Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Puerto Rico instead of Dominican Republic, you would:

Health

live 9.1 years longer

In Dominican Republic, the average life expectancy is 73 years (71 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2022. In Puerto Rico, that number is 82 years (78 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 96.5% more money

Dominican Republic has a GDP per capita of $17,000 as of 2020, while in Puerto Rico, the GDP per capita is $33,400 as of 2020.

be 2.1 times more likely to be unemployed

In Dominican Republic, 5.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Puerto Rico, that number is 10.8% as of 2017.

pay a 32.0% higher top tax rate

Dominican Republic has a top tax rate of 25.0% as of 2016. In Puerto Rico, the top tax rate is 33.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 77.9% less likely to die during childbirth

In Dominican Republic, approximately 95.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Puerto Rico, 21.0 women do as of 2017.

be 71.5% less likely to die during infancy

In Dominican Republic, approximately 21.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Puerto Rico, on the other hand, 6.0 children do as of 2022.

have 56.4% fewer children

In Dominican Republic, there are approximately 18.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Puerto Rico, there are 7.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 52.5% more on education

Dominican Republic spends 4.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Puerto Rico spends 6.1% of total GDP on education as of 2014.

Geography

see 61.1% less coastline

Dominican Republic has a total of 1,288 km of coastline. In Puerto Rico, that number is 501 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Puerto Rican Department of Treasury, Direccion General de Impuestos Internos.

Puerto Rico: At a glance

Puerto Rico is a territory in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 8,959 sq km. Populated for centuries by aboriginal peoples, the island was claimed by the Spanish Crown in 1493 following Christopher COLUMBUS' second voyage to the Americas. In 1898, after 400 years of colonial rule that saw the indigenous population nearly exterminated and African slave labor introduced, Puerto Rico was ceded to the US as a result of the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917. Popularly-elected governors have served since 1948. In 1952, a constitution was enacted providing for internal self government. In plebiscites held in 1967, 1993, and 1998, voters chose not to alter the existing political status with the US, but the results of a 2012 vote left open the possibility of American statehood.
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How big is Puerto Rico compared to Dominican Republic? See an in-depth size comparison.

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