If you lived in Dominican Republic instead of Bhutan, you would:

Health

see 72.7% more spent on your healthcare

Bhutan spends $677 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Dominican Republic spends $1,169 as of 2023.

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have 4.4 times more doctors per person

Bhutan has 5.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Dominican Republic has 24.3 as of 2023.

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have 28.3% more access to essential health services

Bhutan scores 60 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Dominican Republic scores 77 as of 2021.

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be 14.3% less likely to die by suicide

Bhutan has a suicide rate of 4.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Dominican Republic, it is 4.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 2.4 times more likely to be obese

In Bhutan, 13.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Dominican Republic, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

make 2.5 times more money

Bhutan has a GDP per capita of $4,493 as of 2025, while in Dominican Republic, the GDP per capita is $11,059 as of 2025.

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be 57.6% more likely to be unemployed

In Bhutan, 3.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Dominican Republic, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.

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be 39.5% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Bhutan, 12.4% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Dominican Republic, however, that number is 17.3% as of 2025.

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Life

be 44.9% more likely to be literate

In Bhutan, the literacy rate is 64.9% as of 2022. In Dominican Republic, it is 94.0% as of 2024.

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have 40.6% more children

In Bhutan, there are approximately 12.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Dominican Republic, there are 17.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 2.6 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Bhutan, approximately 47.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Dominican Republic, 124.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 2.0 times more likely to die during infancy

In Bhutan, approximately 13.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Dominican Republic, on the other hand, 27.7 children do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 35.7% less on education

Bhutan spends 5.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Dominican Republic spends 3.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Safety

be 4.4 times more likely to be murdered

Bhutan has a homicide rate of 2.5 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Dominican Republic, that number is 10.9 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 2.2 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Bhutan, road accidents kill 12.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Dominican Republic, they kill 27.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 3.8 times more home broadband

Bhutan has 2.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Dominican Republic has 11.2 as of 2024.

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live with 28.0 times more strain on fresh water

Bhutan withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Dominican Republic withdraws 40% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 52.6% less likely to die from air pollution

In Bhutan, air pollution causes 57.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Dominican Republic, it causes 27.0 as of 2019.

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emit 48.8% more CO2

Bhutan emits 2.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Dominican Republic emits 3.0 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Dominican Republic: At a glance

Dominican Republic is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 48,320 sq km. The Taino - indigenous inhabitants of Hispaniola prior to the arrival of the Europeans - divided the island into five chiefdoms and territories. Christopher COLUMBUS explored and claimed the island on his first voyage in 1492; it became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821 but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas TRUJILLO from 1930 to 1961. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962 but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the United States led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966, Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in an election to become president. BALAGUER maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. Former President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (first term 1996-2000) won election to a new term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term, and was later reelected to a second consecutive term. In 2012, Danilo MEDINA Sanchez was elected president.
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