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The Dominican Republic is considered a developing country. A nation's level of development is determined by a number of factors including, but not limited to, economic prosperity, life expectancy, income equality and quality of life. As a developing country, the Dominican Republic may not be able to provide consistent social services to its citizens. These social services can include things like public education, reliable health care, and law enforcement. Citizens of developing countries can have a lower life expectancy than citizens of developed countries. Every year, the Dominican Republic exports about US$9.82 billion and imports about US$16.8 billion. 5.5% of the country's population is unemployed. The total number of unemployed in the Dominican Republic is 598,565. In the Dominican Republic, 31% of the population lives below the poverty line. The percentage of citizens living below the poverty line in the Dominican Republic is quite high, but nothing to worry about when it comes to investing. Potential lenders should look at other economic indicators, including GDP, the rate of urbanization and the strength of the currency, before making investment decisions. Government spending on education is 2.3% of GDP. The country's Gini index is 45.7. The Dominican Republic experiences poor equality. The gap between the richest and poorest citizens in this country is quite palpable. The Dominican Republic has a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.7. The Dominican Republic has an upper middle HDI score. This indicates that the majority of citizens will be able to lead a worthwhile life, although some citizens will not be able to achieve a high standard of living. The Strength-Legal Index for the Dominican Republic is 1. Overall, it is considered rather weak - bankruptcy and collateral laws fail to protect borrowers' and lenders' rights in the event of credit-related complications; Credit information, if any, is scarce and difficult to access.

Currency
The currency of the Dominican Republic is the Dominican Peso. The plural form of the word Dominican peso is pesos. The symbol used for this currency is RD$ and is abbreviated as DOP. The Dominican peso is divided into centavos; there are 100 in a peso.

Credit rating
The Dominican Republic's credit rating depth index is 8, which means that the information is mostly sufficient and fairly detailed; Accessibility is not a problem. According to credit rating agency S&P, the Dominican Republic has a credit rating of BB- and the outlook for this rating is stable. According to Fitch credit rating agency, the Dominican Republic has a B+ credit rating and the outlook for this rating is stable. According to the credit rating agency Moody's, the Dominican Republic has a credit rating score of B1 and the prospects for this rating are stable.

Central bank
The policy rate of commercial banks in the Dominican Republic is 13.7. In the Dominican Republic, the institution that manages the state's currency, money supply, and interest rates is called the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic. Locally, the central bank of the Dominican Republic is called the Banco Central de la República Dominicana. The average interest rate on deposits offered by local banks in the Dominican Republic is 6.7%.

National debt
The Dominican Republic has a public debt equivalent to 77% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) as estimated in 2012.

Tax information
Corporate income tax in the Dominican Republic is 27%. Personal income tax ranges from 0% to 25% depending on your specific situation and income level. VAT in the Dominican Republic is 18%.