Between January and August 2026, the country’s economic activity grew by 4.5%, surpassing more than double the 2.3% registered in the same period of the previous year, reported the National Statistics Institute (INE) through its monthly economic activity indicator (IMAE). This result aligns with the consensual projection of the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Central Bank, which expected a growth around 4.5% and, if materialized, would be almost double the 2.4% average of Latin America from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Sectoral Impulses
- Construction: The sector recorded an interannual expansion of 7.9%, thanks to residential and civil engineering projects linked to government capital spending. The credit allocated to construction grew 16.2%, adding more than RD$26 million additional to the same period of the previous year.
- Manufacturing: Free zone manufacturing advanced 3.4% and local manufacturing 3.1%.
- Services: The sector grew 4.1% interannually, with financial services leading with 9.4%, followed by education (6.1%), energy and water (6.0%), and other market activities (6.0%).
- Other positive areas: Transportation and storage (3.7%), trade (3.2%), public administration (3.1%), health (2.8%), professional services (2.7%), communications (2.6%), and hotels, bars, and restaurants (2.3%).
- Negative variations: Mining (-14.6%) and agriculture (-1.4%).
Tourism, Growth Driver
The hotel, bar, and restaurant industry also showed an interannual growth of 2.3% in August, driven by the arrival of 725,481 tourists, representing a 2.6% increase compared to August 2025. The accumulated flow of international visitors in the period January-August reached 6,610,506 people, equivalent to an 8.6% growth compared to the previous year. These results reflect the tourism promotion strategies of the Ministry of Tourism, aimed at strengthening the country’s presence in major emitting markets and diversifying the origins of visitors.
Perspectives and Context
The sustained growth in construction and services, along with the increase in tourism, position the Dominican economy to surpass the regional average. According to the IMF, Latin America recorded an average of 2.4% this year; the Dominican performance, if maintained, would double that average and place the country as one of the growth drivers in the region.
Credits: deultimominuto.com
