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Dominica

The Commonwealth of Dominica, an island nation is located in the Caribbean Sea. Its nearest neighbours are Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago. It lies between Guadeloupe to the north and Martinique to the south. It is sometimes called French Dominica as the French settled colony in the island. It has the second-largest boiling lake in the world. The country is also called the ‘The Nature Island of the Caribbean’ because of the huge variety of flora and fauna. The country is mostly composed of rainforests. The capital Roseau is located at 15 18 N, 61 24 W. It has no regular military forces. Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force supervises the security affairs of the country.

HISTORY:- The Arawak people were the earliest inhabitants of Dominica. They are departed by the Caribs in the 14th century. European touched the land when Christopher Columbus arrived on the shore of Dominica in 1493 July. His crew was defeated by the Caribs. Until 1763 Britain and France tried to capture the nation. In 1627 England invaded the country but was overpowered by the Caribs. In 1635, France sent missionaries but they failed to occupy Dominica from Caribs. In 1763, Dominica was ceded to Britain. In 1805, the country became a British colony with a British appointed government. In 1896, Dominica turned into a crown colony of England. Dominica joined with West Indies Federation in 1958 in free association with Britain and remained with the merger until 1962. In 1978 Dominica became fully independent.

GEOGRAPHY:- Dominica is located at 15 25 N, 61 20 W in the Caribbean. The coastline is 148 km long along with the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Dominica captures total 754 sq km land area on the surface of the earth. Dominica is rugged mountainous. The nation largely formed of rainforest. Among 365 rivers, Roseau and Portsmouth are the major once. The lowest point is the Caribbean Sea (0 m) and the highest point is Morne Diablatins (1,447 m).

CLIMATE:- The climate of the country is tropical which is moderated by northeast trade winds. The country observes heavy rainfall every year. Hurricanes hit the country in summers.

GOVERNMENT:- Dominica is Parliamentary republic. The constitution was adopted on 3rd November 1978. The legal system is based on the English common law. The three major branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state), the Prime minister (head of government), and a cabinet. The president is elected by the members of the House of Assembly. The Prime minister is appointed by the President. The President appoints the cabinet ministers on the advice of the Prime minister.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court which consists of the Court of Appeal and the High Court.

The three political parties are Dominica Labour Party, United Workers Party and Dominica Freedom Party. Voting rights are imposed at the age of 18 universally.

President Nicholas Liverpool

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Dominica is a composition of 10 parishes:

Saint Andrew

Saint David

Saint George

Saint John

Saint Joseph

Saint Luke

Saint Mark

Saint Patrick

Saint Paul

Saint Peter

CULTURE:- Dominica’s writer Jean Rhys is very popular in the World with her most notable book ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’. Music and dance are the two main features of the culture of Dominica. Cricket is the most popular sport of the island. The cricket team of Dominica is a part of West Indies cricket team in test cricket.

ECONOMY:-Agriculture and tourism are the backbones of the economy of Dominica. 20% of the population engages in agriculture. The government is promoting Dominica as the ‘ecotourism destination’.

GDP/PPP (2006 est.): $485 million; per capita $3,800.

Real growth rate: 3.2%.

Inflation: -0.1% (2005 est.).

Unemployment: 23% (2000 est.).

Arable land: 7%.

Labor force: 25,000 (1999 est); agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28%.

Budget:

Revenues: $73.9 million

Expenditures: $84.4 million (2001)

Debt - external: $213 million (2004)

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

Industries: soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes. Natural resources: timber, hydropower, arable land.

Exports: $94 million f.o.b. (2006 est.): 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 est.): 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)

Major trading partners: UK, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, U.S., China, South Korea (2004).

Monetary unit: East Caribbean dollar

LANGUAGE:- English is the official language. French patois is also widely spoken.

CITIES:- Capital Roseau is the largest city of Dominica.

POPULATION:- The estimated population of Dominica is 68,925 with an average growth rate of 0.1%.

Density per sq mi: 238

Literacy rate: 94% (2003 est.)

RACE:-

Black 86.8%,

Mixed 8.9%,

Carib Amerindian 2.9%,

White 0.8%,

Other 0.7%

(2001 census)

RELIGION:-

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 1.6%

None 6.1%

(2001 census)

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 15.73 births/ 1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 8.32 deaths/ 1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 14.12 deaths/ 1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.33 years

Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/ woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 437

UNICEF:- HIV prevalence is gradually increasing in Eastern Caribbean countries. A regional Health and Family Life Education curriculum has been established to improve the awareness of HIV on youth of the country. UNICEF also promotes the needs for teenage mothers to return to schools and to complete their education. The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States drafted legislation and distributed to all the members for the betterment of child care and protection and has promoted adoption, the legal status of children and juvenile justice.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: 0 km.

Highways: total: 780 km; paved: 393 km; unpaved: 393 km (1999 est.).

Ports and harbors: Portsmouth, Roseau.

Airports: 2 (2007).

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