Between 2010 and 2023, the Dominican Republic's data on the degree of inequality in income distribution based on the Gini coefficient totaled 37. This coefficient represents an improvement compared to the last previous periods. The Dominican Republic was one of the most equal countries in Latin America. The Gini coefficient measures the deviation of the distribution of income (or consumption) among individuals or households in a given country from a perfectly equal distribution. A value of 0 represents absolute equality, whereas 100 would be the highest possible degree of inequality.

In 2023, the percentage of income held by the richest 20 percent of the population in the Dominican Republic was 44.9 percent. Between 1986 and 2023, the figure dropped by 7.5 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Dominican Republic DO: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data was reported at 14.300 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 12.900 % for 2021. Dominican Republic DO: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data is updated yearly, averaging 18.900 % from Dec 1986 (Median) to 2022, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 22.900 % in 1986 and a record low of 12.900 % in 2021. Dominican Republic DO: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Dominican Republic – Table DO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Historical dataset showing Dominican Republic income inequality - gini coefficient by year from N/A to N/A.

Based on the degree of inequality in income distribution measured by the Gini coefficient, Colombia was the most unequal country in Latin America as of 2022. Colombia's Gini coefficient amounted to 54.8. The Dominican Republic recorded the lowest Gini coefficient at 37, even below Uruguay and Chile, which are some of the countries with the highest human development indexes in Latin America. The Gini coefficient explained The Gini coefficient measures the deviation of the distribution of income among individuals or households in a given country from a perfectly equal distribution. A value of 0 represents absolute equality, whereas 100 would be the highest possible degree of inequality. This measurement reflects the degree of wealth inequality at a certain moment in time, though it may fail to capture how average levels of income improve or worsen over time. What affects the Gini coefficient in Latin America? Latin America, as other developing regions in the world, generally records high rates of inequality, with a Gini coefficient ranging between 37 and 55 points according to the latest available data from the reporting period 2010-2023. According to the Human Development Report, wealth redistribution by means of tax transfers improves Latin America's Gini coefficient to a lesser degree than it does in advanced economies. Wider access to education and health services, on the other hand, have been proven to have a greater direct effect in improving Gini coefficient measurements in the region.

Income share held by third 20% of Dominican Republic went down by 0.64% from 15.70 % in 2022 to 15.60 % in 2023. Since the 2.01% climb in 2021, income share held by third 20% climb by 2.63% in 2023. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles. Percentage shares by quintile may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

In 2023, the percentage of people who considers that income distribution is unfair in the Dominican Republic was estimated at approximately 69 percent. Between 2007 and 2023, the figure dropped by around five percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Dominican Republic Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 21.400 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 20.400 % for 2021. Dominican Republic Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 29.500 % from Dec 1986 (Median) to 2022, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 36.300 % in 1989 and a record low of 20.400 % in 2021. Dominican Republic Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Dominican Republic – Table DO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Societal Poverty Line. The Societal Poverty Line is expressed in purchasing power adjusted 2017 U.S. dollars and defined as max($2.15, $1.15 + 0.5*Median). This means that when the national median is sufficiently low, the Societal Poverty line is equivalent to the extreme poverty line, $2.15. For countries with a sufficiently high national median, the Societal Poverty Line grows as countries’ median income grows.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Income share held by second 20% of Dominican Republic declined by 2.65% from 11.30 % in 2022 to 11.00 % in 2023. Since the 3.74% growth in 2021, income share held by second 20% went down by 0.90% in 2023. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles. Percentage shares by quintile may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

Dominican Republic Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data was reported at 2.000 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.800 % for 2021. Dominican Republic Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data is updated yearly, averaging 3.500 % from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2022, with 13 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.500 % in 2011 and a record low of 1.800 % in 2021. Dominican Republic Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Dominican Republic – Table DO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The multidimensional poverty headcount ratio (World Bank) is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Multidimensional Poverty Measure. The Multidimensional Poverty Measure includes three dimensions – monetary poverty, education, and basic infrastructure services – to capture a more complete picture of poverty.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Dominican Republic DO: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate data was reported at 45.300 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 44.700 % for 2015. Dominican Republic DO: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate data is updated yearly, averaging 48.550 % from Dec 1986 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 52.000 % in 2004 and a record low of 44.100 % in 2014. Dominican Republic DO: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Dominican Republic – Table DO.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Lorenz curve plots the cumulative percentages of total income received against the cumulative number of recipients, starting with the poorest individual or household. The Gini index measures the area between the Lorenz curve and a hypothetical line of absolute equality, expressed as a percentage of the maximum area under the line. Thus a Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

Income share held by fourth 20% of Dominican Republic reduced by 0.45% from 22.40 % in 2022 to 22.30 % in 2023. Since the 3.33% increase in 2020, income share held by fourth 20% increased by 2.76% in 2023. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles. Percentage shares by quintile may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

The Dominican Republic experienced strong economic growth with improvements in the quality of life in the 1990s. Poverty declined from the early 1990s to 1998, albeit modestly, and there was important progress in social indicators that put the country on track to some of the Millennium Development Goals. Since then the country continued to experience impressive economic growth that started to decelerate in 2000 and ended up in a major financial and economic crisis. This report finds that poverty and the incomes of the poor saw virtually no improvements during the growth bonanza of 1997-2002 and that the 2003-2004 economic crisis brought a dramatic deterioration of real incomes and poverty levels. About 16 percent of the Dominican population (1.5 million) became poor and about 7 percent (670 thousand) fell in extreme poverty (incomes too low to afford the food basket of minimum caloric intake) in the last two years. In 2004, 42 out of each 100 Dominicans were poor, and 16 of them were living in extreme poverty. Income inequality remained unchanged over the last 7 years at a Gini coefficient of 0.52, the average for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the most unequal region in the world. The report finds five principal sets of factors behind the limited poverty reduction in the late 1990s and persistent inequality, and derives a set of policy options in three core directions: (i) promoting growth opportunities for the poor; (ii) strengthening social services delivery and strategic investments in the poor; and, (iii) improving fiscal equity and revamping social protection to protect the poor and vulnerable groups against risks.

Dominican Republic DO: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2017 PPP per day data was reported at 6.450 Intl $/Day in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 5.950 Intl $/Day for 2017. Dominican Republic DO: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2017 PPP per day data is updated yearly, averaging 6.200 Intl $/Day from Dec 2017 (Median) to 2022, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.450 Intl $/Day in 2022 and a record low of 5.950 Intl $/Day in 2017. Dominican Republic DO: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2017 PPP per day data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Dominican Republic – Table DO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Mean consumption or income per capita (2017 PPP $ per day) of the bottom 40%, used in calculating the growth rate in the welfare aggregate of the bottom 40% of the population in the income distribution in a country.;World Bank, Global Database of Shared Prosperity (GDSP) (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/global-database-of-shared-prosperity).;;The choice of consumption or income for a country is made according to which welfare aggregate is used to estimate extreme poverty in the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP). The practice adopted by the World Bank for estimating global and regional poverty is, in principle, to use per capita consumption expenditure as the welfare measure wherever available; and to use income as the welfare measure for countries for which consumption is unavailable. However, in some cases data on consumption may be available but are outdated or not shared with the World Bank for recent survey years. In these cases, if data on income are available, income is used. Whether data are for consumption or income per capita is noted in the footnotes. Because household surveys are infrequent in most countries and are not aligned across countries, comparisons across countries or over time should be made with a high degree of caution.

In 2025, the Dominican Republic scored **** in the gender gap index area of economic participation and opportunity. This means that women are ** percent less likely to have equal economic participation and opportunities than men. That year, the Dominican Republic scored **** in wage equality for similar work, which shows a gender gap of approximately ** percent (women are ** percent less likely to receive an equal wage for similar work in comparison to men).

Households in the Dominican Republic spent over ** percent of their income in food and non-alcoholic beverages in 2018, according to a survey. Expenses in transportation accounted for another **** percent of the income, while housing, utilities and fuels represented ** percent. For expenses related to entertainment or social activities like restaurants, hotels, leisure or alcoholic beverages, Dominican households destined **** percent of their income that year.

The Comparative Political Economy Database (CPEDB) began at the Centre for Learning, Social Economy and Work (CLSEW) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) as part of the Changing Workplaces in a Knowledge Economy (CWKE) project. This data base was initially conceived and developed by Dr. Wally Seccombe (independent scholar) and Dr. D.W. Livingstone (Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto). Seccombe has conducted internationally recognized historical research on evolving family structures of the labouring classes (A Millennium of Family Change: Feudalism to Capitalism in Northwestern Europe and Weathering the Storm: Working Class Families from the Industrial Revolution to the Fertility Decline). Livingstone has conducted decades of empirical research on class and labour relations. A major part of this research has used the Canadian Class Structure survey done at the Institute of Political Economy (IPE) at Carleton University in 1982 as a template for Canadian national surveys in 1998, 2004, 2010 and 2016, culminating in Tipping Point for Advanced Capitalism: Class, Class Consciousness and Activism in the ‘Knowledge Economy’ (https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/tipping-point-for-advanced-capitalism) and a publicly accessible data base including all five of these Canadian surveys (https://borealisdata.ca/dataverse/CanadaWorkLearningSurveys1998-2016). Seccombe and Livingstone have collaborated on a number of research studies that recognize the need to take account of expanded modes of production and reproduction. Both Seccombe and Livingstone are Research Associates of CLSEW at OISE/UT. The CPEDB Main File (an SPSS data file) covers the following areas (in order): demography, family/household, class/labour, government, electoral democracy, inequality (economic, political & gender), health, environment, internet, macro-economic and financial variables. In its present form, it contains annual data on 725 variables from 12 countries (alphabetically listed): Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States. A few of the variables date back to 1928, and the majority date from 1960 to 1990. Where these years are not covered in the source, a minority of variables begin with more recent years. All the variables end at the most recent available year (1999 to 2022). In the next version developed in 2025, the most recent years (2023 and 2024) will be added whenever they are present in the sources’ datasets. For researchers who are not using SPSS, refer to the Chart files for overviews, summaries and information on the dataset. For a current list of the variable names and their labels in the CPEDB data base, see the excel file: Outline of SPSS file Main CPEDB, Nov 6, 2023. At the end of each variable label in this file and the SPSS datafile, you will find the source of that variable in a bracket. If I have combined two variables from a given source, the bracket will begin with WS and then register the variables combined. In the 14 variables David created at the beginning of the Class Labour section, you will find DWL in these brackets with his description as to how it was derived. The CPEDB’s variables have been derived from many databases; the main ones are OECD (their Statistics and Family Databases), World Bank, ILO, IMF, WHO, WIID (World Income Inequality Database), OWID (Our World in Data), Parlgov (Parliaments and Governments Database), and V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy). The Institute for Political Economy at Carleton University is currently the main site for continuing refinement of the CPEDB. IPE Director Justin Paulson and other members are involved along with Seccombe and Livingstone in further development and safe storage of this updated database both at the IPE at Carleton and the UT dataverse. All those who explore the CPEDB are invited to share their perceptions of the entire database, or any of its sections, with Seccombe generally (wseccombe@sympatico.ca) and Livingstone for class/labour issues (davidlivingstone@utoronto.ca). They welcome any suggestions for additional variables together with their data sources. A new version CPEDB will be created in the spring of 2025 and installed as soon as the revision is completed. This revised version is intended to be a valuable resource for researchers in all of the included countries as well as Canada.

Dominican Republic DO: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.65 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 4.000 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.300 % for 2021. Dominican Republic DO: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.65 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 16.150 % from Dec 1986 (Median) to 2022, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 37.000 % in 1989 and a record low of 3.500 % in 2019. Dominican Republic DO: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.65 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Dominican Republic – Table DO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Poverty headcount ratio at $3.65 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.65 a day at 2017 international prices.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Dominican Republic DO: Multidimensional Poverty Intensity (average share of deprivations experienced by the poor) data was reported at 38.400 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 39.200 % for 2015. Dominican Republic DO: Multidimensional Poverty Intensity (average share of deprivations experienced by the poor) data is updated yearly, averaging 39.800 % from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2016, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 40.200 % in 2011 and a record low of 38.400 % in 2016. Dominican Republic DO: Multidimensional Poverty Intensity (average share of deprivations experienced by the poor) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Dominican Republic – Table DO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. ;Government statistical agencies. Data for EU countires are from the EUROSTAT;;

This study is the second in the National Social Science Survey (NSSS) series and repeats many of the questions asked in the first survey conducted in 1984 (SSDA Study No. 423, NSSS First Round 1984). The survey also includes questions asked as part of the International Social Survey Programme. Comparative data from all countries in the Programme are processed and distributed by the Zentralarchiv fur Empirische Sozialforschung (ZA) at the University of Cologne (ZA Study 1490, Role of Government 1985). The data file contains a wide range of attitudinal questions. Sections cover religion and moral issues, attitudes to government policies, including feeling thermometer ratings of political leaders, groups and institutions, opinions on taxes and benefits, voting, trade unions, attitudes to work, supervision, decision making at work, satisfaction with job, attitudes to working women, general questions on life satisfaction, and courtship and marriage. The international component focuses on issues relating to the role of government. These issues include government actions, privacy, responsibility of government to reduce income inequality, job opportunities for different groups in society, discipline for children and the role of the state, income tax and inflation, responsiveness of governments to public opinion and the power of the individual, and areas of government spending. Background variables include the respondent's occupation, education, and qualifications, income and standard of living, membership of trade unions, birthplace, and ancestry. Questions on birthplace, education and political orientation and occupation were also asked about the respondent's spouse or partner, and information was recorded on the birthplace, occupation and education of parents, grandparents and children.