Around 2.9 million make up the Dominican diaspora

Santo Domingo — The number of Dominicans living abroad has risen to 2,874,124, according to information released yesterday by the Institute of Dominicans Abroad (Index).

This data comes from the fourth update of the “Sociodemographic Registry of Dominicans Residing Abroad.”

Celinés Toribio, Vice Minister for Dominican Communities Abroad and Director of the Index, said the number of Dominicans abroad now stands at 2,874,124.

Of this total, 2,398,009 are in the United States and 201,162 are in Spain.

Toribio noted that of the total number abroad, 1,480,252 are women and 1,284,882 are men.

Other countries include Italy, with 29,791; Chile, with 22,836; Canada, with 22,125; the Netherlands, with 17,979; and Venezuela, with 11,399.

She added that these countries are home to the majority of the Dominican community abroad, while the United States remains the leading destination for hundreds of Dominicans.

In this context, Toribio emphasized that, in this data, “only residents with legal status are included.”

This is because the figure presented does not include the entire Dominican community, either due to irregular immigration status or because they are part of broader population categories, suggesting that the actual figure could be higher.

“These are the numbers that the authorized agencies give us,” Toribio said.

They emphasized that the data was obtained from the 2024 Registry, which covers 119 districts worldwide, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar for the first time.

The session was led by Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez, who emphasized that the technical work reflects the government’s vision of ensuring that its immigration policies are based on accurate and truthful information that strengthens the protection of Dominican rights.

Álvarez emphasized the importance of having this tool for developing strategies and projects aimed at nationals abroad.

“This registry,” he said, “in addition to being a statistical compilation, constitutes a tool that allows us to identify economic and social opportunities and helps integrate the diaspora into the nation.”

The event was attended by executives from Western Union and Vimenca, official registry collaborators, Mirex officials, media directors, opinion leaders, as well as representatives from academia, civil society, and the Dominican diaspora.