8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Latin America and the Caribbean / Caribbean

Born in Dominican Republic

About 1 in 650 people born in 2023 started life in Dominican Republic. A boy can expect to live 71 years and a girl 77, up from 43 and 45 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and nearly everyone has basic drinking water.

1 in 650
odds of being born here
203,200 births · Ranked 85th of 230
71 / 77
years of life, boys / girls
Was 43 / 45 in 1950
$7,395
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 93rd of 203 · extrapolated
72%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 30 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 274 in every 1,000 births to 32.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth70.5 years for boys, 77.0 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 531.7 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year71,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people2.4World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles88%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV1.0%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year50 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year0 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 7.5 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.2.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.24UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth27.4 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 45 and the poorest fifth 6.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2024
6%Poorest fifth
11%Second
15%Middle
22%Fourth
45%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $7,395 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth45% / 6% (2024)World Bank PIP
Unemployment5.6% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises4.8% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person1.3% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming7% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed42% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment76% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Santo Domingo, with 2.2 million people.

72%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
97%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Santo Domingo2.2 million
Santiago de los Caballeros1.2 million
Santo Domingo Oeste701,269
Santo Domingo Este700,000
San Pedro de Macorís217,899
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Spanish78%
Spanish is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Nacional2.2 million
Santo Domingo Province1.4 million
Santiago Province1.3 million
San Pedro de Macorís273,482
San Cristóbal260,851
La Altagracia Province223,810
La Romana208,437
Puerto Plata185,183
La Vega161,890
Duarte Province124,763

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 28 regions
  • Nacional2.2 million
  • Santo Domingo Province1.4 million
  • Santiago Province1.3 million
  • San Pedro de Macorís273,482
  • San Cristóbal260,851
  • La Altagracia Province223,810
  • La Romana208,437
  • Puerto Plata185,183
  • La Vega161,890
  • Duarte Province124,763
  • San Juan Province94,752
  • Valverde Province90,466
  • Barahona Province77,160
  • Monseñor Nouel73,269
  • Peravia66,709
  • Espaillat Province61,834
  • Azua Province59,139
  • Monte Plata Province53,421
  • Hermanas Mirabal45,299
  • Sánchez Ramírez41,641
  • Hato Mayor Province35,999
  • María Trinidad Sánchez33,862
  • El Seíbo23,547
  • San José de Ocoa21,148
  • Baoruco Province18,670
  • Monte Cristi Province17,001
  • Dajabón16,398
  • Santiago Rodríguez16,380

People on the move

About 17% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are United States, Spain, Italy.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
United States1,483,418
Spain202,074
Italy50,413
Residents born abroad6.5% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 16.8% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostUnited States (1.5 million), Spain (202,074), Italy (50,413)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $12.4 billion a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

8% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

8%
of older people receive a pension (2021)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20244,384Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19502NOAA NCEI
Hurricane-strength storms since 19806NOAA IBTrACS

Now live it.

Born in Dominican Republic, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Dominican Republic

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences