CIA World Fact Book, 2004/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.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 0 sq km land: 754 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 20% other: 73.33% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago
 * 15 25 N, 61 20 W
 * Central America and the Caribbean
 * total: 754 sq km
 * slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 148 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall
 * rugged mountains of volcanic origin
 * lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
 * timber, hydropower, arable land
 * arable land: 6.67%
 * NA sq km
 * flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months
 * NA
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
 * 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
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 64.8% (male 23,097; female 21,804) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 2,209; female 3,256) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 28.7 years female: 29.4 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 9.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 19.49 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 71.48 years female: 77.43 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Dominican !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 94% male: 94% female: 94% (2003 est.)
 * 69,278 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 27.3% (male 9,563; female 9,349)
 * total: 29 years
 * -0.45% (2004 est.)
 * 16.25 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 6.9 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * -13.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 14.75 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 74.38 years
 * 1.98 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Dominican(s)
 * black, mixed black and European, European, Syrian, Carib Amerindian
 * Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6%
 * English (official), French patois
 * definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Dominica !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: elections: president elected by the House of Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 1 October 2003 (next to be held NA October 2008); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Nicholas LIVERPOOL elected president; percent of legislative vote - NA cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister head of government: Prime Minister Roosevelt SKERRIT (since 8 January 2004); note - assumed post after death of Prime Minister Pierre CHARLES !| Legislative branch: elections: last held 31 January 2000 (next to be held by 17 July 2005); 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 (17 April 2000) plus a 90 day grace period election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DLP 10, UWP 9, DFP 2 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6781 consulate(s) general: New York FAX: [1] (202) 364-6791 !| Diplomatic representation from the US: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
 * parliamentary democracy; republic within the Commonwealth
 * Roseau
 * 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter
 * 3 November 1978 (from UK)
 * Independence Day, 3 November (1978)
 * 3 November 1978
 * based on English common law
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: President Nicholas J. O. LIVERPOOL (since October 2003)
 * unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats, 9 appointed senators, 21 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
 * 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)
 * Dominica Freedom Party or DFP [Charles SAVARIN]; Dominica Labor Party or DLP [Roosevelt SKERRIT]; United Workers Party or UWP [Edison JAMES]
 * Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party)
 * ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Swinburne LESTRADE
 * the US does not have an embassy in Dominica; the US Ambassador to Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, is accredited to Dominica
 * 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)
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 24% services: 58% (2002 est.) !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $84.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2001) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * The Dominican economy depends on agriculture, primarily bananas, and remains highly vulnerable to climatic conditions and international economic developments. Production of bananas dropped precipitously in 2003, a major reason for the 1% decline in GDP. Tourism increased in 2003 as the government sought 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.
 * purchasing power parity - $380 million (2002 est.)
 * -1% (2003 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2002 est.)
 * agriculture: 18%
 * 30% (2002 est.)
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 1% (2001 est.)
 * 25,000 (1999 est.)
 * agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28%
 * 23% (2000 est.)
 * revenues: $73.9 million
 * bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited
 * soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes
 * -10% (1997 est.)
 * 72.41 million kWh (2001)
 * 67.35 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 600 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $39 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges
 * UK 20%, Jamaica 18.5%, Antigua and Barbuda 7.7%, US 7.7%, Guyana 6.2%, Japan 6.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.6% (2003)
 * $98.2 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals
 * US 18.5%, China 18%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.6%, Japan 6.3%, South Korea 5.4%, UK 5.4% (2003)
 * $161.5 million (2001)
 * $22.8 million (2003 est.)
 * East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
 * XCD
 * East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999)
 * 1 July - 30 June
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: fully automatic network 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: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 23,700 (2002)
 * 9,400 (2002)
 * general assessment: NA
 * AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004)
 * 46,000 (1997)
 * 1 (2004)
 * 6,000 (1997)
 * .dm
 * 681 (2003)
 * 16 (2000)
 * 12,500 (2002)
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!| Highways: paved: 393 km unpaved: 387 km (1999 est.) !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: by type: cargo 3, container 2, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: Bahamas 1, Cyprus 1, Estonia 1, Greece 1, Panama 1, Singapore 1 (2004 est.) !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)
 * total: 780 km
 * Portsmouth, Roseau
 * total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 13,771 GRT/19,736 DWT
 * 2 (2003 est.)
 * total: 2
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!| Military branches: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 * no regular military forces; Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (including Coast Guard)
 * NA
 * NA
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