The Dominican Republic shares with countries like Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea and the Congo in Africa and Nicaragua in Latin America the status of being one of the six countries with the highest rate of teen or pre-teen pregnancies in the world, according to the United Nations Population Fund. A population study has found that in the DR there is a 19% pregnancy rate in the cities and 24.3% rate in the rural areas. The study also indicates that there is a close relationship between poverty and education and teenage pregnancies. According to the study in regions like Enriquillo, which includes much of the southwest, there is a 33% pregnancy rate, which is triple the rate in the northwest. Tellingly, the rate is seven times higher among girls with just a primary education than girls who have reached university.
http://www.diariolibre.com/ecos/2013/10/31/i409051_alto-costo-econamico-del-embarazo-adolescentes.html