Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 27.4% less likely to be obese

In Puerto Rico, 42.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Dominican Republic, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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be 22.5% less likely to die by suicide

Puerto Rico has a suicide rate of 5.4 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Dominican Republic, it is 4.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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live 8.0 years less

In Puerto Rico, the average life expectancy is 82 years (78 years for men, 85 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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Economy

be 15.0% less likely to be unemployed

In Puerto Rico, 6.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Dominican Republic, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.

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make 72.8% less money

Puerto Rico has a GDP per capita of $40,620 as of 2025, while in Dominican Republic, the GDP per capita is $11,059 as of 2025.

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Life

have 3.1 times more children

In Puerto Rico, there are approximately 5.7 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 11.3 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Puerto Rico, approximately 11.0 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 4.6 times more likely to die during infancy

In Puerto Rico, approximately 6.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Dominican Republic, on the other hand, 27.7 children do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 11.9% less on education

Puerto Rico spends 4.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Dominican Republic spends 3.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Geography

see 2.6 times more coastline

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

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Safety

be 25.2% less likely to be murdered

Puerto Rico has a homicide rate of 14.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. 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 Puerto Rico, road accidents kill 12.5 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 60.0% less home broadband

Puerto Rico has 28.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Dominican Republic has 11.2 as of 2024.

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live with 2.0 times more strain on fresh water

Puerto Rico withdraws 20% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Dominican Republic withdraws 40% as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 38.0% less CO2

Puerto Rico emits 4.8 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 (2021–2025), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this

Compare further: Puerto Rico vs. Dominican Republic

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Dominican Republic is 40.8% cheaper than Puerto Rico overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
Puerto Rico is about 5 times smaller than Dominican Republic.
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Moving from Puerto Rico to Dominican Republic · UN DESA 2020
4,780 people born in Puerto Rico live in Dominican Republic.
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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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