The World Bank In Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic (DR), a country of nearly 11 million people known for its resilient and hardworking population and its rich natural and cultural assets, is charting a bold course to become a high-income nation by 2036—mobilizing the private sector, creating quality jobs, and unlocking inclusive growth for a more sustainable and prosperous future.

The DR's economy has grown rapidly compared to the Latin American average over the past 20 years.  However, to ensure inclusive growth, the country should improve job quality by aligning education with labor market needs, particularly for low-income groups and women. Measures such as cash transfers and childcare can reduce dropout rates and gender gaps. Addressing regional inequalities through urban planning and infrastructure and enhancing local governance will connect disadvantaged areas to opportunities. Improving social spending efficiency and building resilience against climate change and economic shocks are also crucial for long-term development. 

These proposed recommendations aim to unlock greater economic productivity, create a more inclusive labor market, encourage a dynamic structural transformation that unlocks the potential of marginalized areas and population groups, and establish a more efficient and redistributive fiscal policy, including social assistance and protection measures. 

Sustained and inclusive growth is key to the Dominican Republic achieving its aspirations of becoming a high-income country. 

Addressing these challenges will require a joint effort from the government, the private sector, civil society, and international partners. 

Last Updated: Oct 06, 2025

The economic growth of the Dominican Republic has tripled the regional average over the past two decades, resulting in close to 3 million people rising out of poverty, a middle class that now surpasses the poor population, and an improvement in the quality of life in terms of access to basic services, housing, and education. 

The economy grew by 5.0 percent in 2024 and is expected to expand by 3.0 percent in 2025 and 4.3 percent in 2026. Medium term growth will be driven by consumption and investment, underpinned by structural reforms in energy and water, along with efforts to improve education and attract FDI.

To maintain this dynamic growth and extend its benefits to more households and impoverished areas, it will be crucial to increase productivity through the implementation of reforms to strengthen human capital, competitiveness, innovation, service delivery, public spending efficiency, and proper management of the growing debt. 

Deeper improvements in tax administration, education, and labor market regulations are needed to expand fiscal space and support inclusive, sustainable growth.

The government has shown a strong commitment to addressing the long-standing challenges posed by the electricity sector through a comprehensive package of reforms aimed at increasing transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the sector, continuing the diversification of the energy matrix to include less polluting energy sources, and increasing access to reliable and affordable energy. However, there is still work to be done in the transmission sector, which has historically suffered economic losses. 

The occurrence of extreme weather events increasingly highlights the critical need for accelerated action to strengthen the country's resilience and adaptation in an inclusive manner. 

Taking advantage of new business opportunities and private sector solutions, and developing assets in key sectors such as logistics and financial services, would increase the attraction of competitive investors to the Dominican Republic, while gradually reducing the country's dependence on fiscal incentives. 

Last Updated: Oct 06, 2025

The World Bank Group is strongly committed to improving lives in the Dominican Republic by enhancing access to quality public services, increasing high-quality jobs through better skills and education, and strengthening resilience to climate change.  

 As of April 2025, the World Bank portfolio totals $US1.8 billion, supporting twelve investment projects totalling nearlyt $US 1.2 billion, in sectors such as energy, health, state modernization, housing, water and sanitation, agriculture, and social protection. Additional operations include budget support for climate change, a water sector Program-for-Results, a Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option, and an Emissions Reduction Payment Agreement. Fiscal year 2025 funding includes a fiscal and sustainable development policy operation. The portfolio is complemented by analytical work in areas like climate, economic performance, private sector, poverty, gender, and territorial development. 

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) holds its largest Caribbean portfolio in the Dominican Republic ($179.2 million), focusing on job creation in key sectors, competitiveness through technical education and health, access to finance for MSMEs and women, renewable energy, green financing, and capital market development. 

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) will focus on investment opportunities that increase job creation and support a green, inclusive, and resilient recovery, and will work closely with IFC and the World Bank to improve the enabling environment for the development of public-private partnerships and foreign private investment.

With the support of the World Bank Group, the country has achieved notable progress through financing and technical assistance for development initiatives. These efforts have contributed to the launch of the National Digital Health Strategy and the issuance of the first sovereign green bond among other milestones. Other World Bank-backed accomplishments include the Emergency Bond, that has aided vulnerable families in the wake of Hurricane Fiona, the Green Taxonomy project, adaptive technology for math learning, cash transfers to 1.3 million poor households, improved housing for the most disadvantaged, and job training for over 27,000 youth—69% of whom are women. 

Last Updated: Apr 23, 2025