# Dominican Republic and Haiti compared

Dominican Republic and Haiti side by side: 37 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 6 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/dom-vs-hti
Updated: 2026-08-11 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Dominican Republic: 1844 — The Dominican Republic declares itself independent of Haiti
- Haiti: 1804 — Haiti wins its independence from France

## Economy

| Metric | Dominican Republic | Observed | Haiti | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $124 B | 2024 | $25 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $10,876 | 2024 | $2,143 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 5.0% | 2024 | -4.2% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 3.3% | 2024 | 26.9% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 51.8% | 2024 | 22.2% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Dominican Republic | Observed | Haiti | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 11 m | 2024 | 12 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 73.9 yrs | 2024 | 65.1 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 72.4% | 2024 | 55.0% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 2.2 | 2024 | 2.6 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Dominican Republic | Observed | Haiti | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 60.4 | 2024 | 34.7 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 76.0 | 2024 | 45.4 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 52.8 | 2024 | 12.1 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 58.1 | 2024 | 31.8 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 53.8 | 2024 | 29.4 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 42.5 | 2024 | 16.7 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Dominican Republic | Observed | Haiti | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 4.6% | 2023 | 3.2% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 2.43 | 2023 | 0.29 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 30.6 | 2024 | 52.8 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 89.0% | 2024 | 77.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 45.3% | 2024 | — | — |

## Education

| Metric | Dominican Republic | Observed | Haiti | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 94.0% | 2024 | 68.0% | 2017 |
| Education spending | 3.8% | 2023 | 1.0% | 2023 |
| Primary enrolment | 101.9% | 2024 | 184.0% | 2016 |
| Secondary enrolment | 76.4% | 2024 | — | — |
| Tertiary enrolment | 57.7% | 2024 | — | — |

## Technology

| Metric | Dominican Republic | Observed | Haiti | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Researchers (per million) | 20 | 2022 | — | — |
| Internet users | 91.0% | 2024 | 47.9% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 94 | 2024 | 65 | 2022 |
| High-tech exports | 7.7% | 2024 | — | — |

## Geography

| Metric | Dominican Republic | Observed | Haiti | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 48,198 km² | 2023 | 27,560 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 45.0% | 2023 | 12.3% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 55.4% | 2023 | 65.1% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 3.0 | 2024 | 0.3 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 14.8% | 2021 | 76.7% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Dominican Republic | Observed | Haiti | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 2.1% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 2.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 99.6% | 2023 | 51.3% | 2023 |

## Military

| Metric | Dominican Republic | Observed | Haiti | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 0.8% | 2024 | 0.1% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $981 M | 2024 | $20 M | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 71,000 | 2020 | 1,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/DOM.md and https://terralore.co/country/HTI.md.

## Entangled histories (6 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 1804 CE: **Independence of Haiti** — After defeating France, the formerly enslaved people of Saint-Domingue proclaim Haiti, the first nation founded by a successful slave revolt, reshaping the whole island. (from the Dominican Republic chronicle; sources: Hispaniola)
- 1821 CE: **Boyer unifies Hispaniola** — After Santo Domingo declares independence, Haitian forces move east and govern the whole island — a republic of former slaves administering the oldest European colony in the Americas. (from the Haiti chronicle; sources: Haiti country profile)
- 1822 CE: **Haitian unification of the island** — President Jean-Pierre Boyer occupies the east and unifies all Hispaniola under Haiti for twenty-two years, abolishing slavery but alienating much of the Dominican population. (from the Dominican Republic chronicle; sources: History of the Dominican Republic)
- 27 Feb 1844: **Dominican independence from Haiti** — The Trinitarios rise in Santo Domingo, expel the Haitian garrison, and proclaim the Dominican Republic, the date still marked as national independence day. (from the Dominican Republic chronicle; sources: History of the Dominican Republic; Juan Pablo Duarte)
- 1844 CE: **Dominican Republic secedes** — The eastern, Spanish-speaking part of Hispaniola breaks from Haitian rule to form the independent Dominican Republic. (from the Haiti chronicle; sources: Hispaniola)
- 2013 CE: **Citizenship ruling on Haitian descent** — A constitutional court ruling affecting the nationality of Dominicans of Haitian descent draws international criticism and underscores the fraught relationship with Haiti. (from the Dominican Republic chronicle; sources: History of the Dominican Republic)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- Education statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/DOM/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/HTI/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Dominican Republic and Haiti compared", terralore.co/compare/dom-vs-hti, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.