Dominica (2002) | Reunion (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28.3% (male 10,052; female 9,800)
15-64 years: 63.8% (male 23,011; female 21,782) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 2,245; female 3,268) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.8% (male 120,147/female 114,589)
15-64 years: 64% (male 248,895/female 255,156) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 19,847/female 28,950) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 2 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 754 sq km
land: 754 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 17.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $72 million
expenditures: $79.9 million, including capital expenditures of $11.5 million (FY97/98) |
revenues: $554.7 million
expenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | Roseau | name: Saint-Denis
geographic coordinates: 20 52 S, 55 28 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April) |
Coastline | 148 km | 207 km |
Constitution | 3 November 1978 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
conventional short form: Dominica |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 7.11 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $150 million (2000) (2000) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Dominica; US interests are served by the embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados | none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Swinburne LESTRADE
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6781 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6791 consulate(s) general: New York |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $24.4 million (1995) (1995) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) |
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. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 62.31 million kWh (2000) | 1.107 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 67 million kWh (2000) | 1.19 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 52% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | black, mixed black and European, European, Syrian, Carib Amerindian | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
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 Prime Minister 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% |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre-Henry MACCIONI (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $49 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3% |
Exports - partners | Caricom countries 47%, UK 36%, US 7% (1996 est.) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
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) | unofficial, local flag designed to emphasize solidarity among the people of Reunion; the field is divided vertically with three narrow stripes of blue, white, and red along the hoist edge representing the French national flag; the remainder of the field is divided diagonally into four triangles colored (clockwise from the hoist side) blue, golden yellow, red, and green; in the center, the apexes of the triangles are surmounted by a white disk; the only official flag is the national flag of France |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $262 million (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18%
industry: 23% services: 59% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -3.2% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 25 N, 61 20 W | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
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 | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | total: 780 km
paved: 390 km unpaved: 390 km (2001) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | - |
Imports | $132 million c.i.f. (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 41%, Caricom countries 25%, UK 13%, Netherlands, Canada (1996 est.) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004) |
Independence | 3 November 1978 (from UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | -10% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Industries | soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 15.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 7.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2001 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | InOC, UPU, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 120 sq km (2003) |
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) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 25,000 | 299,000 (2002) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28% | agriculture: 13%
industry: 12% services: 75% (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 4%
permanent crops: 16% other: 80% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 13.94%
permanent crops: 1.59% other: 84.47% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | based on English common law | French law |
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 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held in 2001 (next to be held in 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRC 1, UDF 1, UMP 1; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 3, PS 1, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.86 years
male: 70.98 years female: 76.88 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 74.18 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.75 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94% male: 94% female: 94% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
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 | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | World |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (including Special Service Unit, Coast Guard) | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 3 November (1978) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | timber, hydropower, arable land | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -18.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
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] | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Elie HOARAU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Michel VERGOZ]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party) | NA |
Population | 70,158 (July 2002 est.) | 787,584 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.81% (2002 est.) | 1.34% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Portsmouth, Roseau | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 10, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 46,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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 |
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19,000 (1996) | 300,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 461 (1996) | 579,200 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (however, there is one cable television company) (1997) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | rugged mountains of volcanic origin | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 2.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.45 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 23% (2000 est.) | 31% (2002) |
Waterways | none | - |