The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Jamaica fits inside the Dominican Republic 13 times
Dominican Republic: 146,839 km² (2024) · Jamaica: 10,991 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
The Dominican Republic’s coastline is 26% longer than Jamaica’s
Dominican Republic: 1,288 km (2026 edition) · Jamaica: 1,022 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
The Dominican Republic’s highest peak towers 842 m above Jamaica’s
Dominican Republic: 3,098 m (2026 edition) · Jamaica: 2,256 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 51% of the Dominican Republic, versus 39% of Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 51.5% (2024) · Jamaica: 39% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
The Dominican Republic has 4.1 times as many people as Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 11.5 million (2025) · Jamaica: 2.84 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Jamaica is 10% more densely populated than the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 239 per km² (2025) · Jamaica: 262 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Jamaica are 2.3 cm taller than in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 174.7 cm (2019) · Jamaica: 177 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Jamaica are 3.1 cm taller than in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 161.2 cm (2019) · Jamaica: 164.3 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Jamaica is 4 years older than in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 27.7 years (2023) · Jamaica: 31.7 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in the Dominican Republic have 0.9 more children on average than in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 2.22 children per woman (2024) · Jamaica: 1.35 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
Jamaica and the Dominican Republic are practically level
Dominican Republic: 8.2% (2025) · Jamaica: 8.6% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Jamaica hosts 6.3 times as many refugees per resident as the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 0.0017 per 1,000 (2025) · Jamaica: 0.011 per 1,000 (2022)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
The Dominican Republic and Jamaica are practically level
Dominican Republic: 0 (2026) · Jamaica: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Jamaica has 2 official languages, the Dominican Republic 1
Dominican Republic: 1 (2026) · Jamaica: 2 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
The Dominican Republic’s economy is 5.6 times the size of Jamaica’s
Dominican Republic: $127 billion (2025) · Jamaica: $22.7 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
The Dominican Republic produces 2.2 times as much per person as Jamaica
Dominican Republic: Int$28,721 (2025) · Jamaica: Int$13,291 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Jamaica than in the Dominican Republic (Gini 0.9 points higher)
Dominican Republic: 39 (2024) · Jamaica: 39.9 (2021)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
1.4% of people in Jamaica live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.8% in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 0.8% (2024) · Jamaica: 1.4% (2021)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 5.1% in the Dominican Republic, versus 3.3% in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 5.1% (2025) · Jamaica: 3.3% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Jamaica spends 1.4% of its GDP on the military, the Dominican Republic 0.8%
Dominican Republic: 0.8% (2025) · Jamaica: 1.4% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Jamaica’s central government collects 24% of GDP in tax, the Dominican Republic’s 15%
Dominican Republic: 14.7% (2024) · Jamaica: 23.7% (2020)
How expensive is it?
Jamaica’s price level (US = 100) is 1.6× the Dominican Republic’s
Dominican Republic: 39% (2025) · Jamaica: 60% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Jamaica spends 6% more on health per person than the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: $489 (2023) · Jamaica: $520 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in the Dominican Republic live 2.3 years longer than in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 73.9 years (2024) · Jamaica: 71.6 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in the Dominican Republic is 69% more likely to die before turning one than in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 27.7 per 1,000 (2024) · Jamaica: 16.4 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The Dominican Republic has 5.3 times as many doctors per person as Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 2.4 per 1,000 (2023) · Jamaica: 0.5 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
Jamaica has 2.2 times as many hospital beds per person as the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 0.8 per 1,000 (2023) · Jamaica: 1.7 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in the Dominican Republic is 4.7 times that in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 9.3 per 100k (2023) · Jamaica: 2 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
36% of adults in Jamaica are obese, versus 31% in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 30.7% (2024) · Jamaica: 35.7% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
Dominican Republic: no data · Jamaica: 11.5% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Jamaica rate their lives 0.21 points higher than in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 6.09 (2025) · Jamaica: 6.31 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in the Dominican Republic drink 19% more alcohol than in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 5.2 litres (2023) · Jamaica: 4.4 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Jamaica has 9% more meat per person than the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 61.6 kg (2023) · Jamaica: 67 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
The Dominican Republic has 421 kcal more food per person per day than Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 3,313 kcal (2023) · Jamaica: 2,892 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in the Dominican Republic put in 109 more hours a year than in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 2,072 hours (2023) · Jamaica: 1,963 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Jamaica went to school 0.52 years longer than in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 9.4 years (2023) · Jamaica: 10 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Jamaica welcomed 17% more tourists per resident than the Dominican Republic (2019)
Dominican Republic: 0.75 (2024) · Jamaica: 0.87 (2022)
How many World Heritage sites?
Jamaica has 1 more World Heritage site than the Dominican Republic (2 against 1)
Dominican Republic: 1 (2026) · Jamaica: 2 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Jamaica has won 94 Olympic medals, the Dominican Republic 15
Dominican Republic: 15 (2026 edition) · Jamaica: 94 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
91% of people in the Dominican Republic are online, versus 90% in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 91% (2024) · Jamaica: 90% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Jamaica is 47% faster than in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 94 Mbps (2026) · Jamaica: 138 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in the Dominican Republic have electricity, versus 98% in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 99.5% (2024) · Jamaica: 97.7% (2024)
How many live in cities?
73% of people in the Dominican Republic live in cities, versus 59% in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 73% (2025) · Jamaica: 59% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Jamaica has 118 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, the Dominican Republic 94
Dominican Republic: 94 (2024) · Jamaica: 118 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Dominican Republic: 496 km (2014) · Jamaica: no data
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the Dominican Republic fly 36% more passengers per resident than those from Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 0.09 (2023) · Jamaica: 0.06 (2018)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 57% of Jamaica, but only 47% of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 46.7% (2024) · Jamaica: 56.5% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Jamaica emits 2% more CO₂ than someone in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 2.9 t (2024) · Jamaica: 3 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
24% of the Dominican Republic’s electricity is renewable, versus 13% in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 23.8% (2025) · Jamaica: 12.6% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Jamaica carries 43% more fine dust than in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 12.3 µg/m³ (2024) · Jamaica: 17.6 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 4.5 times as likely to be murdered in Jamaica as in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 10.9 per 100k (2023) · Jamaica: 49.4 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in the Dominican Republic are 67% deadlier than in Jamaica
Dominican Republic: 52.7 per 100k (2023) · Jamaica: 31.6 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Jamaica is on average 1.6 °C warmer than the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 24.8°C (2016–2025 avg) · Jamaica: 26.4°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Jamaica gets 4% more rain than the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: 1,056 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Jamaica: 1,102 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is the Dominican Republic bigger than Jamaica?
The Dominican Republic is larger. Jamaica fits inside the Dominican Republic 13 times.
Which has more people, the Dominican Republic or Jamaica?
The Dominican Republic has 4.1 times as many people as Jamaica (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, the Dominican Republic or Jamaica?
People in the Dominican Republic live 2.3 years longer than in Jamaica. Life expectancy at birth is 73.9 years in the Dominican Republic and 71.6 in Jamaica.
Are people taller in the Dominican Republic or Jamaica?
Men in Jamaica are 2.3 cm taller than in the Dominican Republic (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
