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

Health

live 2.0 years longer

In Samoa, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 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 52.1% less likely to be obese

In Samoa, 64.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Dominican Republic, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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see 2.5 times more spent on your healthcare

Samoa spends $475 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 4.3 times more doctors per person

Samoa has 5.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Dominican Republic has 24.3 as of 2023.

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have 40.0% more access to essential health services

Samoa scores 55 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Dominican Republic scores 77 as of 2021.

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be 65.0% less likely to die by suicide

Samoa has a suicide rate of 12.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Dominican Republic, it is 4.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

make 88.3% more money

Samoa has a GDP per capita of $5,873 as of 2025, while in Dominican Republic, the GDP per capita is $11,059 as of 2025.

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Life

be 22.8% more likely to die during childbirth

In Samoa, approximately 101.0 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 2.3 times more likely to die during infancy

In Samoa, approximately 12.3 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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have 29.4% fewer children

In Samoa, there are approximately 25.0 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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Basic Needs

be 20.9% more likely to have internet access

In Samoa, approximately 75.3% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Dominican Republic, about 91.0% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 31.1% less on education

Samoa spends 5.5% 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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spend 32.2% less on healthcare

Samoa spends 6.8% 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 3.2 times more coastline

Samoa has a total of 403 km of coastline. In Dominican Republic, that number is 1,288 km.

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Safety

be 2.9 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Samoa, road accidents kill 9.6 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 12.7 times more home broadband

Samoa has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Dominican Republic has 11.2 as of 2024.

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Environment

be 20.6% less likely to die from air pollution

In Samoa, air pollution causes 34.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Dominican Republic, it causes 27.0 as of 2019.

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emit 86.9% more CO2

Samoa emits 1.6 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), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. 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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