| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
conventional short form: Dominica |
| Capital: |
Roseau |
| 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 |
| 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: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Climate: |
tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall |
| Terrain: |
rugged mountains of volcanic origin |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
timber, hydropower, arable land |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
parliamentary democracy; republic within the Commonwealth |
| Administratives
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 Nicholas J. O. LIVERPOOL (since October 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Roosevelt SKERRIT (since 8 January 2004); note - assumed post after death of Prime Minister Pierre CHARLES
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 1 October 2003 (next to be held October 2008); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Nicholas LIVERPOOL 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 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: |
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 [Roosevelt SKERRIT]; United Workers Party or UWP [Edison JAMES] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
69,029 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 9,328/female 9,125)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 23,225/female 21,900)
65 years and over: 7.9% (male 2,193/female 3,258) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 29.59 years
male: 29.26 years
female: 29.95 years (2005 est.) |
| 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% |
| Languages: |
English (official), French patois |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
23,700 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
9,400 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: NA
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: |
AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
1 (2004) |
| Internet country
code: |
.dm |
| Internet hosts: |
681 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
12,500 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 780 km
paved: 393 km
unpaved: 387 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Portsmouth, Roseau |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 13,771 GRT/19,736 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 19, chemical tanker 2, container 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 21 (Estonia 6, Greece 3, Pakistan 1, Russia 2, Singapore 6, Syria 2, UAE 1) (2005) |
| Airports: |
2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
|
| Heliports: |
|
