Foreign direct investment in the Dominican Republic reached a record $5.0323 billion in 2025, according to preliminary data from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD). The 11.3% year-over-year increase extends a four-year run of record inflows, with tourism and energy together accounting for more than half of foreign capital entering the country.
The Dominican Republic is attracting foreign capital at a pace that is reshaping the country’s investment profile, with foreign direct investment (FDI) reaching $5.0323 billion in 2025.
Preliminary figures from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic show that inflows increased by $509.1 million, or 11.3%, from 2024. ProDominicana, the country’s investment and export promotion agency, described 2025 as the fourth consecutive year in which the country established a new FDI record.
The longer-term trend is even more significant. Based on Central Bank figures, ProDominicana estimates that foreign investment has increased by roughly 97% over five years.
For investors, however, the headline number only tells part of the story. The composition of that capital is changing, particularly as energy becomes a much larger destination for foreign investment.
Energy’s growing role in Dominican investment
Tourism remained the largest recipient of FDI in 2025, accounting for 26.3% of total inflows. Energy followed at 23.8%, meaning the two sectors alone represented 50.1% of all foreign investment.
Real estate accounted for 15.7%, while commerce and industry represented 10.5%. Free-trade zones attracted 8.7%, mining 6.7% and financial services 3.4%.
The shift toward energy is particularly notable.
Energy’s share of Dominican FDI increased from 9.2% in 2019 to 23.8% in 2025. The Central Bank attributes much of that expansion to incentives supporting renewable-energy projects.
That trajectory places the Dominican Republic’s investment story within a broader regional shift toward energy security and renewable generation. For international investors, energy projects can offer opportunities beyond traditional tourism and property development, particularly as economies require additional generation capacity to support industrial activity and digital infrastructure.
Tourism remains a core investment engine
Tourism continues to underpin the Dominican Republic’s foreign-investment strategy.
The country has developed one of the Caribbean’s largest tourism markets, creating demand for hotels, resorts, real estate, transportation and supporting services. That ecosystem helps explain why tourism has remained the country’s largest FDI destination even as energy investment has expanded.
The investment mix also demonstrates that foreign capital is not concentrated in a single industry.
The U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA) identifies tourism, real estate, telecommunications, free-trade zones, mining and energy among the Dominican Republic’s principal investment sectors. Its 2026 Investment Climate Statement describes the country as an upper-middle-income economy and a historically significant FDI destination within the Caribbean.
That diversification can matter to investors because it reduces dependence on any one investment cycle while creating opportunities across infrastructure, manufacturing, property, energy and financial services.
CAFTA-DR adds an established investment framework
The Dominican Republic’s relationship with the United States is another important element of its investment ecosystem.
The country participates in the Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which provides a framework for trade and investment protections among participating economies. The United States is also the Dominican Republic’s largest single source of foreign investment, according to the ITA.
That relationship gives U.S.-linked investors an established commercial framework while connecting the Dominican economy to North American supply chains.
The country’s free-trade zones are particularly relevant in this context. Their 8.7% share of 2025 FDI reflects continued investor interest in export-oriented manufacturing and international trade infrastructure.
Investment administration is becoming more digital
Attracting capital is only one part of the equation. Governments also compete on how efficiently investors can establish and operate businesses.
ProDominicana has been developing digital and administrative tools intended to simplify the investment process. Its Single Investment Window (VUIRD) brings together more than 41 administrative procedures involving 26 public institutions.
For multinational companies, these mechanisms can reduce the administrative complexity associated with investment projects involving permits, government agencies and regulatory approvals.
This is part of a broader trend in investment promotion: governments are increasingly using digital platforms to turn investment facilitation into an integrated service rather than a collection of disconnected government processes.
What the record means for investors
The 2025 data point to three structural developments.
First, the Dominican Republic is attracting foreign capital at a record scale. Second, tourism remains central to that investment story, but energy is rapidly becoming a comparable pillar. Third, capital continues to reach a relatively broad collection of sectors, including manufacturing, real estate, mining and financial services.
The energy shift may be the most consequential development to monitor.
Renewable-energy investment can support electricity supply while creating new opportunities for infrastructure developers, financial institutions, technology providers and industrial companies. Greater energy capacity can also become an enabling factor for other sectors, including manufacturing and digital services.
At the same time, record FDI does not eliminate the risks investors must evaluate. Interest rates, regulation, infrastructure, permitting, labor availability, exchange-rate conditions and global economic demand can all influence individual projects.
The Central Bank’s preliminary 2025 figures therefore provide a useful snapshot rather than a guarantee of future investment performance.
Still, the direction is clear. The Dominican Republic entered 2026 with another annual FDI record, a rapidly expanding energy investment segment and continued foreign interest across tourism, real estate, manufacturing and other strategic industries.
For the country’s investment ecosystem, the more important question may now be whether this record inflow can translate into sustained productive capacity—and whether energy and infrastructure investment can broaden the next phase of economic growth.
Market Landscape
The Dominican Republic’s record FDI comes as emerging markets compete for capital tied to nearshoring, renewable energy, tourism, manufacturing and supply-chain diversification.
The country’s position within CAFTA-DR and proximity to the United States provide a structural advantage for companies seeking Caribbean and Central American production or distribution bases.
The changing sector mix is equally important. Tourism remains the largest FDI destination, but energy’s rise from 9.2% of inflows in 2019 to 23.8% in 2025 indicates that infrastructure and renewable power are becoming increasingly important to the country’s investment proposition.
For multinational enterprises, the opportunity is therefore broader than hospitality and real estate. Energy, free-trade-zone manufacturing, telecommunications, financial services and infrastructure are becoming increasingly relevant parts of the Dominican Republic’s foreign-investment ecosystem.
Top Insights
- Dominican Republic FDI reached $5.03 billion in 2025, an 11.3% increase that extends four consecutive annual records and strengthens the country’s investment profile.
- Energy captured 23.8% of FDI, rising sharply from 9.2% in 2019 as renewable-energy incentives attract international infrastructure and development capital.
- Tourism remained the largest investment sector at 26.3%, reinforcing its importance to hospitality, real estate and broader Dominican economic activity.
- FDI remains diversified across manufacturing, real estate, mining and finance, giving multinational investors multiple entry points beyond traditional tourism projects.
- CAFTA-DR and digital investment facilitation strengthen the country’s proposition for U.S.-linked investors evaluating Caribbean manufacturing, energy and infrastructure opportunities.
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