Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 4.5 years longer

In Palau, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024. In Dominican Republic, that number is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 24.0% less likely to be obese

In Palau, 40.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Dominican Republic, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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have 34.2% more doctors per person

Palau has 18.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Dominican Republic has 24.3 as of 2023.

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have 18.5% more access to essential health services

Palau scores 65 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Dominican Republic scores 77 as of 2021.

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see 37.0% less spent on your healthcare

Palau spends $1,857 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Dominican Republic spends $1,169 as of 2023.

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Economy

make 43.4% less money

Palau has a GDP per capita of $19,532 as of 2025, while in Dominican Republic, the GDP per capita is $11,059 as of 2025.

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Life

have 64.8% more children

In Palau, there are approximately 10.7 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 39.3% more likely to die during childbirth

In Palau, approximately 89.0 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 48.9% more likely to die during infancy

In Palau, approximately 18.6 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 57.6% less on healthcare

Palau spends 10.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Dominican Republic, that number is 4.6% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 15.2% less coastline

Palau has a total of 1,519 km of coastline. In Dominican Republic, that number is 1,288 km.

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Safety

be 23.4% more likely to die in a road accident

In Palau, road accidents kill 22.2 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 52.8% more home broadband

Palau has 7.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Dominican Republic has 11.2 as of 2024.

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Environment

emit 96.4% less CO2

Palau emits 82.8 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 (2023–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Compare further: Palau vs. Dominican Republic

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Dominican Republic is 36.3% cheaper than Palau overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
Palau is about 106 times smaller than Dominican Republic.
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Moving from Palau to Dominican Republic · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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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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How big is Dominican Republic compared to Palau? See an in-depth size comparison.

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