Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Dominican Republic
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Demographics== {{Main|Demographics of the Dominican Republic}} The Dominican Republic's population was {{UN_Population|Dominican Republic}} in {{UN Population|Year}},{{UN_Population|ref}} compared to 2,380,000 in 1950.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://population.un.org/wpp/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506065230/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm|title=World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations|archive-date=6 May 2011|website=population.un.org}}</ref> In 2010, 31.2% of the population was under 15 years of age, with 6% of the population over 65 years of age.<ref name="WPP 2012">{{cite web|url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2012_Volume-II-Demographic-Profiles.pdf|title=World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision|volume=II: Demographic Profiles|page=254|work=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|date=2013|access-date=August 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105191712/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2012_Volume-II-Demographic-Profiles.pdf|archive-date=November 5, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> There were an estimated 102.3 males for every 100 females in 2020.<ref name="CIADemo" /> The annual population growth rate for 2006–2007 was 1.5%, with the projected population for the year 2015 being 10,121,000.<ref name="esa">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926001505/http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf |archive-date=2007-09-26 |url-status=live |title=World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision, Highlights, Working Paper No. ESA/P/WP.202. |access-date=January 13, 2008 |publisher=United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division |year=2007 }}</ref> The population density in 2007 was 192 per km<sup>2</sup> (498 per sq mi), and 63% of the population lived in urban areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.conapofa.gov.do/estimaciones.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808193423/http://www.conapofa.gov.do/estimaciones.asp |archive-date=August 8, 2011 |title=Población en Tiempo Real |access-date=January 13, 2008 |publisher=Consejo Nacional de Población y Familia |language=es}}</ref> The southern coastal plains and the Cibao Valley are the most densely populated areas of the country. The capital city Santo Domingo had a population of 2,907,100 in 2010. Other important cities are [[Santiago de los Caballeros]] ({{Abbr|pop.|population}} 745,293), [[La Romana, Dominican Republic|La Romana]] (pop. 214,109), [[San Pedro de Macorís]] (pop. 185,255), [[Higüey, Dominican Republic|Higüey]] (153,174), [[San Francisco de Macorís]] (pop. 132,725), [[San Felipe de Puerto Plata|Puerto Plata]] (pop. 118,282), and [[Concepción de la Vega|La Vega]] (pop. 104,536). Per the United Nations, the urban population growth rate for 2000–2005 was 2.3%. ===Population centres=== {{Further|List of cities in the Dominican Republic}} {{Largest cities | country = the Dominican Republic | stat_ref = Source: [[National Statistics Office (Dominican Republic)]]<ref>{{cite book|title=X Censo Nacional de Población & Vivienda: Informe Básico|url=https://one.gob.do/|publisher=Oficina Nacional de Estadística|date=30 November 2023|access-date=1 February 2024|location=Santo Domingo|language=es|isbn=|archive-date=February 1, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240201090654/https://one.gob.do/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The municipalities belonging to the '''Commonwealth of the Greater Santo Domingo''' (Mancomunidad del Gran Santo Domingo) have been included into Santo Domingo's population in this list. <br/> These municipalities are: [[Distrito Nacional]], [[Santo Domingo Este]], [[Santo Domingo Norte]], [[Santo Domingo Oeste]], [[Los Alcarrizos]], [[Boca Chica]], [[Pedro Brand]], [[San Antonio de Guerra]], [[San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic|San Cristóbal]], [[Bajos de Haina]], and [[San Gregorio de Nigua]] |group=note}}{{#tag:ref|[[Villa Hermosa]]'s population has been added to La Romana's population since its belongs to its Metropolitan Area.|group=note}}{{#tag:ref|Verón-Punta Cana, a township dependent of Higüey in political matters, has been segregated (alongside with coastal Las Lagunas de Nisibón township) from Higüey's population given its large size (over 100,000 inhabitants) and geographical distance from Higüey (50 km), and listed as "Punta Cana", its English most common name. |group=note}} | list_by_pop = List of cities in the Dominican Republic | kind = cities | div_name = Province | div_link = Provinces of the Dominican Republic{{!}}Province |city_1 = Santo Domingo{{!}}Santo Domingo |div_1 = Distrito Nacional{{!}}Distrito Nacional |pop_1 = 4,274,651 |img_1 = SantoDomingoedit.JPG |city_2 = Santiago de los Caballeros{{!}}Santiago |div_2 = Santiago Province (Dominican Republic){{!}}Santiago |pop_2 = 771,748 |img_2 = Santiago-edit.jpg |city_3 = La Vega, Dominican Republic{{!}}La Vega |div_3 = La Vega Province{{!}}La Vega |pop_3 = 282,055 |img_3 = La Vega Dominican Republic 3.jpg |city_4 = La Romana, Dominican Republic{{!}}La Romana |div_4 = La Romana Province{{!}}La Romana |pop_4 = 270,686 |img_4 = Casa de Campo Marina, La Romana 22000, Dominican Republic - panoramio (4).jpg |city_5 = Higüey {{!}}Higüey |div_5 = La Altagracia Province{{!}}La Altagracia |pop_5 = 266,091 |city_6 = San Francisco de Macorís |div_6 = Duarte Province{{!}}Duarte |pop_6 = 217,523 |city_7 = San Pedro de Macorís |div_7 = San Pedro de Macorís Province{{!}}San Pedro de Macorís |pop_7 = 202,716 |city_8 = Puerto Plata (city){{!}}Puerto Plata |div_8 = Puerto Plata Province{{!}}Puerto Plata |pop_8 = 162,093 |city_9 = Baní, Dominican Republic{{!}}Baní |div_9 = Peravia Province |pop_9 = 158,019 |city_10 = Punta Cana {{!}}Punta Cana |div_10 = La Altagracia Province{{!}}La Altagracia |pop_10 = 148,993 }} ==== Notes ==== {{reflist|group=note}} ===Ethnic groups=== {{Main|People of the Dominican Republic}} [[File:Dominican-people-cibao-1.jpg|thumb|Dominican Republic people in the town of [[Moca, Espaillat|Moca]]]] In a 2022 population survey, 71.7% self-identified as [[Mixed-race Dominicans|Mixed]] (Indio{{efn|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}} 34.2%, Moreno 26.1%, [[Mestizo]] 7.7%, [[Mulatto]] 3.8%), 18.7% as [[White Dominicans|White]], 7.4% as [[Afro-Dominican (Dominican Republic)|Black]], and 0.3% as "Other".<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 October 2024 |title=En RD 2,879,388 se identificaron como negras y morenas y 1,640,095 como asiaticas o blancas |url=https://listindiario.com/la-republica/20241001/poblacion-negra-morena-mestiza-mulata-e-india-rd-6-821-359-personas_827843.html |access-date=19 October 2024}}</ref> According to recent [[genealogical DNA test|genealogical DNA studies]] of the Dominican population, the genetic makeup is predominantly [[Ethnic groups in Europe|European]] and [[Sub-Saharan African]], with a lesser degree of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous]] ancestry.<ref name="Supplementary Data">{{Cite journal|author1=Montinaro, Francesco |display-authors=etal |title=Unravelling the hidden ancestry of American admixed populations |journal=Nature Communications |volume=6 |pmc=4374169 |doi=10.1038/ncomms7596 |pmid=25803618 |date=24 March 2015 |at=See [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4374169/bin/ncomms7596-s2.xlsx Supplementary Data]|bibcode=2015NatCo...6.6596M }}</ref> The average Dominican DNA of the founder population is estimated to be 73% European, 10% Native, and 17% African. After the Haitian and Afro-Caribbean migrations the overall percentage changed to 57% European, 8% Native and 35% African.<ref>{{cite journal | pmc=4867558 | date=2016 | last1=Estrada-Veras | first1=J. I. | last2=Cabrera-Peña | first2=G. A. | last3=Pérez-Estrella De Ferrán | first3=C. | title=Medical genetics and genomic medicine in the Dominican Republic: Challenges and opportunities | journal=Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine | volume=4 | issue=3 | pages=243–256 | doi=10.1002/mgg3.224 | pmid=27247952 }}</ref> Due to mixed race Dominicans (and most Dominicans in general) being a mix of mainly European and African, with lesser amounts of Indigenous ancestry, they could be described as ''"Mulatto"'' or ''"Tri-racial"''.<ref name="thedominicans.org">{{cite web | url=https://thedominicans.org/2019/01/11/ancestry-dna-results-dominicans-are-spaniards-mixed-with-africans-and-tainos/ | title=Ancestry DNA Results: Dominicans are Spaniards Mixed with Africans and Tainos | work=The Dominicans | date=January 11, 2019 | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=November 20, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120124123/https://thedominicans.org/2019/01/11/ancestry-dna-results-dominicans-are-spaniards-mixed-with-africans-and-tainos/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2016/07/06/dominicans-are-49-black-39-white-and-4-indian/ | title=Dominicans are 49% Black, 39% White and 4% Indian | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=October 31, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031143015/https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2016/07/06/dominicans-are-49-black-39-white-and-4-indian/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Dominican Republic have several informal terms to loosely describe a person's degree of racial admixture, Mestizo means any type of mixed ancestry unlike in other Latin American countries it describes specifically a European/native mix,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://repositorio.unphu.edu.do/handle/123456789/881 | title=Orígenes del mestizaje y de la mulatización en Santo Domingo | date=December 13, 1995 | last1=García Arévalo | first1=Manuel A. | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=October 31, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031141508/https://repositorio.unphu.edu.do/handle/123456789/881 | url-status=live }}</ref> ''Indio'' describes mixed race people whose skin color is between white and black.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://losdominicanos.org/2021/09/30/evidencia-del-uso-de-indio-antes-de-establecerse-la-republica-dominicana/ | title=Evidencia del uso de "indio" antes de establecerse la República Dominicana | work=Los Dominicanos | date=September 30, 2021 | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=October 31, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031230843/https://losdominicanos.org/2021/09/30/evidencia-del-uso-de-indio-antes-de-establecerse-la-republica-dominicana/ | url-status=live }}</ref> The majority of the Dominican population is tri-racial, with nearly all mixed race individuals having [[Taíno]] [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] ancestry along with [[Demographics of Europe|European]] (mainly Spanish) and [[Demographics of Africa|African]] ancestry. European ancestry in the mixed population typically ranges between 50% and 60% on average, while African ancestry ranges between 30% and 40%, and the Native ancestry usually ranges between 5% and 10%. European and Native ancestry tends to be strongest in cities and towns of the north-central [[Cibao]] region, and generally in the mountainous interior of the country. African ancestry is strongest in coastal areas, the southeast plain, and the border regions.<ref name="Supplementary Data"/> Race in Dominican Republic acts as a continuum of white—mulatto—black due to the large amounts of interracial mixing for hundreds of years in Dominican Republic and the Spanish Caribbean in general, allowing for high amounts of genetic diversity.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://aparcelofribbons.co.uk/2011/09/black-white-and-in-between-categories-of-colour/ | title=Black, White and in Between - Categories of Colour | date=September 26, 2011 | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=October 31, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031141536/https://aparcelofribbons.co.uk/2011/09/black-white-and-in-between-categories-of-colour/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1118&context=trotter_review |title=The Hypocrisy of the "Pigmentocracy" |access-date=November 30, 2023 |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209103601/https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1118&context=trotter_review |url-status=live }}</ref> [[File:Dominican Republic people, San Francisco de Macoris music culture.jpg|thumb|right|Dominican Republic people in Duarte province]] Dominican Republic's citizenship is given by ''right of blood'' ([[Jus sanguinis]]), not ''right of soil'', meaning being born in Dominican Republic does not guarantee citizenship if parents are illegal immigrants.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/dominican-republic-erased-birthright-citizenship/575527/ | title=What Happened when a Nation Erased Birthright Citizenship | website=[[The Atlantic]] | date=November 12, 2018 | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=November 27, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127220720/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/dominican-republic-erased-birthright-citizenship/575527/ | url-status=live }}</ref> One would either have to be born in Dominican Republic to parents who are legal citizens or apply for citizenship; citizenship is granted quite easily to people born abroad if they can prove Dominican ancestry.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://rosalux-geneva.org/dominican-republic-changing-the-rules/#:~:text=In%20constitutional%20law%2C%20this%20principle%20is%20called%20jus,or%20son%20of%20a%20Dominican%20mother%20or%20father | title=Dominican Republic: Changing the rules - RLS Geneva | date=January 18, 2021 | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=November 14, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114191118/https://rosalux-geneva.org/dominican-republic-changing-the-rules/#:~:text=In%20constitutional%20law%2C%20this%20principle%20is%20called%20jus,or%20son%20of%20a%20Dominican%20mother%20or%20father | url-status=live }}</ref> This means that being a ''Dominican citizen'' and being an ''ethnic Dominican'' is not always interchangeable, as the former implies citizenship that one can receive moving from any country in the world to Dominican Republic, while the latter implies a people tied by ancestry and culture. Ethnic Dominicans are people who are not only born in Dominican Republic (and have legal status) or born abroad with ancestral roots in the country, but more importantly have family roots in the country going back several generations and descend from a mix of varying degrees of Spanish, Taino, and African, the three principal foundational roots of Dominican Republic.<ref name="thedominicans.org"/><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/black_studies_fac/22/ | title=Not Everyone Who Speaks Spanish is from Spain: Taino Survival in the 21st Century Dominican Republic | journal=Journal of Caribbean Amerindian History and Anthropology | date=January 2002 | last1=Ferbel-Azcarate | first1=Pedro | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=November 14, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114192000/https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/black_studies_fac/22/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Nearly all Dominicans are mixed race, with 75% being "visibly" and "evenly" [[Mixed Dominicans|mixed]], and the remaining 25% being predominantly of African or European blood but still with notable admixture.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://thedominicans.org/2022/05/11/differences-in-labels-between-the-united-states-and-the-dominican-republic/ | title=Differences in Labels between the United States and the Dominican Republic | work=The Dominicans | date=May 11, 2022 | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=November 14, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114192905/https://thedominicans.org/2022/05/11/differences-in-labels-between-the-united-states-and-the-dominican-republic/ | url-status=live }}</ref> According to a 2017 estimate from the Dominican government, Dominican Republic had a population of 10,189,895, of which 847,979 were immigrants or descendants of recent immigrants and 9,341,916 were ''ethnic Dominicans''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://dominicanrepublic.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Resumen%20Ejecutivo%20ENI-2017_FINAL.pdf#page=48 |title=ENI-2017 Segunda Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes, Versión Resumida del Informe General |access-date=November 30, 2023 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604105824/https://dominicanrepublic.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Resumen%20Ejecutivo%20ENI-2017_FINAL.pdf#page=48 |url-status=live }}</ref> Most Dominicans embrace all sides of their mixed race heritage, but often identify with their nationality first and foremost. Many Dominicans born in the United States now reside in the Dominican Republic, estimated at around 250,000, creating a kind of expatriate community, whom have growing influence and play a significant role in the economic growth in Dominican Republic.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aca.ch/amabroad.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225044115/http://www.aca.ch/amabroad.pdf|archive-date=February 25, 2011|title=American Citizens Living Abroad by Country |access-date=August 3, 2010 |publisher=US State Department }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://kmhub.iom.int/sites/default/files/dominica%202018.pdf |title=Diálogos Migración & Desarrollo en República Dominicana: Diáspora Dominicana Inclusión Productiva e Inversión en el Desarrollo Nacional |access-date=November 30, 2023 |archive-date=December 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223211635/https://kmhub.iom.int/sites/default/files/dominica%202018.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/politica/diaspora-dominicana-equilibro-de-aqui-y-alla-EI4965431 | title=Diáspora dominicana: El equilibrio del aquí y el allá Diáspora dominicana: Equilibro de aquí y allá | date=September 19, 2016 | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=January 11, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111005235/https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/politica/diaspora-dominicana-equilibro-de-aqui-y-alla-EI4965431 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.diariolibre.com/usa/actualidad/2022/10/27/vinculos-de-la-diaspora-y-el-desarrollo-de-rd/2122099 | title=Llaman a crear vínculos "más efectivos" con la diáspora para el desarrollo de RD | date=October 27, 2022 | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=November 2, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102144325/https://www.diariolibre.com/usa/actualidad/2022/10/27/vinculos-de-la-diaspora-y-el-desarrollo-de-rd/2122099 | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Haitians]] make up the largest ethnic immigrant group in the country, a large majority of them are illegal, in a distant second place are the [[Venezuelans]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312093852/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37018 | archive-date=March 12, 2008 | title=DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Deport Thy (Darker-Skinned) Neighbour }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/inmigracion/republica-dominicana |title=República Dominicana - Inmigración 2017 |access-date=November 30, 2023 |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401191751/https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/inmigracion/republica-dominicana |url-status=live }}</ref> Other groups in the country include the descendants of [[Western Asia|West Asia]]ns—mostly [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]], [[Demographics of Syria|Syrians]] and [[Palestinian people|Palestinians]]. A smaller, yet significant presence of [[East Asia]]ns (primarily [[Overseas Chinese|ethnic Chinese]] and [[Japanese people|Japanese]]) can also be found throughout the population. Dominicans are also composed of [[Sephardic Jews]] that were exiled from [[Spain]] and the Mediterranean area in 1492 and 1497,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html|title=The Exile of the Jews due to the Spanish Inquisition|access-date=May 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813044820/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html|archive-date=August 13, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> coupled with other migrations dating to the 1700s<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_05317.html|title=Jews migration in the 1700s|access-date=May 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002132606/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_05317.html|archive-date=October 2, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> and during the [[Second World War]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/sosua.html|title=Jews migration to the Dominican Republic to seek refuge from the Holocaust|access-date=May 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113041300/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/sosua.html|archive-date=January 13, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> contribute to Dominican ancestry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geschichteinchronologie.ch/am-M/santo-domingo/EncJud_juden-in-Santo-Domingo-ENGL.html|title=A partial, brief summary of Jews in the Dominican Republic|access-date=May 15, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626162005/http://www.geschichteinchronologie.ch/am-M/santo-domingo/EncJud_juden-in-Santo-Domingo-ENGL.html|archive-date=June 26, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblediscovered.com/jewish-hebrew-people-in-the-world/dominican-republic-jews-2/|title=Dominican Republic-Jews|access-date=May 5, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001221327/https://www.biblediscovered.com/jewish-hebrew-people-in-the-world/dominican-republic-jews-2/|archive-date=October 1, 2013}}</ref> ===Languages=== {{Main|Dominican Spanish}} The population of the Dominican Republic is mostly [[Spanish language|Spanish]]-speaking, with the only people who do not speak Spanish fluently being some immigrants. The local [[Variation (linguistics)|variant]] of Spanish is called [[Dominican Spanish]], which closely resembles other Spanish [[vernacular]]s in the Caribbean and has similarities to [[Canarian Spanish]]. In addition, it has influences from African languages and borrowed words from [[Indigenous languages of the Americas#South America and the Caribbean|indigenous Caribbean languages]] particular to the island of Hispaniola.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Henríquez Ureña|first1=Pedro|author-link1=Pedro Henríquez Ureña|title=El Español en Santo Domingo|date=1940|publisher=Instituto de Filología de la Universidad de Buenos Aires|location=Buenos Aires|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tLTyydkMtrIC&q=El%20%22Espa%C3%B1ol%20Dominicano%22&pg=PA9 | title=Diccionario de dominicanismos |publisher=Librería La Trinitaria |author=Deive, Carlos Esteban |year=2002 |location=Santo Domingo |pages=9–16 | isbn=978-9993439073 |access-date=October 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111010041/https://books.google.com/books?id=tLTyydkMtrIC&q=El%20%22Espa%C3%B1ol%20Dominicano%22&pg=PA9#v=snippet&q=El%20%22Espa%C3%B1ol%20Dominicano%22&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Schools are based on a Spanish educational model; English and French are mandatory foreign languages in both private and public schools,<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.see.gob.do/documentosminerd/Desarrollo%20Curricular/guia-didac-inicial.pdf|title=Guía Didáctica. Inicial|volume=I|publisher=Ministry of Education, Dominican Republic|date=2010|isbn=978-99934-43-26-1|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110803222706/http://www.see.gob.do/documentosminerd/Desarrollo%20Curricular/guia-didac-inicial.pdf|archive-date=August 3, 2011}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2022}} although the quality of foreign languages teaching is poor.<ref>{{cite web|first=Bethania|last=Apolinar|url=http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2015/08/02/382666/ensenanza-del-ingles-es-pobre-en-escuelas|title=Enseñanza del inglés es "pobre" en escuelas|trans-title=Teaching of English is "poor" in schools|language=es|publisher=Listin Diario|location=Santo Domingo|date=August 2, 2015|access-date=August 24, 2016|archive-date=June 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630062446/http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2015/08/02/382666/ensenanza-del-ingles-es-pobre-en-escuelas|url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=August 2022}} [[Haitian Creole]] is the largest minority language in the Dominican Republic and is spoken by [[Haitians|Haitian]] immigrants and their descendants.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YgtSqB9oqDIC&pg=PA389 |title=Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education |editor1-last=Baker |editor1-first=Colin |editor2-last=Prys Jones |editor2-first=Sylvia |page=389 |year=1998 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-85359-362-8 |access-date=November 20, 2015 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111010146/https://books.google.com/books?id=YgtSqB9oqDIC&pg=PA389#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> There is a community of a few thousand people whose ancestors spoke [[Samaná English]] in the [[Samaná Peninsula]]. They are the descendants of formerly enslaved African Americans who arrived in the nineteenth century, but only a few elders speak the language today.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/248798261/La-Historia-de-Los-Inmigrantes-Afro-Americanos-y-Sus-Iglesias-en-Samana-Segun-El-Reverendo-Nehemiah-Willmore | title=La Historia de Los Inmigrantes Afro-Americanos Y Sus Iglesias En Samaná Según El Reverendo Nehemiah Willmore. | author=Davis, Martha Ellen | journal=Boletín del Archivo General de la Nación | year=2011 | volume=36 | issue=129 | pages=237–45 | author-link=Martha Ellen Davis (ethnomusicologist) | access-date=November 22, 2015 | archive-date=November 23, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123032641/https://www.scribd.com/doc/248798261/La-Historia-de-Los-Inmigrantes-Afro-Americanos-y-Sus-Iglesias-en-Samana-Segun-El-Reverendo-Nehemiah-Willmore | url-status=live }}</ref> Tourism, American pop culture, the influence of [[Dominican Americans]], and the country's economic ties with the United States motivate other Dominicans to learn English. The Dominican Republic is ranked 2nd in Latin America and 23rd in the World on English [[Language proficiency|proficiency]] as a second language.<ref>[https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/11/which-countries-are-best-at-english-as-a-second-language-4d24c8c8-6cf6-4067-a753-4c82b4bc865b/ Which countries are best at English as a second language?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808153745/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/11/which-countries-are-best-at-english-as-a-second-language-4d24c8c8-6cf6-4067-a753-4c82b4bc865b/ |date=August 8, 2017 }}, [[World Economic Forum]]. Retrieved on July 10, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.ef.com/wwpt/epi/regions/latin-america/dominican-republic/ EF English Proficiency Index – Dominican Republic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601204553/http://www.ef.com/wwpt/epi/regions/latin-america/dominican-republic/ |date=June 1, 2017 }}, [[EF Education First]]. Retrieved on July 10, 2017.</ref> {| class="wikitable sortable" |+[[Mother tongue]] of the Dominican population, 1950 Census<ref name="ONE_HistoriaMetodologia">{{cite book|title=Historia, Metodología y Organización de los Censos en República Dominicana: 1920–1993|publisher=Oficinal Nacional de Estadística|last1=Nicasio Rodríguez|first1=Irma|author2=Jesús de la Rosa|location=Santo Domingo|pages=44, 131|language=es|date=1998}}</ref> |- ! Language !! Total % !! Urban % !! Rural % |- style="text-align:center;" || | |[[Spanish language|Spanish]]|| style="text-align:center;" | 98.00 || style="text-align:center;" | 97.82 || style="text-align:center;" | 98.06 |- |[[French language|French]]|| style="text-align:center;" | 1.19 || style="text-align:center;" | 0.39|| style="text-align:center;" | 1.44 |- |[[English language|English]]|| style="text-align:center;" | 0.57 || style="text-align:center;" | 0.96|| style="text-align:center;" | 0.45 |- |[[Arabic language|Arabic]]|| style="text-align:center;" | 0.09 || style="text-align:center;" | 0.35|| style="text-align:center;" | 0.01 |- |[[Italian language|Italian]]|| style="text-align:center;" | 0.03 || style="text-align:center;" | 0.10|| style="text-align:center;" | 0.006 |- | Other language || style="text-align:center;" | 0.12 || style="text-align:center;" | 0.35|| style="text-align:center;" | 0.04 |} ===Religion=== {{Main|Religion in the Dominican Republic}} [[File:Basílica Menor de Santa María SD RD 02 2017 1941.jpg|thumb|The Gothic [[Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor|Cathedral of Santa María la Menor]], Santo Domingo, is the oldest cathedral in the Americas, built between 1514 and 1541.]] '''95.0% ''' Christians <br /> '''2.6% ''' No religion <br /> '''2.2% ''' Other religions <ref>[http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_70_2.asp Dominican Republic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624232219/http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/countries/Country_70_2.asp |date=June 24, 2017 }}. The Association of Religion Data Archives</ref> [[Christianity]] is the most widely professed religion in the Dominican Republic.<ref name=":usirf" /> Historically, [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] dominated the religious practices of the country, and as the [[State religion|official religion]] of the state it receives financial support from the government.<ref name=":usirf" /> {{as of|2014}}, 57% of the population (5.7 million) identified themselves as [[Roman Catholics]] and 23% (2.3 million) as [[Protestants]] (in Latin American countries, Protestants are often called ''Evangelicos'' because they emphasize personal and public evangelising and many are [[Evangelical Protestant]] or of a [[Pentecostal]] group). From 1896 to 1907 missionaries from the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]], [[Free Methodist]], [[Seventh-day Adventist]] and [[Moravians]] churches began work in the Dominican Republic.<ref name="Religious Transformations">{{cite journal|first=Daniel F. |last=Escher |url=https://depts.washington.edu/chid/intersections_Winter_2009/Daniel_F._Escher_Protestant_Movement_in_the_Dominican_Republic.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908154056/https://depts.washington.edu/chid/intersections_Winter_2009/Daniel_F._Escher_Protestant_Movement_in_the_Dominican_Republic.pdf |archive-date=2017-09-08 |url-status=live |title=Religious Transformations: The Protestant Movement in the Dominican Republic |journal=Intersections |volume=10 |number=1 |date=2009 |pages=519–570}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSovBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA94|title=Historical Dictionary of the Seventh-Day Adventists|first=Gary|last=Land|date=October 23, 2014|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|via=Google Books|isbn=9781442241886|access-date=January 11, 2024|archive-date=January 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111010041/https://books.google.com/books?id=PSovBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA94#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Three percent of the 10.63 million Dominican Republic population are Seventh-day Adventists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adventistdirectory.org/ViewAdmField.aspx?AdmFieldID=DMUM|title=Dominican Union Conference - Adventist Organizational Directory|website=www.adventistdirectory.org|access-date=January 11, 2024|archive-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908155329/http://www.adventistdirectory.org/ViewAdmField.aspx?AdmFieldID=DMUM|url-status=live}}</ref> Recent immigration as well as proselytizing efforts have brought in other religious groups, with the following shares of the population: [[Kardecist spiritism|Spiritist]]: 2.2%,<ref name="religiousfreedom" /> [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]: 1.3%,<ref>[https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/dominican-republic "Dominican Republic: Facts and Statistics"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415141012/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/dominican-republic |date=April 15, 2020 }}, ''[[Church News]]'', 2020. Retrieved on March 25, 2020.</ref> [[Buddhism|Buddhist]]: 0.1%, [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]]: 0.1%,<ref name="religiousfreedom" /> [[Chinese Folk Religion]]: 0.1%,<ref name="religiousfreedom">{{cite web|url=http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Dominican_Republic/rbodies.html|title=Religious Freedom Page |access-date=February 27, 2009|work=religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617175719/http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Dominican_Republic/rbodies.html |archive-date=June 17, 2008}}</ref> Islam: 0.02%, Judaism: 0.01%. The Catholic Church began to lose its strong dominance in the late 19th century. This was due to a lack of funding, priests, and support programs. During the same time, [[Protestant]] Evangelicalism began to gain wider support "with their emphasis on personal responsibility and family rejuvenation, economic entrepreneurship, and biblical [[fundamentalism]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/christianity/roman-catholic-orders-and-missions/dominicans|title=Dominicans – Encyclopedia of World Cultures|website=encyclopedia.com|access-date=September 14, 2019|archive-date=April 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419175034/https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/christianity/roman-catholic-orders-and-missions/dominicans|url-status=live}}</ref> The Dominican Republic has two Catholic patroness saints: ''Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia'' (Our Lady Of High Grace) and ''Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes'' (Our Lady Of Mercy). The Dominican Republic has historically granted extensive religious freedom. According to the [[United States Department of State]], "The constitution specifies that there is no state church and provides for freedom of religion and belief. A concordat with the Vatican designates Catholicism as the official religion and extends special privileges to the Catholic Church not granted to other religious groups. These include the legal recognition of church law, use of public funds to underwrite some church expenses, and complete exoneration from customs duties."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/502105c67d.html|title=Refworld | 2011 Report on International Religious Freedom – Dominican Republic|first=United Nations High Commissioner for|last=Refugees|website=Refworld|access-date=August 4, 2020|archive-date=April 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417044431/https://www.refworld.org/docid/502105c67d.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1950s restrictions were placed upon churches by the government of Trujillo. Letters of protest were sent against the mass arrests of government adversaries. Trujillo began a campaign against the Catholic Church and planned to arrest priests and bishops who preached against the government. This campaign ended before it was put into place, with his assassination. During World War II a group of Jews escaping [[Nazi Germany]] fled to the Dominican Republic and founded the city of [[Sosúa]]. It has remained the center of the Jewish population since.<ref>{{cite web|author=Richard Haggerty|title=Dominican Republic: A Country Study: Religion|publisher=U.S. Library of Congress|year=1989|url=http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/33.htm|access-date=May 21, 2006|archive-date=September 23, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923042535/http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/33.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> ===Immigration in the 20th and 21st centuries=== {{Main|Japanese settlement in the Dominican Republic|Ethnic Chinese in the Dominican Republic|History of the Jews in the Dominican Republic}} [[File:Colonia Japonesa.jpg|thumb|Family of [[Japanese settlement in the Dominican Republic|Japanese Dominicans]] in the [[Constanza, Dominican Republic|Constanza]] neighbourhood.]] In the 20th century, many [[Arab]]s (from [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]),<ref name="Lebanon-migrants-register">{{cite web|last=González Hernández|first=Julio Amable|title=Registro de Inmigrantes de El Líbano|url=http://www.idg.org.do/capsulas/agosto2012/agosto201211.htm|work=Cápsulas Genealógicas en Areíto|publisher=Instituto Dominicano de Genealogía|access-date=May 28, 2013|location=Santo Domingo|language=es|date=August 11, 2012|quote=Recientemente conocimos un trabajo que se está llevando a cabo en el Club Libanés Sirio Palestino y que consiste en la elaboración de un minucioso registro de todos los inmigrantes que llegaron a la República Dominicana procedentes de El Líbano a fines del siglo XIX y principios del XX. (...) En menor grado, también se está recabando información de los inmigrantes procedentes de Siria y Palestina. Hasta el presente, ya se tienen registros de unos 600 libaneses, 200 palestinos y 200 sirios. (...) Se calcula que en República Dominicana existen unos 80,000 descendientes de esos inmigrantes que una vez dejaron sus tierras para buscar una vida mejor.|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816045056/http://www.idg.org.do/capsulas/agosto2012/agosto201211.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Japanese, and, to a lesser degree, [[Koreans]] settled in the country as agricultural laborers and merchants. The Chinese companies found business in telecom, mining, and railroads. The Arab community is rising at an increasing rate and is estimated at 80,000.<ref name="Lebanon-migrants-register" /> Immigrant groups in the country include [[Southwest Asia|West Asians]]—mostly [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]], [[Syrian people|Syrians]], and [[Palestinian people|Palestinians]]; the current president, Luis Abinader, is of Lebanese descent.<ref name="Irrizarri">{{cite web|url=http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2013/09/26/ldquo-arrepiento-del-tiempo-que-dedique-politica.-fue-esteril-frustranterdquo|title=José Rafael Abinader: "Me arrepiento del tiempo que le dediqué a la política"|last=Irrizarri|first=Evelyn|date=September 26, 2013|publisher=El Caribe|language=es|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814105936/http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2013/09/26/ldquo-arrepiento-del-tiempo-que-dedique-politica.-fue-esteril-frustranterdquo|archive-date=August 14, 2014|access-date=August 14, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Levinson" /> East Asians, [[Koreans]],<ref name=migration>[[Migration Policy Institute]]</ref> [[Ethnic Chinese in the Dominican Republic|ethnic Chinese]] and [[Japanese settlement in the Dominican Republic|Japanese]], can also be found.<ref name="Levinson" /> Europeans are represented mostly by [[Spanish people|Spanish]] whites but also with smaller populations of [[Germans]],<ref name=migration/> [[Italian people|Italians]], [[French people|French]], [[British people|British]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/brits_abroad/html/caribbean.stm |title=Brits Abroad |access-date=August 3, 2010 |work=BBC News |date=December 6, 2006 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612145922/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/brits_abroad/html/caribbean.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=migration/> [[Dutch people|Dutch]], [[Swiss people|Swiss]],<ref name=migration/> [[Russians]],<ref name=migration/> and [[Hungarian people|Hungarians]].<ref name="Levinson">{{cite book |title=Ethnic groups worldwide: a ready reference handbook |first=David |last=Levinson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uwi-rv3VV6cC&pg=PA345 |pages=345–6 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=1998 |isbn=978-1-57356-019-1 |access-date=June 27, 2015 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111010042/https://books.google.com/books?id=uwi-rv3VV6cC&pg=PA345 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, there are descendants of immigrants who came from other Caribbean islands, including [[St. Kitts and Nevis]], [[Antigua]], [[Saint Vincent (island)|St. Vincent]], [[Montserrat]], [[Tortola]], [[Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Croix]], [[St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas]], and [[Guadeloupe]]. They are known locally as ''[[Cocolo]]s''. They worked on sugarcane plantations and docks and settled mainly in the cities of [[San Pedro de Macorís]] and [[Puerto Plata (city)|Puerto Plata]]. Puerto Rican, and to a lesser extent, Cuban immigrants fled to the Dominican Republic from the mid-1800s until about 1940 due to a poor economy and social unrest in their respective home countries.<ref>{{cite thesis | url=https://catalogo.uasd.edu.do/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=17104 | title=Inmigración de puertorriqueños en República Dominicana, período 1890 - 1920 | date=December 13, 2023 | last1=Guerrero | first1=Leovigildo Javier | last2=HernáNdez Cabreja | first2=Jorge | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=September 28, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928220025/https://catalogo.uasd.edu.do/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=17104 | url-status=live }}</ref> Many Puerto Rican immigrants settled in [[Higüey (city)|Higüey]], among other cities, and quickly assimilated due to similar culture. Before and during World War II, 800 Jewish refugees moved to the Dominican Republic.<ref name="SosuaJewishStudies">{{cite press release|title=CCNY Jewish Studies Class to Visit Dominican Village that Provided Refuge to European Jews During World War II|publisher=[[City College of New York]]|url=http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/advancement/pr/Sosua-Jewish-Studies.cfm|date=November 13, 2006|access-date=August 3, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510103344/http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/advancement/pr/Sosua-Jewish-Studies.cfm|archive-date=May 10, 2011}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=July 2021}} Numerous immigrants have come from other Caribbean countries, as the country has offered economic opportunities. There are many Haitians and [[Venezuelans]] living in the Dominican Republic, there are the largest immigrant groups in the country currently, and large numbers of both groups are present in the country illegally.<ref name="CIADemo"/> There is an increasing number of well-off [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]] immigrants, owning businesses and vacation homes in the country, many retiring there, they are believed to number around 10,000.<ref>{{cite news|title=Growing Puerto Rican population in the Dominican Republic1 |publisher=Universidad Central del Este |url=http://www.topix.com/forum/world/dominican-republic/T4ULLRH92RE5AQ2UL |access-date=July 19, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317050440/http://www.topix.com/forum/world/dominican-republic/T4ULLRH92RE5AQ2UL |archive-date=March 17, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Más de medio millón de inmigrantes residen en el país|trans-title=More than half a million immigrants living in the country|language=es|publisher=diariolibre.com|url=http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/ms-de-medio-milln-de-inmigrantes-residen-en-el-pas-EDDL381577|date=May 1, 2013|access-date=October 19, 2016|archive-date=November 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105175623/http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/ms-de-medio-milln-de-inmigrantes-residen-en-el-pas-EDDL381577|url-status=live}}</ref> Many Europeans and Americans (non-Puerto Rican) are also retiring in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/on-retirement/articles/2018-10-31/santo-domingo-an-affordable-caribbean-city-for-retirement |title=Santo Domingo: An Affordable Caribbean City for Retirement |access-date=November 30, 2023 |archive-date=February 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210173328/https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/on-retirement/articles/2018-10-31/santo-domingo-an-affordable-caribbean-city-for-retirement |url-status=live }}</ref> About 300,000 U.S. citizens reside in Dominican Republic, of which 250,000 are [[Dominican Americans]] whom have returned to the country, and 50,000 are Americans of non-Dominican ancestry from the mainland United States and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://do.usembassy.gov/happy-holidays-on-behalf-of-the-consular-section-of-u-s-embassy-santo-domingo/ |title=Happy Holidays on behalf of the Consular Section of U.S. Embassy Santo Domingo |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |work=[[Embassy of the United States, Santo Domingo]] |date=December 25, 2023 |publisher=United States Department of State |access-date=December 25, 2023 |quote=Nearly 300,000 U.S. citizens live in the Dominican Republic, more than two million Dominicans live in the United States, and almost three million U.S. travelers visit the Dominican Republic every year. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2024/itineraries/dominican-republic |title=Dominican Republic CDC Yellow Book 2024 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |work=[[Macarena García, Luis Bonilla, Bianca Alvarez]] |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=May 1, 2023 |quote=Approximately 250,000 US citizens call the Dominican Republic home. }}</ref> The [[2010 Dominican Republic Census|2010 Census]] registered 311,969 Haitians; 24,457 Americans; 6,691 Spaniards; 5,763 Puerto Ricans; and 5,132 Venezuelans.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Oficina Nacional de Estadística|title=IX Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2010: Volumen 1 (Informe General)|url=http://censo2010.one.gob.do/volumenes_censo_2010/vol1.pdf|access-date=21 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202090504/http://censo2010.one.gob.do/volumenes_censo_2010/vol1.pdf|archive-date=2 December 2012|location=Santo Domingo|language=es|date=June 2012|pages=99–103}}</ref> In 2012, the Dominican government made a survey of immigrants in the country and found that there were: 329,281 [[Haitians in the Dominican Republic|Haitian-born]]; 25,814 [[Americans|U.S.]]-born (excluding Puerto Rican-born); 7,062 [[Spanish people|Spanish]]-born; 6,083 [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]]-born; 5,417 [[Venezuelan people|Venezuelan]]-born; 3,841 [[Cubans|Cuban]]-born; 3,795 [[Italians|Italian]]-born; 3,606 [[Colombian people|Colombian]]-born; 2,043 [[French people|French]]-born; 1,661 [[Germans|German]]-born; 1,484 [[Ethnic Chinese in the Dominican Republic|Chinese-born]]; among others.<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/9789264276918-6-es.pdf?expires=1696959367&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=1865FE58D7E79131734F7D5514B898DA | doi=10.1787/9789264276918-6-es | chapter=El panorama de la migración en República Dominicana | title=Interacciones entre Políticas Públicas, Migración y Desarrollo en República Dominicana | series=Caminos de Desarrollo | date=2017 | pages=39–59 | isbn=9789264276901 | access-date=November 30, 2023 | archive-date=January 11, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111010308/https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/interacciones-entre-politicas-publicas-migracion-y-desarrollo-en-republica-dominicana/el-panorama-de-la-migracion-en-republica-dominicana_9789264276918-6-es;jsessionid=dbkz3PkEujG3nO4PWMVLjgJF6bka-RyP12gH345k.ip-10-240-5-158 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Martínez|first=Darlenny|title=Estudio: en RD viven 534,632 extranjeros|url=http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2013/05/02/estudio-viven-534632-extranjeros|access-date=29 May 2014|newspaper=El Caribe|date=2 May 2013|language=es|quote=Según la Primera Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes de la República Dominicana (ENI-2012), (...) Después de Haití, explica la investigación, las 10 naciones de donde proceden más inmigrantes son Estados Unidos, con 13,524; España, con 6,720, y Puerto Rico, con 4,416. Además Italia, con 4,040; China, con 3,643; Francia, con 3,599; Venezuela, con 3,434; Cuba con 3,145 inmigrantes; Colombia con 2,738 y Alemania con 1,792.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212011803/http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2013/05/02/estudio-viven-534632-extranjeros|archive-date=12 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=ONE>[http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/dominicanrepublic/drive/InformeENI-2012-General.pdf "Primera Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes (ENI-2012)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621051704/http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/dominicanrepublic/drive/InformeENI-2012-General.pdf |date=2015-06-21 }} (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (former 'Oficina Nacional de Estadística') & [[United Nations Population Fund]]. p. 63. 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Juan Bolívar Díaz|title=RD país de emigrantes más que de inmigrantes|url=http://hoy.com.do/rd-pais-de-emigrantes-mas-que-de-inmigrantes/|publisher=Hoy|access-date=20 August 2014|language=es|date=4 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821134118/http://hoy.com.do/rd-pais-de-emigrantes-mas-que-de-inmigrantes/|archive-date=21 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In the second half of 2017, a second survey of foreign population was conducted in the Dominican Republic. The total population in the Dominican Republic was estimated at 10,189,895, of which 9,341,916 were Dominicans with no foreign background. According to the survey, the majority of the people with foreign background were of Haitian origin (751,080 out of 847,979, or 88.6%), breaking down as follows: 497,825 were Haitians born in Haiti, 171,859 Haitians born in the Dominican Republic and 81,590 Dominicans with a Haitian parent. Other main sources of foreign-born population were Venezuela (25,872), the United States (10,016), Spain (7,592), Italy (3,713), [[Two Chinas|China]] (3,069), Colombia (2,642), Puerto Rico (2,356), and Cuba (2,024).<ref name=ENI-2017>{{cite report |title=Segunda Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes en la República Dominicana [ENI-2017] - Versión resumida del Informe General |trans-title=Second National Survey of Immigrants in the Dominican Republic [ENI-2017] - Summary version of the General Report |url=https://dominicanrepublic.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Resumen%20Ejecutivo%20ENI-2017_FINAL.pdf#page=48 |date=June 2017 |page=48 |publisher=Oficina Nacional de Estadística |location=Santo Domingo |language=es |isbn=978-9945-015-17-1 |access-date=2020-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604105824/https://dominicanrepublic.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Resumen%20Ejecutivo%20ENI-2017_FINAL.pdf#page=48 |archive-date=2020-06-04 |url-status=live }}</ref> ====Haitian immigration==== {{Main|Haitians in the Dominican Republic}} [[File:Haiti deforestation.jpg|thumb|A satellite image of the [[Dominican Republic–Haiti border|border]] between [[Haiti]] (left) and the Dominican Republic (right), highlighting the [[Deforestation in Haiti|deforestation on the Haitian side]]]] [[File:Dominicans and Haitians Braving the Weather.jpg|thumb|Dominicans and Haitians lined up to attend medical providers from the [[U.S. Army Reserve]]]] [[File:Haitian-Dominican border in Grand-Bois, Cornillon, Haiti, June 2017 3.jpg|thumb|View of border region between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The border runs horizontally through the middle of the picture.]] [[File:One Too Many; 50+ Haitian Workers In Transit.jpg|thumb|Haitian workers being transported in [[Punta Cana]], the Dominican Republic]] [[Human Rights Watch]] estimated that 70,000 documented Haitian immigrants and 1,930,000 undocumented immigrants were living in Dominican Republic.{{efn|[[Illegal immigration]] from Haiti has resulted in government action. Immigration from Haiti has increased tensions between Dominicans and Haitians.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://cronkite.asu.edu/projects/buffett/dr/labor.html |title=Illegal Haitian Workers in Demand |website=cronkite.asu.edu |access-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105120649/https://cronkite.asu.edu/projects/buffett/dr/labor.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3cf2429a4.html|title=Refworld | "Illegal People": Haitians And Dominico-Haitians In The Dominican Republic|author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|website=Refworld|access-date=November 8, 2021|archive-date=January 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120220256/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3cf2429a4.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2021/03/08/immigration-repatriates-200000-illegal-haitians-in-2-months/ |title=Immigration repatriates 200,000 illegal Haitians in 2 months |date=March 8, 2021 |website=dominicantoday.com |access-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108195257/https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2021/03/08/immigration-repatriates-200000-illegal-haitians-in-2-months/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.haitianinternet.com/articles/new-dominican-law-prevent-illegal-haitians-from-renting-a-pl.html |title=New Dominican law seeks to prevent illegal Haitians from renting a place to live |website=News From Haiti |access-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108195313/http://www.haitianinternet.com/articles/new-dominican-law-prevent-illegal-haitians-from-renting-a-pl.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theworld.org/stories/2011-05-09/dominican-republic-denies-birthright-citizenship-children-illegal-immigrants|title=Dominican Republic denies birthright citizenship to children of illegal immigrants|website=The World from PRX|date=August 2, 2016 |access-date=November 8, 2021|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104123806/https://theworld.org/stories/2011-05-09/dominican-republic-denies-birthright-citizenship-children-illegal-immigrants|url-status=live}}</ref> The Dominican Republic is also home to 114,050 illegal immigrants from [[Venezuela]].<ref name="CIADemo"/>}} Haiti is the neighboring nation to the Dominican Republic and is considerably poorer, less developed and is additionally the least developed country in the western hemisphere. In 2003, 80% of all Haitians were poor (54% living in abject poverty) and 47.1% were illiterate. The country of nine million people also has a fast growing population, but over two-thirds of the labor force lack formal jobs. Haiti's per capita GDP (PPP) was $1,800 in 2017, or just over one-tenth of the Dominican figure.<ref name="CIADemo" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/ |title=CIA – The World Factbook – Haiti |access-date=January 10, 2010 |archive-date=February 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209014627/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, hundreds of thousands of Haitians have migrated to the Dominican Republic, with some estimates of 800,000 Haitians in the country,<ref name="pinadep">{{cite web|url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37018|title=Dominican Republic: Deport Thy (Darker-Skinned) Neighbour|date=March 21, 2007|access-date=January 14, 2008|author=Diógenes Pina|publisher=Inter Press Service (IPS)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109194929/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37018 |archive-date=January 9, 2008}}</ref> while others put the Haitian-born population as high as one million.<ref>{{cite web|title=Illegal people|publisher=Human Rights Watch|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/domrep/domrep0402-02.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020421144908/http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/domrep/domrep0402-02.htm|archive-date=April 21, 2002|access-date=May 29, 2007}}</ref> They usually work at low-paying and unskilled jobs in building construction and house cleaning and in sugar plantations.<ref name="ferguson">{{cite web|url=http://www.minorityrights.org/1038/reports/migration-in-the-caribbean-haiti-the-dominican-republic-and-beyond.html|title=Migration in the Caribbean: Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Beyond|access-date=January 14, 2008|author=James Ferguson|date=July 2003|publisher=Minority Rights Group International|format=PDF|archive-date=January 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150116012247/http://www.minorityrights.org/1038/reports/migration-in-the-caribbean-haiti-the-dominican-republic-and-beyond.html|url-status=live}}</ref> There have been accusations that some Haitian immigrants work in slavery-like conditions and are severely exploited.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-morse/haitian-cane-workers-in-t_b_626610.html Richard Morse: Haitian Cane Workers in the Dominican Republic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113102412/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-morse/haitian-cane-workers-in-t_b_626610.html |date=November 13, 2012 }}. Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved on September 22, 2011.</ref> Due to the lack of basic amenities and medical facilities in Haiti a large number of Haitian women, often arriving with several health problems, cross the border to Dominican soil. They deliberately come during their last weeks of pregnancy to obtain medical attention for childbirth, since Dominican public hospitals do not refuse medical services based on nationality or legal status. Statistics from a hospital in Santo Domingo report that over 22% of childbirths are by Haitian mothers.<ref name="LD2008-01-21" /> Haiti also [[Environmental issues in Haiti|suffers from severe environmental degradation]]. Deforestation is rampant in Haiti; today less than 4 percent of Haiti's forests remain, and in many places the soil has eroded right down to the bedrock.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dirt Poor — Haiti has lost its soil and the means to feed itself|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/09/soil/bourne-text|website=nationalgeographic.com|access-date=September 14, 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011141022/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/09/soil/bourne-text|archive-date=October 11, 2008}}</ref> Haitians burn wood charcoal for 60% of their domestic energy production. Because of Haiti running out of plant material to burn, some Haitian bootleggers have created an illegal market for charcoal on the Dominican side. Conservative estimates calculate the illegal movement of 115 tons of charcoal per week from the Dominican Republic to Haiti. Dominican officials estimate that at least 10 trucks per week are crossing the border loaded with charcoal.<ref>{{cite web|title=The charcoal war|url=http://latinamericanscience.org/2014/03/the-charcoal-war/|website=latinamericanscience.org|date=March 11, 2014|access-date=September 14, 2019|archive-date=May 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518135314/http://latinamericanscience.org/2014/03/the-charcoal-war/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2005, Dominican President Leonel Fernández criticized collective expulsions of Haitians as having taken place "in an abusive and inhuman way".<ref>{{cite web|title=Dominican Republic: A Life in Transit|publisher=Amnesty International|date=March 21, 2007|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR270012007|access-date=June 3, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070422232810/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR270012007|archive-date=April 22, 2007}}</ref> After a UN delegation issued a preliminary report stating that it found a profound problem of racism and discrimination against people of Haitian origin, Dominican [[Foreign Minister]] [[Carlos Morales Troncoso]] issued a formal statement denouncing it, asserting that "our border with Haiti has its problems[;] this is our reality and it must be understood. It is important not to confuse national sovereignty with indifference, and not to confuse security with [[xenophobia]]."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39867|title=Dominican Republic: Gov't Turns Deaf Ear to UN Experts on Racism|date=October 31, 2007|access-date=January 14, 2008|author=Diógenes Pina|publisher=Inter Press Service (IPS)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109074036/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39867 |archive-date=January 9, 2008}}</ref> Haitian nationals send half a [[billion]] [[dollars]] total yearly in remittance from the Dominican Republic to Haiti, according to the [[World Bank]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/migrationremittancesdiasporaissues/brief/migration-remittances-data |title=Migration and Remittances Data |publisher=World Bank Group |access-date=July 20, 2020 |quote=Bilateral Remittances Matrices. |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106093652/https://www.knomad.org/sites/default/files/2018-04/bilateralmigrationmatrix20170_Apr2018.xlsx |url-status=live }}</ref> The government of the Dominican Republic invested a total of $16 billion pesos in health services offered to foreign patients in 2013–2016, according to official data, which includes medical expenses in blood transfusion, clinical analysis, surgeries and other care.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eldinero.com.do/47546/gobierno-dominicano-invierte-mas-de-rd3000-millones-en-servicios-medicos-a-extranjeros/ |title=Gobierno dominicano invierte más de RD$3,000 millones en servicios médicos a extranjeros |date=September 18, 2017 |publisher=Periódico elDinero |access-date=July 20, 2020 |quote=En 2016 el Gobierno destinó, a través del SNS, RD$3,037.7 millones para brindar servicios médicos a extranjeros a través de centros de salud del Estado, según las memorias de rendición de cuentas del Ministerio de Salud Pública. |archive-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819054018/https://eldinero.com.do/47546/gobierno-dominicano-invierte-mas-de-rd3000-millones-en-servicios-medicos-a-extranjeros/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to official reports, the country spends more than five billion Dominican pesos annually in care for pregnant women who cross the border ready to deliver.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://elnacional.com.do/5-mil-millones-gasta-rd-al-ano-en-partos-de-haitianas/ |title=$5 mil millones Gasta RD al año en partos de haitianas |date=May 18, 2017 |publisher=Periódico El Nacional |access-date=July 20, 2020 |quote=Más de cinco mil millones de pesos invierte el Gobierno anualmente en atenciones a embarazadas haitianas. |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124101011/https://elnacional.com.do/5-mil-millones-gasta-rd-al-ano-en-partos-de-haitianas/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The children of Haitian immigrants are eligible for Haitian nationality,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oas.org/juridico/MLA/en/hti/en_hti-int-const.html|title=Constitution of Haiti, 1987|access-date=October 16, 2010|quote=ARTICLE 11: Any person born of a Haitian father or Haitian mother who are themselves native-born Haitians and have never renounced their nationality possesses Haitian nationality at the time of birth.|archive-date=October 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018140315/http://www.oas.org/juridico/MLA/en/hti/en_hti-int-const.html|url-status=live}}</ref> but they may be denied it by Haiti because of a lack of proper documents or witnesses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/9770|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708224221/http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/9770|archive-date=July 8, 2008|title=Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the United States: Protect Rights, Reduce Statelessness|publisher=Refugees International|date=November 1, 2007|author=Maureen Lynch}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Andrew Grossman|title=Birthright citizenship as nationality of convenience|work=Proceedings of the Third Conference on Nationality|publisher=Council of Europe|date=October 11, 2004|url=http://www.uniset.ca/naty/maternity/|access-date=June 3, 2007|archive-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123031843/http://uniset.ca/naty/maternity/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the United States: Protect rights, reduce statelessness|agency=Reuters|date=January 19, 2007|url=http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000052/005242.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708193320/http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000052/005242.htm|archive-date=July 8, 2008|access-date=May 29, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Michelle Garcia|title=No Papers, No Rights|publisher=Amnesty International|year=2006|url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/Fall_2006/No_Papers_No_Rights/page.do?id=1105216&n1=2&n2=19&n3=358|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807031700/http://www.amnestyusa.org/Fall_2006/No_Papers_No_Rights/page.do?id=1105216&n1=2&n2=19&n3=358|archive-date=August 7, 2007|access-date=May 29, 2007}}</ref> ===Emigration=== [[File:Dominican Day Parade 2019 (50335870922).jpg|thumb|Dominicans in the [[Dominican Day Parade]] in New York City, 2019]] {{Main|Dominican Americans|Dominicans in Spain}} The first of three late-20th century emigration waves began in 1961 after the assassination of dictator Trujillo,<ref name="Wilderotter" /> due to fear of retaliation by Trujillo's allies and political uncertainty in general. In 1965, the United States began a military occupation of the Dominican Republic to end a civil war. Upon this, the U.S. eased travel restrictions, making it easier for Dominicans to obtain U.S. visas.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Morrison, Thomas K. |author2=Sinkin, Richard|jstor=2546161|title=International Migration in the Dominican Republic|journal=International Migration Review|volume= 16|issue=4, Special Issue: International Migration and Development |date=Winter 1982|pages=819–836|doi=10.2307/2546161}}</ref> From 1966 to 1978, the exodus continued, fueled by high unemployment and political repression. Communities established by the first wave of immigrants to the U.S. created a network that assisted subsequent arrivals.<ref name="Annenberg Foundation">{{cite web|url=http://www.learner.org/libraries/socialstudies/9_12/weir/background.html|publisher=Annenberg Foundation|title=Migration Trends in Six Latin American Countries|access-date=October 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228035554/http://www.learner.org/libraries/socialstudies/9_12/weir/background.html|archive-date=February 28, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the early 1980s, underemployment, inflation, and the rise in value of the dollar all contributed to a third wave of emigration from the Dominican Republic. Today, emigration from the Dominican Republic remains high.<ref name="Annenberg Foundation" /> In 2012, there were approximately 1.7 million people of Dominican descent in the U.S., counting both native- and foreign-born.<ref>[https://www.census.gov US Census Bureau 2012 American Community Survey B03001 1-Year Estimates HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY SPECIFIC ORIGIN] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709054630/https://www.census.gov/ |date=July 9, 2021 }} retrieved September 20, 2013</ref> There was also a growing [[Dominican Republic immigration to Puerto Rico|Dominican immigration to Puerto Rico]], with nearly 70,000 Dominicans living there {{As of|2010|lc=y}}. Although that number is slowly decreasing and immigration trends have reversed because of Puerto Rico's economic crisis {{as of|2016|lc=y}}. There is a significant Dominican population in Spain.<ref name="INE2018nacidos">{{cite web|url=http://www.ine.es/jaxi/Datos.htm?path=/t20/e245/p08/l0/&file=01006.px |access-date=January 26, 2019 |title=Población (españoles/extranjeros) por País de Nacimiento, sexo y año |year=2018 |publisher=[[Instituto Nacional de Estadística de España|Instituto Nacional de Estadística]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421000624/http://www.ine.es/jaxi/Datos.htm?path=%2Ft20%2Fe245%2Fp08%2Fl0%2F&file=01006.px |archive-date=April 21, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="INE2018nacionalidad">{{cite web |access-date=January 26, 2019 |title=Población extranjera por Nacionalidad, comunidades, Sexo y Año. |year=2018 |publisher=[[Instituto Nacional de Estadística de España|Instituto Nacional de Estadística]] |url=http://www.ine.es/jaxi/Datos.htm?path=/t20/e245/p08/l0/&file=02005.px |archive-date=February 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221102538/https://www.ine.es/jaxi/Datos.htm?path=/t20/e245/p08/l0/&file=02005.px |url-status=live }}</ref> ===Education=== {{Main|Education in the Dominican Republic}} [[File:Dominican kids in Santo Domingo.jpg|thumb|Kids taking classes]] Primary education is regulated by the Ministry of Education, with education being a right of all citizens and [[youth in the Dominican Republic]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oas.org/juridico/spanish/mesicic2_repdom_sc_anexo_7_sp.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806044021/http://www.oas.org/juridico/spanish/mesicic2_repdom_sc_anexo_7_sp.pdf |archive-date=2009-08-06 |url-status=live|title=LEY 66–97 Ley General de Educación|access-date=August 4, 2020}}</ref> Preschool education is organized in different cycles and serves the 2–4 age group and the 4–6 age group. Preschool education is not mandatory except for the last year. Basic education is compulsory and serves the population of the 6–14 age group. Secondary education is not compulsory, although it is the duty of the state to offer it for free. It caters to the 14–18 age group and is organized in a common core of four years and three modes of two years of study that are offered in three different options: general or academic, vocational (industrial, agricultural, and services), and artistic. The higher education system consists of institutes and universities. The institutes offer courses of a higher technical level. The universities offer technical careers, undergraduate and graduate; these are regulated by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ley 139-01 de Educación Superior, Ciencia y Tecnología |url=http://www.seescyt.gov.do/baseconocimiento/Leyes%20y%20reglamentos/Ley139-01%20Educaci%C3%B3n%20Superior.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501035441/http://www.seescyt.gov.do/baseconocimiento/Leyes%20y%20reglamentos/Ley139-01%20Educaci%C3%B3n%20Superior.pdf |archive-date=May 1, 2015 }}</ref> The Dominican Republic was ranked 97th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2024, down from 87th in 2019.<ref>{{Cite book |author=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2024 |title=Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/assets/67729/2000%20Global%20Innovation%20Index%202024_WEB3lite.pdf |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=www.wipo.int |page=18 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.50062 |isbn=978-92-805-3681-2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Innovation Index 2019|url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2019/index.html|access-date=September 2, 2021|website=www.wipo.int|language=en|archive-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902101818/https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2019/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ===Health=== {{Main|Health in the Dominican Republic}} In 2020, the Dominican Republic had an estimated [[birth rate]] of 18.5 per 1000 and a [[death rate]] of 6.3 per 1000.<ref name="CIADemo" /> In the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI), the Dominican Republic ranks 41st out of 127 countries with sufficient data. The Dominican Republic's GHI score is 7.8, which indicates a low level of hunger.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Hunger Index Scores by 2024 GHI Rank |url=https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=Global Hunger Index (GHI) - peer-reviewed annual publication designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels |language=en}}</ref> ===Crime=== {{Main|Crime in the Dominican Republic}} In 2012, the Dominican Republic had a [[List of countries by intentional homicide rate|murder rate]] of 22.1 per 100,000 population.<ref name="UNODC" /> There was a total of 2,268 murders in the Dominican Republic in 2012.<ref name="UNODC">{{cite web|url=https://www.unodc.org/gsh/en/index.html|title=UNODC: Global Study on Homicide|work=[[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]]|date=2013|access-date=August 24, 2016|archive-date=June 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602171852/http://www.unodc.org/gsh/en/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Dominican Republic has become a trans-shipment point for Colombian drugs destined for Europe as well as the United States and Canada.<ref name="CIADemo" /><ref name="NYT" /> Money-laundering via the Dominican Republic is favored by Colombian drug cartels for the ease of illicit financial transactions.<ref name="CIADemo" /> In 2004, it was estimated that 8% of all cocaine smuggled into the United States had come through the Dominican Republic.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ribando |first=Claire |title=Dominican Republic: Political and Economic Conditions and Relations with the United States. |publisher=CRS Report for Congress |date= March 5, 2005 |url=https://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/46402.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050528113353/http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/46402.pdf |archive-date=2005-05-28 |url-status=live |access-date=May 29, 2007 }}</ref> The Dominican Republic responded with increased efforts to seize drug shipments, arrest and extradite those involved, and combat money-laundering. The often-light treatment of violent criminals has been a continuous source of local controversy. In April 2010, five teenagers, aged 15 to 17, shot and killed two taxi drivers and killed another five by forcing them to drink drain-cleaning acid. On September 24, 2010, the teens were sentenced to prison terms of three to five years, despite the protests of the taxi drivers' families.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11404313 | work=BBC News | title=Teenagers jailed for taxi drivers' murder | date=September 24, 2010 | access-date=January 11, 2024 | archive-date=November 22, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122180548/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11404313 | url-status=live }}</ref>
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Dominican Republic
(section)
Add topic
