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.

Demographics of Dominican Republic
Population pyramid of Dominican Republic in 2020
Population11,332,972 (last census)
Growth rate0.91% (2022 est.)
Birth rate14.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate4.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Life expectancy72.56 years
 • male70.86 years
 • female74.33 years (2022 est.)
Fertility rate1.80 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Infant mortality rate21.18 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-2.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years26.85%
15–64 years64.98%
65 and over8.17%
Sex ratio
Total1.02 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.04 male(s)/female
Under 151.03 male(s)/female
65 and over0.73 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityDominican
Major ethnic
Minor ethnic
Language
OfficialSpanish

Population

edit
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1920 894,665—    
1935 1,479,417+65.4%
1950 2,135,872+44.4%
1960 3,047,070+42.7%
1970 4,009,458+31.6%
1981 5,545,741+38.3%
1993 7,293,390+31.5%
2002 8,562,541+17.4%
2010 9,445,281+10.3%
2022 10,760,028+13.9%
Source:[2]
 
Dominican Republic students. Dominicans in Santiago.

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 European 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.

 
The Dominican Republic's population (1961–2003).

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[3][4] the total population was 11,117,873 in 2021, 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.[5]

 
Group of Dominicans in the town of Moca.
Total population
( × 1000)
Proportion
aged 0–14 aged 15–64 aged 65+
1950 2 380
45.5%
51.7%
2.7%
1955 2 796
46.3%
51.1%
2.6%
1960 3 312
48.2%
49.2%
2.6%
1965 3 900
48.9%
48.5%
2.6%
1970 4 524
47.7%
49.7%
2.7%
1975 5 169
45.3%
51.9%
2.8%
1980 5 826
42.6%
54.4%
3.1%
1985 6 524
40.4%
56.2%
3.4%
1990 7 245
38.5%
57.6%
3.9%
1995 7 978
37.0%
58.5%
4.5%
2000 8 663
34.9%
59.9%
5.1%
2005 9 343
33.1%
61.3%
5.7%
2010 10 017
31.2%
62.8%
6.0%
2015 10 528
30.0%
63.4%
6.7%
2020 11 107
28.3%
62.8%
7.6%

Vital statistics

edit

UN estimates

edit
 
Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

Registration of vital events is not universal in the Dominican Republic. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates: [5]

Period Live births
per year
Deaths
per year
Natural change
per year
CBR* CDR* NC* TFR* IMR* Life expectancy
total
Life expectancy
males
Life expectancy
females
1950–1955 140 000 53 000 87 000 54.3 20.5 33.8 7.60 153 46.0 44.7 47.3
1955–1960 163 000 54 000 109 000 53.4 17.6 35.8 7.64 139 49.9 48.6 51.4
1960–1965 178 000 52 000 126 000 49.5 14.5 35.0 7.35 124 53.6 52.1 55.2
1965–1970 186 000 50 000 136 000 44.2 11.8 32.3 6.65 109 56.9 55.4 58.7
1970–1975 190 000 47 000 143 000 39.2 9.7 29.6 5.68 96 59.8 58.1 61.8
1975–1980 194 000 46 000 149 000 35.4 8.3 27.1 4.76 86 62.0 60.3 64.0
1980–1985 206 000 46 000 160 000 33.4 7.5 25.9 4.15 75 64.0 62.1 66.1
1985–1990 213 000 46 000 168 000 31.0 6.7 24.3 3.65 63 66.5 64.3 69.0
1990–1995 218 000 46 000 172 000 28.7 6.0 22.7 3.31 48 69.0 66.5 71.9
1995–2000 215 000 50 000 165 000 25.8 6.0 19.8 2.98 41 70.0 67.3 73.1
2000–2005 219 000 54 000 165 000 23.8 6.1 17.7 2.75 35 71.1 68.1 74.4
2005–2010 221 000 58 000 163 000 22.0 6.0 16.0 2.57 30 72.2 69.2 75.5
2010–2015 20.9 6.1 14.8 2.57
2015–2020 19.7 6.1 13.6 2.45
2020–2025 18.0 6.4 11.6 2.36
2025–2030 16.5 6.7 9.8 2.23
2030–2035 15.2 7.1 8.1 2.12
2035–2040 14.2 7.5 6.7 2.03
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Births and deaths

edit

[6]

Year Population Live births Deaths Natural increase Crude birth rate Crude death rate Rate of natural increase Crude migration rate TFR
2001 8,512,996 194,705 28,771 165,934 22.8 3.4 19.5 2.571
2002 8,627,509 191,409 26,739 164,670 22.1 3.1 19.0 -5.7 2.494
2003 8,745,084 177,859 30,005 147,854 20.3 3.4 16.9 -3.5 2.272
2004 8,857,648 168,734 34,716 134,018 19.0 3.9 15.1 -2.4 2.142
2005 8,968,144 166,150 34,586 131,564 18.5 3.8 14.6 -2.3 2.086
2006 9,071,458 158,137 32,596 125,541 17.4 3.6 13.8 -2.4 1.974
2007 9,174,058 157,033 34,158 122,875 17.1 3.7 13.4 -2.2 1.941
2008 9,279,602 164,373 34,252 130,121 17.6 3.7 14.0 -2.6 2.025
2009 9,380,152 168,495 34,105 134,390 17.9 3.6 14.2 -3.5 2.055
2010 9,478,612 170,414 36,869 133,545 17.9 3.9 14.0 -3.6 2.054
2011 9,580,139 177,135 36,485 140,650 18.4 3.8 14.6 -4.0 2.116
2012 9,680,963 170,568 36,753 133,815 17.5 3.8 13.8 -3.4 2.028
2013 9,784,680 172,136 36,767 135,369 17.5 3.7 13.8 -3.2 2.036
2014 9,883,486 175,897 41,467 134,430 17.7 4.2 13.5 -3.5 2.065
2015 9,980,243 171,422 42,017 129,405 17.1 4.2 12.9 -3.2 1.998
2016 10,075,045 162,607 44,366 118,241 16.1 4.4 11.7 -2.3 1.883
2017 10,169,172 171,538 43,482 128,056 16.8 4.3 12.5 -3.2 1.982
2018 10,266,149 177,854 42,838 135,016 17.2 4.2 13.0 -3.6 2.057
2019 10,358,320 181,139 44,925 136,214 17.3 4.3 13.0 -4.1 2.089
2020 10,448,499 162,212 47,264 114,948 15.3 4.5 10.8 -2.2 1.878
2021 10,535,535 170,520 50,702 119,818 15.9 4.8 11.2 -2.9 1.972
2022 10,621,938 170,069 46,028 124,041 16.0 4.2 11.8 -3.7 1.964
2023 10,711,155 156,024 43,338 112,686 14.6 4.1 10.5 -2.2 1.802

Structure of the population

edit
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2017) (Data refer to national projections.): [7]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 5 082 876 5 086 296 10 169 172 100
0–4 492 808 472 820 965 628 9.49
5–9 492 702 474 348 967 050 9.50
10–14 492 107 477 445 969 552 9.53
15–19 480 035 471 501 951 536 9.51
20–24 455 440 453 444 930 505 9.15
25–29 420 715 423 382 844 907 8.30
30–34 377 850 385 180 763 030 7.50
35–39 339 877 348 143 688 020 6.76
40–44 306 907 313 858 616 955 6.07
45–49 275 488 282 105 557 593 5.48
50–54 245 299 249 766 495 065 4.87
55–59 206 257 210 188 416 445 4.10
60–64 162 912 168 103 331 015 3.25
65–69 121 894 126 929 248 523 2.44
70–74 86 739 90 761 177 500 1.74
75–79 61 133 65 274 126 407 1.24
80+ 65 523 73 349 138 872 1.36
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 1 595 851 1 538 432 3 134 283 30.56
15–64 3 213 973 3 268 108 6 482 081 63.19
65+ 306 501 334 859 641 360 6.25
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2021) (Data refer to national projections.): [7]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 5 259 642 5 275 893 10 535 535 100
0–4 483 891 463 927 947 818 9.00
5–9 490 677 471 962 962 639 9.14
10–14 483 264 468 329 951 593 9.03
15–19 479 169 469 840 949 009 9.01
20–24 456 645 454 343 910 988 8.65
25–29 432 645 433 391 866 036 8.22
30–34 397 618 402 420 800 038 7.59
35–39 359 670 365 118 724 788 6.88
40–44 324 954 331 269 656 223 6.23
45–49 292 170 300 700 592 870 5.63
50–54 261 184 269 338 530 522 5.04
55–59 228 775 236 116 464 891 4.41
60–64 186 503 193 210 379 713 3.60
65–69 141 674 150 452 292 126 2.77
70–74 100 692 107 713 208 405 1.98
75–79 65 820 71 673 137 493 1.31
80+ 74 291 86 092 160 383 1.52
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 1 457 832 1 404 218 2 862 050 27.17
15–64 3 419 333 3 455 745 6 875 078 65.26
65+ 382 477 415 930 798 407 7.58

Fertility and births

edit

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[8]

Year Total Urban Rural
CBR TFR CBR TFR CBR TFR
1965–69 7,1
1970–74 5,8
1975–79 4,7
1980–82 4,31
1983–85 3,69
1986 3,8 (2,8) 3,2 (2,5) 5,1 (3,5)
1991 30,1 3,3 (2,6) 29,7 2,8 (2,3) 30,5 4,4 (3,1)
1996 27,7 3,2 (2,5) 24,4 2,8 (2,2) 29,8 4,0 (3,0)
1999 2,9 (2,3) 2,7 (2,1) 3,4 (2,7)
2002 25,2 3,0 (2,3) 25,3 2,8 (2,3) 24,9 3,3 (2,5)
2007 20,4 2,4 (1,9) 20,0 2,3 (1,8) 21,4 2,8 (2,1)
2013 20,9 2,5 (2,0) 21,2 2,4 (1,9) 20,3 2,6 (2,1)

Other demographic statistics

edit

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[9]

  • 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.[10]

Population

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

Ethnic groups

edit

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

edit
 
Population pyramid of Dominican Republic in 2020
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

edit
total: 28.9 years (2023 est.). Country comparison to the world: 145th
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

edit
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

edit
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
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

edit
-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

edit
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

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

Contraceptive prevalence rate

edit
69.5% (2014)
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

edit
 
Life expectancy at birth in the Dominican Republic
total population: 72.56 years. Country comparison to the world: 151st
male: 70.86 years
female: 74.33 years (2022 est.)

Religions

edit

Roman Catholic 51.3%, Evangelical 13%, Protestant 7.9%, Adventist 1.4%, other 1.8%, atheist 0.2%, none 22.4%, unspecified 2% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

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

Languages

edit

Education expenditures

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

Literacy

edit

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)

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

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24

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

See also

edit
Census information:

References

edit
  1. ^ "REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA: Población de 12 años y más, por percepción del informante acerca de las facciones, color de piel y otras características culturales de los miembros del hogar, según región, provincia y grupos de edades". one.gob.do. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Censos de Población y Vivienda". Oficina Nacional de Estadística. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  3. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". population.un.org. Archived from the original on May 6, 2011.
  6. ^ "Oficina Nacional de Estadística (ONE)". Archived from the original on 2015-11-14. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  7. ^ a b "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  8. ^ "MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys". microdata.worldbank.org.
  9. ^ "Dominican Republic Population 2022", World Population Review
  10. ^   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "World Factbook CENTRAL AMERICA : DOMINICAN REPUBLIC", The World Factbook, 2022