Greenland (2001) | Dominica (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
26.69% (male 7,649; female 7,392) 15-64 years: 67.87% (male 20,868; female 17,376) 65 years and over: 5.44% (male 1,385; female 1,682) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 25.6% (male 9,481/female 9,048)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 23,822/female 22,656) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 3,165/female 4,214) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish | bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited |
Airports | 13 (2000 est.) | 2 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
2,175,600 sq km land: 2,175,600 sq km (341,700 sq km ice-free, 1,833,900 sq km ice-covered) (est.) |
total: 754 sq km
land: 754 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Texas | slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The world's largest island, about 84% ice-capped, Greenland was granted self-government in 1978 by the Danish parliament. The law went into effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs. | 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. |
Birth rate | 16.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.75 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$646 million expenditures: $629 million, including capital expenditures of $85 million (1999) |
revenues: $73.9 million
expenditures: $84.4 million (2001) |
Capital | Nuuk (Godthab) | name: Roseau
geographic coordinates: 15 18 N, 61 24 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters | tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall |
Coastline | 44,087 km | 148 km |
Constitution | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) | 3 November 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Greenland local long form: none local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
conventional short form: Dominica |
Currency | Danish krone (DKK) | - |
Death rate | 7.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.44 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $25 million (1999) | $213 million (2004) |
Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | the US does not have an embassy in Dominica; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Dominica |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | chief of mission: vacant
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6781 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6791 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | Dominica is the only Caribbean state to challenge Venezuela's sovereignty claim over Aves Island and joins the other island nations in challenging whether the feature sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf claims over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $380 million subsidy from Denmark (1999) | $15.17 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | The economy remains critically dependent on exports of fish and substantial support from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Despite several interesting hydrocarbon and minerals exploration activities, it will take several years before production can materialize. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. | The Dominican economy depends on agriculture, primarily bananas, and remains highly vulnerable to climatic conditions and international economic developments. Tourism has increased as the government seeks 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. In 2003, the government began a comprehensive restructuring of the economy - including elimination of price controls, privatization of the state banana company, and tax increases - to address Dominica's economic and financial crisis of 2001-02 and to meet IMF targets. This restructuring paved the way for the current economic recovery - real growth for 2006 reached a two-decade high - and will help to reduce the debt burden, which remains at about 100% of GDP. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 232.5 million kWh (1999) | 74.4 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 250 million kWh (1999) | 80 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
41% hydro: 59% nuclear: 0% other: 0% note: Greenland is shifting its electricity production from fossil fuel to hydroelectric power production (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m |
Environment - current issues | protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting | NA |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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 | Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (January 2000) | black 86.8%, mixed 8.9%, Carib Amerindian 2.9%, white 0.8%, other 0.7% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 7.951 (January 2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997), 5.799 (1996) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Gunnar MARTENS (since NA 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Jonathan MOTZFELDT (since 19 September 1997) cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the Parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties elections: the monarch is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by Parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election last held 16 February 1999 (next to be held NA February 2003) election results: Jonathan MOTZFELDT reelected prime minister following the 16 February 1999 elections; percent of parliamentary vote - 57.3% note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) |
chief of state: President Nicholas J. O. LIVERPOOL (since October 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Roosevelt SKERRIT (since 8 January 2004) 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 in October 2008); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Nicholas LIVERPOOL elected president; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
Exports | $276 million (f.o.b., 1999) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products 94% | bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges |
Exports - partners | EU (mainly Denmark) 85%, Japan 8%, US 2% (1999) | 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) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white | 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) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 17.7%
industry: 32.8% services: 49.5% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 3.2% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 72 00 N, 40 00 W | 15 25 N, 61 20 W |
Geography - note | dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap | 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 |
Highways | total:
150 km paved: 60 km unpaved: 90 km |
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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 | $400 million (c.i.f., 1999) | 771.8 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products | manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals |
Imports - partners | EU (mostly Denmark), Norway, US, Canada | US 25.3%, China 22.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.8%, South Korea 4.8% (2006) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979)
note: foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland |
3 November 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -10% (1997 est.) |
Industries | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut), handicrafts, furs, small shipyards | soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes |
Infant mortality rate | 17.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (1999 est.) | -0.1% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ICC, NC, NIB | ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) | 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) |
Labor force | 24,500 (1999 est.) | 25,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 40%
industry: 32% services: 28% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 0% other: 99% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 6.67%
permanent crops: 21.33% other: 72% (2005) |
Languages | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English | English (official), French patois |
Legal system | Danish | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 16 February 1999 (next to be held by NA February 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 35.2%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 22.1%, Atassut Party 25.2%, Candidate's League 12.3%, independent 5.2%; seats by party - Siumut 11, Atassut 8, Inuit Ataqatigiit 7, Candidate List 4, independent 1 note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 11 March 1998 (next to be held by not later than March 2002); percent of vote by party - Siumut 35.6%, Atassut 35.2%; seats by party - Siumut 1, Atassut 1; Greenlandic representatives are affiliated with Danish political parties (Siamut with Social Democratic Party and Atassut with Liberal Party) |
unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats; 9 members appointed, 21 elected by popular vote; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by 5 August 2010); 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 (12 May 2005) plus a 90-day grace period election results: percent of vote by party - DLP 52.1%, UWP 43.6%, DFP 3.2%, other 1.1%; seats by party - DLP 12, UWP 8, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.37 years male: 64.82 years female: 72.01 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.1 years
male: 72.17 years female: 78.18 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% note: similar to Denmark proper |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94% male: 94% female: 94% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Arctic Region | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,289 GRT/1,500 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 53 ships (1000 GRT or over) 716,435 GRT/1,252,537 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 30, chemical tanker 2, container 1, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 50 (Estonia 8, Greece 8, India 2, Latvia 2, Lebanon 1, Norway 1, NZ 3, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 1, Singapore 8, Syria 2, Turkey 9, Ukraine 3) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Denmark | - |
Military branches | - | no regular military forces; Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (includes coast guard) (2006) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA (2006) |
National holiday | June 21 (longest day) | Independence Day, 3 November (1978) |
Nationality | noun:
Greenlander(s) adjective: Greenlandic |
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
Natural hazards | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island | flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months |
Natural resources | zinc, lead, iron ore, coal, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas | timber, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | -8.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -5.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Akulliit Party [Bjarne KREUTZMANN]; Atassut Party (Solidarity, a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark) [Daniel SKIFTE]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood, a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule) [Josef MOTZFELDT]; Issituup (Polar Party) [Nicolai HEINRICH]; Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List, an independent right-of-center party with no official platform [leader NA]; Siumut (Forward Party, a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) [Jonathan MOTZFELDT] | Dominica Freedom Party or DFP [Charles SAVARIN]; Dominica Labor Party or DLP [Roosevelt SKERRIT]; Dominica United Workers Party or UWP [Earl WILLIAMS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party) |
Population | 56,352 (July 2001 est.) | 72,386 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 30% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.06% (2001 est.) | 0.184% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aasiaat (Egedesminde), Ilulissat (Jakobshavn), Kangerlussuaq, Nanortalik, Narsarsuaq, Nuuk (Godthab), Qaqortoq (Julianehab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Tasiilaq (March 2001) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2003) |
Radios | 30,000 (1998 est.) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran | 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 or unspecified 1.6%, none 6.1% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.2 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.13 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.051 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.751 male(s)/female total population: 1.015 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995 domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite international: satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fully automatic network international: country code - 1-767; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber Optic System (ECFS) submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad; microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radiotelephone links to Saint Lucia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,617 (end 1999) | 21,000 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12,676 (end 1999) | 41,800 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 publicly-owned station, some local low-power stations, and three AFRTS (US Air Force) stations (1997) | 1 (2004) |
Terrain | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast | rugged mountains of volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 2.44 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.12 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7% (1999 est.) | 23% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |