The Dominican Republic has been a member of the ILO from 1919 to 1938 and from 1955 to date. The country has ratified 26 Conventions, including nine of the ten fundamental Conventions, three of the four governance Conventions, as well as 29 technical Conventions.

Located in the Antilles, the Dominican Republic occupies more than two thirds of the island called “Hispaniola”. It has a total area of 48,730 km², of which 350 km² are water, and an estimated population of 11,333,000 inhabitants (CEPALSTAT, 2023).

The country is bordered to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Caribbean Sea, to the east by the Mona Passage, which separates the island from neighbouring Puerto Rico, and to the west by the Republic of Haiti. The capital is Santo Domingo, but there are other major cities such as Santiago, La Vega, Puerto Plata, San Francisco de Macoris and San Cristobal.

In order to fulfill the mandate of promoting decent work and fostering social justice, the ILO provides technical assistance to its tripartite partners in the country - government, employers’ and workers’ organizations - through a team of experts and by the implementation of technical cooperation projects that address the priority challenges identified in the different areas of the labour field.

ILO actions in the Dominican Republic are coordinated from the Office for Central America, Haiti, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.