Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic would become a developed country with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of more than US$12,300 as soon as 2025 years.

The figures are from Maurizio Bussolo, head of the World Bank Group’s Economic Development Centre, who said the jump would be possible if the country keeps pace with the growth of recent years.

Quoted by elcaribe.com.do, Bussolo said vibrant growth held stable for several years or decades are the essentials for a balanced development.

The World Bank official, who also worked on drafting the National Development Strategy (END in Spanish), said if Dominican Republic manages to implement all necessary plans to maintain the growth it has shown thus far, it would enter the base tier of the developed countries. "This can be done, what happens is that you need to have some patience."

Bussolo, accompanied by World Bank economist and Miguel Sanchez Martin and Public Information associate officer Alejandra de la Paz, said GDP per capita in developed countries starts at US$12,300.

The Dominican economy has grown at a rate of more than 3.5% in the last six years.