Dominica

From Imakoopedia

Dominica is a Caribbean island country between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago. It is often 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 island 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.

Note 

Should not be confused with the Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic.

Table of contents

1 Regions 2 Cities 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 4.1 Climate 4.2 Terrain 4.3 History 5 Get in 5.1 By plane 5.2 By train 5.3 By car 5.4 By bus 5.5 By boat 6 Get around 7 Talk 8 Buy 9 Eat 10 Drink 11 Sleep 12 Learn 13 Work 14 Stay safe 15 Stay healthy 16 Respect 17 Contact 18 External links 19 Geography 20 People 21 Government 22 Economy 23 Communications 24 Transportation 25 Transnational Issues

Regions

Administrative divisions 

10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter

Cities

• Roseau - Capital
• Portsmouth

Other destinations

Understand

Climate

Tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall. Flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months.

Terrain

Rugged mountains of volcanic origin.

highest point 

Morne Diablatins 1,447 m

History

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.

Get in

By plane

By train

By car

By bus

By boat

Get around

Talk

Languages 

English (official), French patois

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Learn

Work

Stay safe

Stay healthy

Respect

Contact

External links

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The rest of this article is an import from the CIA World Factbook 2002. It's a starting point for creating a real Imakoopedia country article according to our country article template. Please plunge forward and integrate it into the article above.

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Geography

Geographic coordinates 

15 25 N, 61 20 W

Area 

total: 754 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 754 sq km

Area - comparative 

slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC

Coastline 

148 km

Natural resources 

timber, hydropower, arable land

Land use 

arable land: 4%
permanent crops: 16%
other: 80% (1998 est.)

People

Population 

70,158 (July 2002 est.)

Population growth rate 

-0.81% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 

17.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 

7.11 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 

15.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth 

total population: 73.86 years
female: 76.88 years (2002 est.)
male: 70.98 years

Nationality 

noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican

Ethnic groups 

black, mixed black and European, European, Syrian, Carib Amerindian

Religions 

Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6%

Literacy 

definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94%
male: 94%
female: 94% (1970 est.)

Government

Country name 

conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
conventional short form: Dominica

Government type 

parliamentary democracy; republic within the Commonwealth

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

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

Economy - overview 

The Dominican economy depends on agriculture, primarily bananas, and remains highly vulnerable to climatic conditions. Hurricane Luis devastated the country's banana crop in 1995 after tropical storms wiped out a quarter of the 1994 crop. The subsequent recovery has been fueled by increases in construction, soap production, and tourist arrivals. Development of the tourism industry remains difficult however, because of the rugged coastline, lack of beaches, and the absence of an international airport. Economic growth is sluggish, and unemployment is greater than 20%. The government has been attempting to develop an offshore financial sector in order to diversify the island's production base.

Labor force 

25,000

Labor force - by occupation 

agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28%

Unemployment rate 

23% (2000 est.)

Industries 

soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes

Electricity - production 

67 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source 

fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 52%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Agriculture - products 

bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited

Exports - commodities 

bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges

Imports - commodities 

manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals

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

Communications

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)

Transportation

Highways 

total: 780 km
paved: 390 km
unpaved: 390 km (2001)

Airports 

2 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways 

total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002)

Transnational Issues

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