Dominican Republic sees 8.7% decline in population growth

Santo Domingo.- The 10th National Population and Housing Census reveals a population of 10,773,983 in the Dominican Republic, but it also highlights a decrease in the population growth rate over the last 12 years.

According to the National Statistics Office (ONE), the average annual growth rate between the 2010 and 2022 censuses was 1.11%, down from 1.21% between 2002 and 2010. This represents a slowdown of approximately 8.7% over 12 years. The decrease in growth was not uniform across the country, leading to the identification of three groups of provinces based on their average annual growth rates.

La Altagracia province recorded the highest growth rate over the past 12 years and is the only province classified as high growth. It also had the greatest growth during the 1993-2002 and 2002-2010 periods.

Moderate Growth Provinces

Provinces with moderate growth rates include:

• San Cristóbal
• Monseñor Nouel
• Hato Mayor
• La Romana
• Dajabón
• Santo Domingo
• San Pedro de Macorís
• San José de Ocoa
• Independencia
• Peravia
• El Seibo
• Valverde
• Samaná
• Monte Cristi

Low Growth Provinces

The majority of provinces experienced low average growth rates. These include:

• Santiago Rodríguez
• La Vega
• Azua
• Baoruco
• Santiago
• María Trinidad Sánchez
• Monte Plata
• Pedernales
• Sánchez Ramírez
• Barahona
• Distrito Nacional
• Duarte
• San Juan
• Puerto Plata
• Hermanas Mirabal
• Espaillat
• Elías Piña

Unlike the 2002-2010 period, where 10 provinces recorded negative growth, no province saw a population decrease between 2010 and 2022.