|
Red
Sea Management provides Dominica offshore incorporation, Dominica offshore asset protection and a full range of services. |
|
Report on Dominica
|
|
|
| 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.
|
|
|
| Location:
|
Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to 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
|
| Land
boundaries:
|
0 km
|
|
Coastline:
|
148 km
|
| Maritime
claims:
|
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
|
| Climate:
|
tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall
|
| Terrain:
|
rugged mountains of volcanic origin
|
| Elevation
extremes:
|
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m
|
| Natural
resources:
|
timber, hydropower, arable land
|
| Land use:
|
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures: 3%
forests and woodland: 67%
other: 8% (1993 est.)
|
| Irrigated
land:
|
NA sq km
|
| 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, 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
|
|
|
|
Population: |
70,786 (July 2001 est.)
|
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 28.72% (male 10,300; female 10,027)
15-64 years: 63.45% (male 23,056; female 21,855)
65 years and over: 7.83% (male 2,267; female 3,281) (2001 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate:
|
-0.98% (2001 est.)
|
| Birth
rate: |
17.81 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
|
| Death
rate: |
7.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
|
| Net
migration rate: |
-20.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
|
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
|
| Infant
mortality rate: |
16.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
|
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 73.6 years
male: 70.74 years
female: 76.61 years (2001 est.)
|
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.03 children born/woman (2001 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, Carib Amerindian
|
|
Religions:
|
Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%,
Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6%
|
|
Languages: |
English (official), French patois
|
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94%
male: 94%
female: 94% (1970 est.)
|
|
|
| Country
name:
|
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
conventional short form: Dominica
|
|
Government type:
|
parliamentary democracy; republic within the Commonwealth
|
| Capital: |
Roseau
|
|
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 Vernon Lordon SHAW (since 6 October
1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Pierre CHARLES (since 1
October 2000); note - assumed post after death of Roosevelt DOUGLAS
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 6 October 1998 (next to be held NA
October 2003); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Vernon Lordon SHAW elected president; percent
of legislative vote - NA%
|
|
Legislative branch: |
unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats, 9 appointed senators, 21
elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 31 January 2000 (next to be held by NA
2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party
-DLP 11, UWP 8, DFP 2
|
| 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 [Pierre CHARLES]; United Workers Party or UWP [Edison JAMES]
|
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party)
|
|
International organization participation: |
ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM (observer),
OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTrO
|
|
Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Nicholas J. O. LIVERPOOL (resident
in Dominica)
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; US interests are served
by the embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados
|
| 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
- overview:
|
The economy depends on agriculture and is highly vulnerable to
climatic conditions, notably tropical storms. Agriculture, primarily
bananas, accounts for 21% of GDP and employs 40% of the labor force.
Development of the tourist industry remains difficult because of the
rugged coastline, lack of beaches, and the lack of an international
airport. Hurricane Luis devastated the country's banana crop in
September 1995; tropical storms had wiped out one-quarter of the crop
in 1994 as well. The subsequent recovery has been fueled by increases
in construction, soap production, and tourist arrivals. The government
is attempting to develop an offshore financial industry in order to
diversify the island's production base.
|
| GDP:
|
purchasing power parity - $290 million (2000 est.)
|
| GDP -
real growth rate: |
0.5% (2000 est.)
|
| GDP - per
capita: |
purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2000 est.)
|
| GDP -
composition by sector: |
agriculture: 21%
industry: 16%
services: 63% (1999 est.)
|
|
Population below poverty line: |
NA%
|
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
|
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
2.5% (2000 est.)
|
| Labor
force: |
25,000
|
| Labor
force - by occupation:
|
agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28%
|
|
Unemployment rate: |
20% (1999 est.)
|
| Budget:
|
revenues: $72 million
expenditures: $79.9 million, including capital expenditures of
$11.5 million (FY97/98)
|
|
Industries: |
soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes
|
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
-10% (1997 est.)
|
| Electricity
- production:
|
62 million kWh (1999)
|
|
Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 48.39%
hydro: 51.61%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)
|
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
57.7 million kWh (1999)
|
|
Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (1999)
|
|
Electricity - imports: |
0 kWh (1999)
|
|
Agriculture - products:
|
bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and
fishery potential not exploited
|
| Exports: |
$60.7 million (2000 est.)
|
| Exports -
commodities: |
bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges
|
| Exports -
partners: |
Caricom countries 47%, UK 36%, US 7% (1996 est.)
|
| Imports: |
$126 million (2000 est.)
|
| Imports -
commodities: |
manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals
|
| Imports -
partners: |
US 41%, Caricom countries 25%, UK 13%, Netherlands, Canada (1996 est.)
|
| Debt -
external: |
$108.9 million (1999)
|
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$24.4 million (1995)
|
| Currency:
|
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
|
| Currency
code: |
XCD
|
| Exchange
rates:
|
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976)
|
| Fiscal
year: |
1 July - 30 June
|
|
|
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
19,000 (1996)
|
|
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
461 (1996)
|
|
Telephone system: |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fully automatic network
international: microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone
links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radiotelephone links
to Saint Lucia
|
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 3, FM 10, shortwave 0 (1998)
|
| Radios: |
46,000 (1997)
|
|
Television broadcast stations: |
0 (however, there is one cable television company) (1997)
|
|
Televisions: |
6,000 (1997)
|
| Internet
country code: |
.dm
|
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
16 (2000)
|
| Internet
users: |
2,000 (2000)
|
|
|
| Railways:
|
0 km
|
| Highways: |
total: 750 km
paved: 375 km
unpaved: 375 km (2001)
|
|
Waterways: |
none
|
| Ports and
harbors: |
Portsmouth, Roseau
|
| Merchant
marine: |
none (2000 est.)
|
| Airports: |
2 (2000 est.)
|
| Airports -
with paved runways: |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.)
|
|
|
| Military
branches: |
Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (includes Special Service Unit,
Coast Guard)
|
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$NA
|
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA%
|
|
|
| Disputes
- international: |
none
|
| Illicit
drugs: |
transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; minor
cannabis producer; banking industry is vulnerable to money laundering |
