Much fewer Haitians than Dominicans think, study

Dajabón, Dominican Republic.- While many Dominicans believe in the notion that "millions of foreigners live in our country,” Dominican technicians and researchers found a current foreign population of 524,632 people residing in the Dominican Republic.

The survey conducted in mid 2012 by specialists of the Population Fund (UNFPA), the National Statistics Office (ONE) and with the European Union’s support, counted 458,233 Haitians, or 87.3 percent, and 12.7 percent from other countries.

The socio-demographic study presented by the NGO Border Solidarity to social, religious and academic authorities of the country’s northwestern border also found that while Dajabón posted a lower-than-average proportion in the number of Haitian residents, adjacent Valverde and Montecristi have the highest percentage of immigrants of all of the country’s 32 provinces

Present in the activity to present the study were researchers Elba Franco, Frank Baez Evertz, and UNFPA director Sonia Vasquez.