Official figures and international organizations agree on the downward trend, reinforcing the strength of the country’s economic climate.

According to the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MHE), with data validated by the National Statistics Office (ONE) and the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD), the general monetary poverty rate stood at 15.4% during the first quarter of 2026, representing a reduction of 2.6 percentage points compared to the 18.1% recorded in the same period of 2025.

An internationally backed trend

The World Bank, through its economic outlook report for the Dominican Republic, confirms this same trajectory on an annual basis: the official poverty rate fell to 17.3% in 2025, 1.7 percentage points below 2024, driven by higher real household income. The organization also notes that the country’s economic growth has tripled the regional average over the past two decades, allowing close to three million people to rise out of poverty.

This alignment between national figures and those of the World Bank reinforces the credibility of the trend — poverty in the country is not only declining according to the Dominican government, but that same direction is independently validated by one of the world’s most rigorous multilateral financial institutions.

Progress in the labor market

Labor market dynamism has been a key factor in this reduction; according to the Central Bank, 133,915 new workers joined the formal economy in 2025, bringing the total to 5.16 million people employed — a year-over-year increase of 2.3%.

A remaining challenge: the regional gap

Despite overall progress, the official report acknowledges that significant differences persist between urban and rural areas. Rural poverty stood at 18.8%, four percentage points above 14.8% recorded in urban areas. The World Bank’s poverty and equity report for the country likewise identifies this gap as one of the main structural challenges still to be addressed.

This disparity shows that, while the overall trend is positive, economic growth has not yet been distributed evenly across the country — representing an area of opportunity for public policy in the coming years.

What do the numbers say:

• 15.4%: general monetary poverty rate in the first quarter of 2026 (MHE/ONE/BCRD),
  the lowest level in a decade.
• 17.3%: poverty rate for 2025 according to the World Bank, confirming the same downward trend.
• 133,915 new formal jobs were created in 2025, according to the Central Bank.
• 18.8% vs. 14.8%: rural poverty continues to exceed urban poverty, a gap that remains a structural challenge.

Sources: Ministry of Finance and Economy (MHE), National Statistics Office (ONE), Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD), and the World Bank.