones Unidas survey. During the many years that have passed since the great immigration, the races have been mixed and it can be difficult to distinguish. In terms of race, they are all similar to the other Caribbean islands. The Spaniards brought Christianity to the Dominican Republic, and today about 50% of the population reports as being Catholic. One clear remnant of the Spanish colonial era on the population is the official and widespread use of the Spanish language.



According to the total population was  in, compared to 2,380,000 in 1950. The proportion of the population aged below 15 in 2010 was 31.2%, 62.8% were aged between 15 and 65 years of age, while 6% were aged 65 years or older.

UN estimates
Registration of vital events is not universal in the Dominican Republic. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates:

Fertility and births
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):

Other demographic statistics
Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.


 * One birth every 3 minutes
 * One death every 8 minutes
 * One net migrant every 18 minutes
 * Net gain of one person every 5 minutes

Demographic statistics according to the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

 * 10,694,700 (2022 est.)
 * 10,298,756 (July 2018 est.)

Ethnic groups
Dominicans of full or predominant European descent: 17.8%, Mixed (Mestizo,Mulatto,"Indio",Triracial) descent:74.4%, Afro descent: 7.8%
 * 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

Age structure

 * 0-14 years: 26.85% (male 1,433,166/female 1,385,987)
 * 15-24 years: 18.15% (male 968,391/female 937,227)
 * 25-54 years: 40.54% (male 2,168,122/female 2,088,926)
 * 55-64 years: 8.17% (male 429,042/female 428,508)
 * 65 years and over: 6.29% (2020 est.) (male 310,262/female 350,076)


 * 0-14 years: 27.56% (male 1,442,926 /female 1,395,809)
 * 15-24 years: 18.52% (male 969,467 /female 937,765)
 * 25-54 years: 40.28% (male 2,112,813 /female 2,035,902)
 * 55-64 years: 7.71% (male 397,821 /female 396,172)
 * 65 years and over: 5.92% (male 286,300 /female 323,781) (2018 est.)

Median age

 * total: 27.9 years. Country comparison to the world: 144th
 * male: 27.8 years
 * female: 28.1 years (2020 est.)


 * total: 27.3 years. Country comparison to the world: 145th
 * male: 27.1 years
 * female: 27.4 years (2018 est.)

Birth rate

 * 18.03 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 81st
 * 18.9 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 84th

Death rate

 * 6.29 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 147th
 * 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 145th

Total fertility rate

 * 2.21 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 86th
 * 2.28 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 88th

Net migration rate

 * -2.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 174th
 * -2.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 170th

Population growth rate

 * 0.91% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 106th
 * 0.99% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 109th

Mother's mean age at first birth

 * 20.9 years (2013 est.)
 * note: median age at first birth among women 25-49

Contraceptive prevalence rate

 * 69.5% (2014)

Dependency ratios

 * total dependency ratio: 57.8 (2015 est.) Country comparison to the world: 151st
 * youth dependency ratio: 47.3 (2015 est.)
 * elderly dependency ratio: 10.5 (2015 est.)
 * potential support ratio: 9.5 (2015 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

 * total population: 72.56 years. Country comparison to the world: 151st
 * male: 70.86 years
 * female: 74.33 years (2022 est.)

Religions
Roman Catholic 44.3%, Evangelical 13%, Protestant 7.9%, Adventist 1.4%, other 1.8%, atheist 0.2%, none 29.4%, unspecified 2% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

 * urban population: 83.8% of total population (2022)
 * rate of urbanization: 1.64% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Languages

 * Spanish (official)

Education expenditures

 * 4% of GDP (2019) Country comparison to the world: 102nd

Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2016 est.)
 * total population: 93.8%
 * male: 93.8%
 * female: 93.8% (2016 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

 * total: 14 years
 * male: 14 years
 * female: 15 years (2017)

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24

 * total: 14.9%
 * male: 11.6%
 * female: 20.7% (2020 est.)