Family

The Dominican Republic is not an exception when it comes to family in the context of Latin America’a social transformation on the path to modernity.  In the Dominican Republic, which has experienced economic growth for many decades, motivated by an opening of its borders and an increase in social mobility, the ideal family seems ever more picturesque.

The 2013 National Survey of Multipurpose Households displays that the average size of households has shrunk in recent years, reaching 3.4 people per home in 2013. This was associated with the decreasing rate of fertility in recent decades.

The same study signals that the female head of the household has diminished gradually in recent years.   Specifically it indicates that in 2013, the percentage of households led by women is only 34.8%, less than the number it showed in 2011, 38%.

In the DR, approximately 40% of families are composed of two or three family members, while 33.0% have four or five members.

With regard to the age of the heads of the household, the research reveals that 39.9% of homes are led by people of up to 54 years of age. Meanwhile, concerning the marital state of households, 38.7% of heads of households are in a consensual union, of which 50.4% are led by men and only 17% are led by women. In the case of widowers we see the opposite happening, where 20.8% of homes are led by women and 2.4% by men.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Distribution of homes, according to geographic and demographic characteristics, ENHOGAR-2013

*Includes Distrito Nacional and urban zone of the Santo Domingo province, except Boca Chia and San Antonio de Guerra municipalities.