Dominican Republic career civil service declines by 36%

Recent statements from the Minister of Public Administration, Sigmund Freund, indicate that the Dominican Republic currently has approximately 60,000 career administrative civil servants. This represents a significant decline from 2020, when the administration led by the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) had more than 94,000 professionalized public servants incorporated into the administrative career regime.

The reduction of roughly 34,000 employees, or nearly 36% of the state's professional human capital, is viewed as a sign of institutional weakening. Critics argue that the loss of career staff leads to a loss of technical capacity, institutional memory, and expertise, which can result in slower public services and increased reliance on political appointments rather than merit-based stability.