Dominican Republic - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Dominican Republic. Shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds makes up the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti); the second largest country in the Antilles (after Cuba); geographically diverse with the Caribbean's tallest mountain, Pico Duarte, and lowest elevation and largest lake, Lago Enriquillo. Mother's mean age at first birth is 20.9 years (2013 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 124 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Geographical data of Dominican Republic
Location Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Geographic coordinates 19 00 N, 70 40 W
Map references Central America and the Caribbean
Tarrain rugged highlands and mountains interspersed with fertile valleys
Natural Resources nickel, bauxite, gold, silver, arable land
Natural Hazards lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Irrigated Land 2,981 sq km (2018)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 376 km
Border Countries Haiti 376 km
Coastline 1,288 km
Climate tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall
Area
Total Area
Land Area 48,320 sq km
Water Area 350 sq km
comparative Area slightly more than twice the size of New Jersey
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Contiguous zone 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Elevations
Highest point Pico Duarte 3,098 m
Lowest point Lago Enriquillo -46 m
Mean elevation 424 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 50.6% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 18.2% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 7.6% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 24.8% (2022 est.)
Forest 44.8% (2022 est.)
Other 4.6% (2022 est.)
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)

People and Society

In Dominican Republic, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Mixed 70.4% (Mestizo/Indio 58%, Mulatto 12.4%), Black 15.8%, White 13.5%, other 0.3% (2014 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.76% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 17.3 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 1.4 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate 2.15 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.06 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
Est married women (ages 15-49) 52.1% (2023 est.)
Literacy
Education expenditures
Net Migration rate -2.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Dominican | Dominican(s)
Languages
Religions Evangelical 50.2%, Roman Catholic 30.1%, none 18.5%, unspecified 1.2% (2023 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 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% (2024 est.) (male 395,345/female 427,400)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 49.6 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio 38.2 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio 11.4 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio 8.8 (2024 est.)
Median Age
Total 29.2 years (2024 est.)
Male 29.1 years
Female 29.4 years
Urbanization
Urban population 84.4% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 1.64% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 3.524 million SANTO DOMINGO (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
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 (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 21.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 24.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 19 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 72.6 years (2024 est.)
Male 71 years
Female 74.3 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 97.8% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 91.4% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 96.8% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 2.2% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 8.6% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 3.2% of population (2022 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 97.4% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 91.9% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 96.5% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 2.6% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 8.1% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 3.5% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 5.56 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 3.15 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 2.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 9.7% (2025 est.)
Male 13.5% (2025 est.)
Female 5.9% (2025 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 9.4% (2019)
Women married by age 18 31.5% (2019)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Dominican Republic

Want to know more about Dominican Republic? Check all different factbooks for Dominican Republic below.

Dominican Republic is found in Caribbean