According to the latest data from the Central Bank, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head increased by 5.9% by the end of 2018 at US$7,917.5. This is the highest per capita increase recorded in the last seven years reflecting the growth of the economy. The measure of GDP per capita measures the wealth level of the people of a country, although it does not measure how the wealth is distributed among the people.
According to the Central Bank, looking at the whole region of Latin America and the Caribbean, the average GDP per capita is above that of the Dominican Republic at US$9,271.59, placing the country in 18th place out of 34 nations.
However, this wealth is not divided equally among the population, with around 1.6% of the population still existing on less than US$2 a day, according to the World Bank.
The countries in the region with the highest level of GDP per capita are Bahamas with US$30,762 and Aruba with US$25,655. At the other end of the list are Haiti with US$765 and Nicaragua with US$2,221.
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Diario Libre
1 May 2019