Dominican Government Reports 4.7% Decrease in Monetary Poverty in 2023

The Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Development (MEPyD) reported that monetary poverty decreased by 4.7% in 2023. In the Dominican Republic, the official measure of poverty has been monetary poverty, which considers only household income. In this sense, households defined as poor under this methodology are those that are below the poverty line in the country (RD 7,645.3 – 2023 poverty line per person).
According to the 2023 Bulletin of Official Monetary Poverty Statistics in the Dominican Republic, in 2023, national monetary poverty significantly decreased from 27.7% in 2022 to 23.0% in 2023, indicating positive progress in improving the general economic conditions of the population compared to 2022.
The publication stated that the decrease in general poverty in the country was mainly female and rural. Poverty in rural areas decreased from 30.9% to 24.6%; meanwhile, poverty in urban areas decreased from 27.0% in 2022 to 22.7% in 2023. The percentage of women in monetary poverty decreased 5.3 percentage points to 24.1% in 2023, whereas the reduction for men was 4.0 percentage points, from 25.8% in 2022 to 21.8% in 2023. Extreme poverty also improved 0.6 percentage points from 3.8% in 2022 to 3.2% in 2023.
The main determinants for the decline in poverty were said to be the control of inflation, along with the increase in employment and labour income favoured by a notable generation of more formal jobs.
Notably, in 2023, the nominal per capita household income reached RD15,906 pesos (approximately US$270.65), representing an increase of 16.2% when compared to 2022. Likewise, the real per capita household income increased by 11.7% compared to 2022.
This improvement in household income translates to a higher standard of living for locals, supported by the likelihood for greater consumption and the ability for locals to effectively meet basic needs.

(Source: The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Development)