| Dominica |
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| Background: 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 and Environmental |
Capital: name: Roseau
geographic coordinates: 15 18 N, 61 24 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 754 sq km |
| Area Land: 754 sq km |
| Area Water: 0 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC |
| Coastline: 148 km |
| Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall |
| Terrain: rugged mountains of volcanic origin |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: Caribbean Sea 0 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m |
| Natural Resources: timber, hydropower, arable land |
| Land Use Arable Land: 6.67% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 21.33% |
| Land Use Other: 72% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: NA |
| Natural Hazards: flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months |
| Environment Current Issues: NA |
| 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 |
| Population |
| Population: 72,386 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 25.6% (male 9,481/female 9,048) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 64.2% (male 23,822/female 22,656) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 10.2% (male 3,165/female 4,214) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 29.1 years |
| Median Age Male: 28.7 years |
| Median Age Female: 29.6 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 0.184% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 15.75 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 8.44 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.05 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.048 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 1.051 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.751 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 1.015 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 14.61 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 19.68 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 9.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 75.1 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 72.17 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 78.18 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 2.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: NA |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: NA |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: NA |
| 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 |
| Literacy Total Population: 94% |
| Literacy Male: 94% |
| Literacy Female: 94% (2003 est.) |
| Administrative Divisions: 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter |
| Legal System: based on English common law |
| 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. Development of the tourism industry remains difficult, however, because of the rugged coastline, lack of beaches, and the absence of an international airport. The government began a comprehensive restructuring of the economy in 2003 - including elimination of price controls, privatization of the state banana company, and tax increases - to address Dominica's economic crisis and to meet IMF targets. In order to diversify the island's production base, the government is attempting to develop an offshore financial sector and is planning to construct an oil refinery on the eastern part of the island. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $384 million (2003 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 3.1% (2005 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 17.7% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 32.8% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 49.5% (2004 est.) |
| Labor Force: 25,000 (1999 est.) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: 40%
industry: 32%
services: 28% |
| Unemployment Rate: 23% (2000 est.) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: -0.1% (2005 est.) |
| Industries: soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: -10% (1997 est.) |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 83.88 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 47.1% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 52.9% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 78.01 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Exports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Oil Production: 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil Consumption: 900 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: $74 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges |
| Exports Partners: UK 26.8%, Jamaica 10%, South Korea 8.9%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.7%, Guyana 7.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.8%, US 4% (2005) |
| Imports: $234 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals |
| Imports Partners: US 25.5%, China 20.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 12.4%, South Korea 7.1%, Japan 4.7%, UK 4.4% (2005) |
| Debt External: $213 million (2004) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $29.2 million (2004 est.) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 21,000 (2004) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 41,800 (2004) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: NA |
| Telephone System Domestic: fully automatic network |
| Telephone System International: country code - 1-767; 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 (2004) |
| Radios: 46,000 (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 1 (2004) |
| Televisions: 6,000 (1997) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 16 (2000) |
| Internet Users: 20,500 (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Airports: 2 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: NA (2006) |
| 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 |
| IllicitDrugs: 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 |