Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 3.0 years less

In Vietnam, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022. In Dominican Republic, that number is 73 years (71 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2022.

View global rankings →

be 13.1 times more likely to be obese

In Vietnam, 2.1% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Dominican Republic, that number is 27.6% of people as of 2016.

View global rankings →

Economy

make 68.1% more money

Vietnam has a GDP per capita of $14,400 as of 2024, while in Dominican Republic, the GDP per capita is $24,200 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

pay a 28.6% lower top tax rate

Vietnam has a top tax rate of 35.0% as of 2016. In Dominican Republic, the top tax rate is 25.0% as of 2016.

View global rankings →

be 3.7 times more likely to be unemployed

In Vietnam, 1.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2024. In Dominican Republic, that number is 5.5% as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 5.3 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Vietnam, 4.3% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Dominican Republic, however, that number is 23.0% as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Life

have 19.3% more children

In Vietnam, there are approximately 14.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2025. In Dominican Republic, there are 17.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2025.

View global rankings →

be 2.6 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Vietnam, approximately 48.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2023. In Dominican Republic, 124.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 43.6% more likely to die during infancy

In Vietnam, approximately 14.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Dominican Republic, on the other hand, 21.2 children do as of 2022.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 12.2% more on education

Vietnam spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Dominican Republic spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 62.6% less coastline

Vietnam has a total of 3,444 km of coastline. In Dominican Republic, that number is 1,288 km.

View global rankings →

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Direccion General de Impuestos Internos, General Department Of Taxation - Ministry Of Finance.

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.
Read more

How big is Dominican Republic compared to Vietnam? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Dominican Republic.or Vietnam It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.