Languages spoken in the Dominican Republic
North America · Capital: Santo Domingo · Population 10.8 million
The official language of the Dominican Republic is Spanish. An estimated 78% of the population speaks it as a first or additional language, or roughly 8.4 million people. Spanish belongs to the Indo-European language family. Spanish is not recorded in any of the Dominican Republic's one neighbour.
What languages are spoken in the Dominican Republic?
| Language | Share of population | Status | Estimated speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| SpanishIndo-European | 78% | Official | 8.4 million |
Percentages are the share of the population that speaks each language, including as a second language, so they add up to well over 100% in multilingual countries. Speaker counts are estimates derived from the percentage and the country's population, not counted figures.
What is the official language of the Dominican Republic?
The official language of the Dominican Republic is Spanish. Spanish is spoken by an estimated 78% of the population, or roughly 8.4 million people, counting both first-language and additional speakers.
Official status comes from Unicode CLDR. It distinguishes languages that are official nationwide, those used as de facto official without being named in law, and those official only in particular regions or territories.
How many people speak Spanish in the Dominican Republic?
An estimated 78% of the Dominican Republic's 10.8 million people speak Spanish, which works out at roughly 8.4 million speakers. That figure is derived from the population and the reported share, and it counts second-language speakers, so it is an estimate rather than a census count.
Key facts about the Dominican Republic
- Capital
- Santo Domingo
- Population
- 10.8 million
- Continent
- North America
- Area
- 48,671 km²
- Currency
- DOP
- Languages recorded
- 1
- Land borders
- 1
- ISO codes
- DO / DOM / 214
Which countries border the Dominican Republic?
The Dominican Republic shares a land border with one country: Haiti. None of them records Spanish, the most widely spoken language in the Dominican Republic, so the land borders here are also language borders.
Explore more
Language shares, population, and official status: Unicode CLDR. Capital, area, borders, and currency: mledoze/countries (ODbL 1.0). Flag image: flagcdn.com. Speaker counts are estimates derived from population and reported share.