High business closure rates in Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo.- In the Dominican Republic, companies that remain inactive for 24 to 59 months are designated as being in a “cessation” state. According to the National Statistics Office (ONE), over 31,400 businesses were officially declared closed in the past year, accounting for 69.2% of all cessation cases. This data comes from the 2024 edition of the Formal Business Directory and Demographics report, which also revealed that the national cessation rate—reflecting the proportion of inactive versus active businesses—stood at 26.3%.

Micro-enterprises, especially those with one to ten employees, were the most affected, making up the bulk of closures with 29,301 businesses (30.4%). In contrast, large enterprises represented only 166 cases (12.0%). Of the closures, 8,563 were just beginning the shutdown process (18.9%), and 5,417 were fully defunct (11.9%).

From an industry standpoint, the “Accommodation and Food Service Activities” sector had the highest closure rate at 33.6%, followed by mining and quarrying (31.4%), and administrative services (30.2%). Commerce, though with a slightly lower closure rate of 27.3%, saw the highest number of affected companies (10,552). The sectors least affected were healthcare (13.2%), real estate (15.5%), and water supply (17.7%).

Regionally, the highest cessation rates were found in Bahoruco (33.3%), El Seibo (33.1%), Barahona (31.5%), San Pedro de Macorís (31.3%), Santo Domingo (30.3%), and the National District (28.9%). In contrast, provinces such as Espaillat (15.0%), Santiago Rodríguez (15.2%), Monte Cristi (18.1%), and Duarte (18.7%) had the lowest closure rates.