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

Health

see 69.5% more spent on your healthcare

Vietnam spends $690 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 2.2 times more doctors per person

Vietnam has 11.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Dominican Republic has 24.3 as of 2023.

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have 13.2% more access to essential health services

Vietnam scores 68 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Dominican Republic scores 77 as of 2021.

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be 42.5% less likely to die by suicide

Vietnam has a suicide rate of 7.3 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 0.9 years less

In Vietnam, the average life expectancy is 75 years (70 years for men, 79 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 12.8 times more likely to be obese

In Vietnam, 2.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Dominican Republic, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

make 2.2 times more money

Vietnam has a GDP per capita of $5,066 as of 2025, while in Dominican Republic, the GDP per capita is $11,059 as of 2025.

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be 3.3 times more likely to be unemployed

In Vietnam, 1.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Dominican Republic, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.

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be 4.1 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Vietnam, 4.2% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Dominican Republic, however, that number is 17.3% as of 2025.

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Life

have 31.3% more children

In Vietnam, there are approximately 13.4 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 2.6 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Vietnam, approximately 48.0 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 Vietnam, approximately 12.0 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 30.1% more on education

Vietnam spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Dominican Republic spends 3.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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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.

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Safety

be 54.8% more likely to die in a road accident

In Vietnam, road accidents kill 17.7 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% less home broadband

Vietnam has 23.7 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Dominican Republic has 11.2 as of 2024.

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live with 2.2 times more strain on fresh water

Vietnam withdraws 18% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Dominican Republic withdraws 40% as of 2022.

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use 27.8% less electricity

Vietnam uses 2,585 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Dominican Republic uses 1,867 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

be 48.1% less likely to die from air pollution

In Vietnam, air pollution causes 52.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Dominican Republic, it causes 27.0 as of 2019.

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emit 30.0% less CO2

Vietnam emits 4.3 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 (2019–2021), 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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