Dominican Republic GDP per Capita

Latest nominal and PPP figures

In 2024 the Dominican Republic recorded GDP per capita of USD 11,208.62 at current prices, up from USD 7,330.09 in 2020, a rise of 52.9 per cent across the five years of the decade. On a purchasing power parity basis the same year stands at USD 28,366.96, against USD 19,507.24 in 2020, a gain of 45.4 per cent. The PPP figure is therefore roughly 2.5 times the nominal one, a gap that reflects differences in domestic price levels rather than any inconsistency in the underlying output.

What the nominal measure captures

Nominal GDP per capita converts total output at market exchange rates and divides by population. It is the figure used for cross-border comparisons of dollar earnings and for most external debt and trade ratios. The 2024 total GDP of USD 124.45 billion, set against the per capita value of USD 11,208.62, implies a population consistent with the series. Nominal values are sensitive to exchange rate movements: the 1980s ended with GDP per capita at USD 1,092.83, down 19.5 per cent over the decade, while the 1990s closed at USD 2,647.86, a gain of 150.7 per cent. Those swings mix real output change with price and currency effects.

What the PPP measure captures

PPP adjusts for the fact that non-traded goods and services cost less in lower-income economies. It estimates the volume of goods and services a resident could actually purchase. The PPP series has risen in every decade in the brief: from USD 3,212.31 mean in the 1980s to USD 24,494.86 mean in the 2020s. The 2010s alone moved from USD 11,629.03 to USD 20,277.92, a gain of 74.4 per cent. Because the PPP deflator uses a common international price basket, the series is the better guide to comparative living standards and to convergence analysis.

Why the two diverge

The gap between USD 11,208.62 and USD 28,366.96 is a price-level effect. Services such as housing, utilities and domestic transport carry lower local prices than in the United States and other high-income benchmarks, so the same income commands more real consumption. The divergence is not fixed: PPP growth of 45.4 per cent in the 2020s sits below nominal growth of 52.9 per cent, indicating that domestic prices and the exchange rate moved in ways that narrowed the relative advantage over the period. GNI per capita, at USD 10,280.00 in 2024, sits close to the nominal GDP figure, confirming that net factor income from abroad is modest.

Reading the pair together

Neither measure is sufficient alone. Nominal GDP per capita of USD 11,208.62 places the economy in the upper-middle-income band on standard thresholds, while the PPP value of USD 28,366.96 places it closer to several European economies in purchasing terms. The 2024 real growth rate of 4.95 per cent, following a 2020 contraction of 7.93 per cent, underpins both series. Analysts tracking household welfare should weight the PPP figure; those tracking external balances, remittances and dollar-denominated obligations should weight the nominal one.

In 1980, GDP per capita stood at USD 1,357.25. By 1989, it had fallen to USD 1,092.83, a decline of 19.5 per cent across the decade. The trough came at USD 903.55, while the peak reached USD 2,120.56, producing a mean of USD 1,302.64. The 1980s therefore closed below where they opened. Gross national income per capita followed a similar path, falling 22.9 per cent from USD 1,180.00 to USD 910.00. This was the only decade in the series with a negative GDP per capita outcome.

The 1990s: Recovery and Reversal

The 1990s opened at USD 1,056.20 and closed at USD 2,647.86, a gain of 150.7 per cent. The mean of USD 1,978.24 exceeded the 1980s peak. GDP itself rose from USD 7.53 billion to USD 22.14 billion, a 193.8 per cent increase. GNI per capita advanced 188.5 per cent, from USD 870.00 to USD 2,510.00. The expansion was not uniform: GDP growth averaged 4.99 per cent but began at minus 5.45 per cent in 1990 and reached 11.24 per cent at its maximum. Purchasing power parity GDP per capita rose 74.6 per cent over the same period.

The 2000s: Consolidation

GDP per capita moved from USD 2,862.88 in 2000 to USD 5,060.57 in 2009, growth of 76.8 per cent. The minimum of USD 2,421.91 and maximum of USD 5,107.51 framed a mean of USD 3,682.46. GDP growth averaged 4.31 per cent, though the decade ended at 1.00 per cent following the global financial crisis. GNI per capita rose 83.4 per cent to USD 4,860.00. The PPP measure climbed 57.3 per cent, from USD 6,817.96 to USD 10,722.45. Aggregate GDP nearly doubled, from USD 24.31 billion to USD 48.25 billion.

The 2010s: Steady Expansion

The 2010s produced the most consistent record. GDP per capita rose from USD 5,580.56 to USD 8,398.99, a 50.5 per cent gain, with the minimum and maximum equal to the endpoints. The mean was USD 6,894.62. GDP growth averaged 5.60 per cent, the highest decade mean in the series, and never fell below 2.78 per cent. GNI per capita increased 51.0 per cent to USD 7,940.00. PPP GDP per capita advanced 74.4 per cent, from USD 11,629.03 to USD 20,277.92. Aggregate GDP grew 65.7 per cent to USD 89.19 billion.

The 2020s: Pandemic Shock and Rebound

The 2020s opened with a contraction of 7.93 per cent in GDP growth, the deepest in the series, and GDP per capita of USD 7,330.09. By 2024 the measure reached USD 11,208.62, growth of 52.9 per cent over five points, with a mean of USD 9,735.71. GDP growth peaked at 14.01 per cent before settling at 4.95 per cent in 2024. GNI per capita rose 45.2 per cent to USD 10,280.00. PPP GDP per capita reached USD 28,366.96, up 45.4 per cent. Aggregate GDP closed at USD 124.45 billion.

Reading the Series

• Negative decade: 1980s only, at minus 19.5 per cent.
• Strongest decade: 1990s, at 150.7 per cent.
• 2024 level of USD 11,208.62 is 8.3 times the 1980 value.
• PPP per capita exceeds nominal by a factor of 2.5 in 2024.

Growth Path and Structural Composition

GDP per capita reached USD 11,208.62 in 2024, up from USD 1,357.25 in 1980. The trajectory has not been linear. The 1980s closed with a contraction of 19.5 per cent, with the decade mean at USD 1,302.64 and a low of USD 903.55. The 1990s reversed this sharply, expanding 150.7 per cent to USD 2,647.86 by 1999. The 2000s added 76.8 per cent and the 2010s 50.5 per cent. The 2020s have already posted 52.9 per cent growth across five data points, lifting the mean to USD 9,735.71. Purchasing-power parity terms are higher: USD 28,366.96 in 2024 against USD 2,494.66 in 1980.

Tourism and Free-Trade Zones

Two export-oriented service sectors underpin the income series. Tourism draws foreign exchange through hotels, transport and ancillary services, concentrated on the eastern and northern coasts. Free-trade zones, principally textiles, medical devices and electronics, generate manufacturing employment and exports outside the customs territory. Both are labour-intensive and sensitive to external demand. The 2000s expansion of 76.8 per cent in GDP per capita coincided with the consolidation of these channels. The 2010s added 50.5 per cent, with GDP growth averaging 5.60 per cent across the decade and a peak of 8.40 per cent in 2010. Sectoral concentration leaves income exposed to source-market cycles in North America and Europe.

Remittances and Gold Mining

Remittances from the diaspora provide a countercyclical income floor, supporting household consumption when domestic activity weakens. Gold mining, centred on the Pueblo Viejo operation, became a material export earner after 2012 and adds a commodity channel to the external account. GNI per capita reached USD 10,280.00 in 2024, close to the GDP per capita figure of USD 11,208.62, a gap of roughly USD 928. GNI grew 45.2 per cent across the 2020s, against 52.9 per cent for GDP per capita. The mining contribution is price-sensitive and capital-intensive, with limited direct employment relative to tourism.

Public Debt and External Shocks

Public debt has risen as a share of output over the past decade, financing infrastructure and social spending. Debt service absorbs revenue that would otherwise support investment, and the currency composition of liabilities transmits exchange-rate movements into the fiscal position. Shocks are visible in the annual series. GDP growth was negative 7.93 per cent in 2020, the deepest contraction in the 2020s sample, before rebounding to 14.01 per cent. The 1990s opened with a contraction of 5.45 per cent. The 1980s contained a low of negative 2.12 per cent. Each episode interrupted the per-capita trend, and recovery periods have varied in length.

Composition of Recent Growth

The 2020s combine a deep shock with a strong rebound. GDP per capita moved from USD 7,330.09 in 2020 to USD 11,208.62 in 2024, a gain of 52.9 per cent in four years. GDP growth in 2024 was 4.95 per cent. Total GDP reached USD 124.45 billion, against a 2020s mean of USD 106.45 billion. The composition matters: services and zones drive employment, remittances stabilise consumption, and mining and tourism supply foreign exchange. Debt service and import dependence remain the principal constraints on converting output growth into sustained income per person.

Regional Standing

At USD 11,208.62 in 2024, the Dominican Republic's GDP per capita sits in the upper-middle bracket for Latin America and the Caribbean, though well below the regional leaders. Purchasing power parity terms place the figure at USD 28,366.96, reflecting a domestic price level substantially below that of the United States. The 2024 nominal figure is roughly 8.3 times the 1980 value of USD 1,357.25, a multiple that exceeds the expansion recorded in several Central American peers over the same period. Growth has been comparatively steady: GDP growth averaged 5.60 per cent in the 2010s and 4.95 per cent in 2024.

GNI per Capita and the Income Gap

Gross national income per capita reached USD 10,280.00 in 2024, against GDP per capita of USD 11,208.62. The gap of approximately USD 928, or 8.3 per cent, indicates net factor income flowing abroad, consistent with remittance and foreign investment patterns. GNI growth of 45.2 per cent across the 2020s is marginally below the 52.9 per cent recorded for GDP per capita over the same five years. The 1990s remain the sharpest expansion on record for GNI, at 188.5 per cent, a period that also saw GDP per capita rise 150.7 per cent.

What the Average Conceals

A national average says nothing about dispersion. The Dominican Republic has historically recorded high income inequality, and the 2020 contraction of 7.93 per cent in GDP growth will have fallen unevenly across households. The 2024 GDP per capita of USD 11,208.62 exceeds the 2020s mean of USD 9,735.71, meaning the recent trajectory is concentrated in the final years of the period. Distributional data, informal employment shares and regional variation within the country are not captured by the headline figure.

Limits of the Comparison

• Currency effects: nominal GDP per capita moved from USD 5,580.56 in 2010 to USD 8,398.99 in 2019, a 50.5 per cent rise that partly reflects exchange rate movements rather than volume growth.
• PPP versus nominal: the PPP figure of USD 28,366.96 is 2.5 times the nominal value, so cross-country rankings differ by which measure is used.
• Non-market activity: informal and subsistence output is under-recorded in national accounts, understating the level in lower-income economies.
• Population denominator: per capita figures divide by total population, including dependants, and do not adjust for hours worked or labour participation.

Peer comparisons should therefore be read as indicative. The 2024 GDP of USD 124.45 billion and GNI per capita of USD 10,280.00 describe scale and average income, not welfare. Analysts comparing the Dominican Republic with regional peers should pair these series with inequality and employment data before drawing conclusions about living standards.