Dominica was the last of the
Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans due chiefly to the fierce
resistance of the native Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain
in 1763, which made the island a colony in 1805. In 1980, two years after
independence, Dominica's fortunes improved when a corrupt and tyrannical
administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia CHARLES, the first
female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15
years. Some 3,000 Carib Indians still living on Dominica are the only
pre-Columbian population remaining in the eastern Caribbean.
Geography
Dominica
Location:
Caribbean, island between the
Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about half way between Puerto
Rico and Trinidad and Tobago
Geographic coordinates:
15 25 N, 61 20 W
Map references:
Central America and the
Caribbean
Area:
total: 754 sq km
land: 754 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than four times
the size of Washington, DC
total: 0.02 cu km/yr
per capita: 213 cu m/yr (1996)
Natural hazards:
flash floods are a constant
threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer
months
Environment - current issues:
NA
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not
ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
known as 'The Nature Island of
the Caribbean' due to its spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna,
which are protected by an extensive natural park system; the most
mountainous of the Lesser Antilles, its volcanic peaks are cones of lava
craters and include Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active
lake in the world
total: 29.4 years
male: 29 years female: 29.8 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.196% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
15.73 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Death rate:
8.32 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
-5.46 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05
male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75
male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2008
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 14.12
deaths/1,000 live births male: 19 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 9.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.33
years male: 72.39 years female: 78.41 years (2008
est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.1 children born/woman (2008
est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Nationality:
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican
Ethnic groups:
black 86.8%, mixed 8.9%, Carib
Amerindian 2.9%, white 0.8%, other 0.7% (2001 census)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 61.4%, Seventh
Day Adventist 6%, Pentecostal 5.6%, Baptist 4.1%, Methodist 3.7%, Church
of God 1.2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.2%, other Christian 7.7%, Rastafarian
1.3%, other or unspecified 1.6%, none 6.1% (2001 census)
Languages:
English (official), French
patois
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and
over has ever attended school total population: 94%
male: 94% female: 94% (2003 est.)
Government
Dominica
Country name:
conventional long form:
Commonwealth of Dominica conventional short form: Dominica
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Roseau
geographic coordinates: 15 18 N, 61 24 W time
difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
Administrative divisions:
10 parishes; Saint Andrew,
Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint
Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter
Independence:
3 November 1978 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 3 November
(1978)
Constitution:
3 November 1978
Legal system:
based on English common law
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Nicholas J. O. LIVERPOOL (since October 2003) head of
government: Prime Minister Roosevelt SKERRIT (since 8 January 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of
the prime minister elections: president elected by the House of
Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 1 October 2003 (next to
be held in October 2008); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Nicholas LIVERPOOL elected president; percent
of legislative vote - NA%
Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Assembly
(30 seats; 9 members appointed, 21 elected by popular vote; to serve
five-year terms) elections: last held 5 May 2005 (next to be
held by 5 August 2010); note - tradition dictates that the election will
be held within five years of the last election, but technically it is five
years from the first seating of parliament (12 May 2005) plus a 90-day
grace period election results: percent of vote by party - DLP
52.1%, UWP 43.6%, DFP 3.2%, other 1.1%; seats by party - DLP 12, UWP 8,
independent 1
Judicial branch:
Eastern Caribbean Supreme
Court, consisting of the Court of Appeal and the High Court (located in
Saint Lucia; one of the six judges must reside in Dominica and preside
over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction)
Political parties and leaders:
Dominica Freedom Party or DFP
[Charles SAVARIN]; Dominica Labor Party or DLP [Roosevelt SKERRIT];
Dominica United Workers Party or UWP [Earl WILLIAMS]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Dominica Liberation Movement or
DLM (a small leftist party)
chief of mission: vacant
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 364-6781 FAX: [1] (202)
364-6791 consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy
in Dominica; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Dominica
Flag description:
green, with a centered cross of
three equal bands - the vertical part is yellow (hoist side), black, and
white and the horizontal part is yellow (top), black, and white;
superimposed in the center of the cross is a red disk bearing a sisserou
parrot encircled by 10 green, five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the 10
stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes)
Economy
Dominica
Economy - overview:
The Dominican economy depends
on agriculture, primarily bananas, and remains highly vulnerable to
climatic conditions and international economic developments. Tourism has
increased as the government seeks to promote Dominica as an 'ecotourism'
destination. In 2003, the government began a comprehensive restructuring
of the economy - including elimination of price controls, privatization of
the state banana company, and tax increases - to address Dominica's
economic and financial crisis of 2001-02 and to meet IMF targets. This
restructuring paved the way for the current economic recovery - real
growth for 2006 reached a two-decade high - and will help to reduce the
debt burden, which remains at about 100% of GDP. In order to diversify the
island's production base, the government is attempting to develop an
offshore financial sector and is researching Dominica's capability to
export geothermal energy.
bananas, soap, bay oil,
vegetables, grapefruit, oranges
Exports - partners:
UK 24.8%, Jamaica 12.3%,
Antigua and Barbuda 9.8%, Guyana 8.3%, China 7.9%, Trinidad and Tobago
5.4%, Saint Lucia 4.5% (2006)
Imports:
$296 million f.o.b. (2006)
Imports - commodities:
manufactured goods, machinery
and equipment, food, chemicals
Imports - partners:
US 25.3%, China 22.7%, Trinidad
and Tobago 13.8%, South Korea 4.8% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$15.17 million (2005 est.)
Debt - external:
$213 million (2004)
Currency (code):
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Currency code:
XCD
Exchange rates:
East Caribbean dollars per US
dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June
Communications
Dominica
Telephones - main lines in use:
21,000 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
41,800 (2004)
Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: fully automatic network international:
country code - 1-767; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber Optic
System (ECFS) submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the
eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad;
microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone links to Martinique and
Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radiotelephone links to Saint Lucia
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2003)
Radios:
46,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (2004)
Televisions:
6,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.dm
Internet hosts:
257 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
16 (2000)
Internet users:
26,000 (2005)
Transportation
Dominica
Airports:
2 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 2 914 to
1,523 m: 2 (2007)
Roadways:
total: 780 km
paved: 393 km unpaved: 387 km (1999)
Merchant marine:
total: 53 ships (1000
GRT or over) 716,435 GRT/1,252,537 DWT by type: bulk carrier 9,
cargo 30, chemical tanker 2, container 1, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated
cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned:
50 (Estonia 8, Greece 8, India 2, Latvia 2, Lebanon 1, Norway 1, NZ 3,
Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 1, Singapore 8, Syria 2, Turkey 9, Ukraine 3)
(2007)
Ports and terminals:
Portsmouth, Roseau
Military
Dominica
Military branches:
no regular military forces;
Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (includes Coast Guard) (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 18,584
(2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 15,648
(2008 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 16-49: 756
(2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA (2006)
Transnational Issues
Dominica
Disputes - international:
Dominica is the only Caribbean
state to challenge Venezuela's sovereignty claim over Aves Island and
joins the other island nations in challenging whether the feature sustains
human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf claims over a large portion of the
eastern Caribbean Sea
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for
narcotics bound for the US and Europe; minor cannabis producer;
anti-money-laundering enforcement is weak, making the country particularly
vulnerable to money laundering
