In 2007 the Dominican Republic had a birth rate of 22.91 per 1000, and a death rate of 5.32 per 1000. 

Dominican republic faces the problem of Illegal Immigration. Haiti is the neighbouring nation to the Dominican Republic and was its former ruler. In 2003, 80% of all Haitians were poor (54% in abject poverty) and 47.1% were illiterate.  As a result, hundreds of thousands of Haitians have migrated to the Dominican Republic.

Children of illegal Haitian immigrants are often stateless and denied services, as their parents are denied Dominican nationality. A large number of Haitian women, often arriving with several health problems, cross the border to Dominican soil during their last weeks of pregnancy to obtain much-needed medical attention for childbirth, since Dominican public hospitals do not refuse medical services based on nationality or legal status. Statistics from a hospital in Santo Domingo report that over 22% of childbirths are by Haitian mothers.