Paracel Islands (2003) | Dominica (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 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: 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.) |
Agriculture - products | - | bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited |
Airports | 1 (2002) | 2 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: NA sq km
land: NA sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 754 sq km
land: 754 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | NA | slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam. China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. The islands are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. | 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 | - | 17.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $72 million
expenditures: $79.9 million, including capital expenditures of $11.5 million (FY97/98) |
Capital | - | Roseau |
Climate | tropical | tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall |
Coastline | 518 km | 148 km |
Constitution | - | 3 November 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Paracel Islands |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
conventional short form: Dominica |
Currency | - | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | - | 7.11 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $150 million (2000) (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | the US does not have an embassy in Dominica; US interests are served by the embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados |
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 |
Disputes - international | occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $24.4 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands for tourism. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 62.31 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | - | 67 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 52% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 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 |
Exchange rates | - | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
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% |
Exports | - | $49 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | - | bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges |
Exports - partners | - | Caricom countries 47%, UK 36%, US 7% (1996 est.) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 July - 30 June |
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) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $262 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 18%
industry: 23% services: 59% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | -3.2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 30 N, 112 00 E | 15 25 N, 61 20 W |
Geography - note | composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent Group | 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: 780 km
paved: 390 km unpaved: 390 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | 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.) |
Imports - commodities | - | manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals |
Imports - partners | - | US 41%, Caricom countries 25%, UK 13%, Netherlands, Canada (1996 est.) |
Independence | - | 3 November 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | -10% (1997 est.) |
Industries | - | soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes |
Infant mortality rate | - | 15.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 1% (2001 est.) |
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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
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) |
Labor force | - | 25,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 4%
permanent crops: 16% other: 80% (1998 est.) |
Languages | - | English (official), French patois |
Legal system | - | based on English common 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 73.86 years
male: 70.98 years female: 76.88 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94% male: 94% female: 94% (1970 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines | 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 | Southeast Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | NA | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | occupied by China | - |
Military branches | - | Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (including Special Service Unit, Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 3 November (1978) |
Nationality | - | noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
Natural hazards | typhoons | flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months |
Natural resources | none | timber, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | - | -18.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party) |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered Chinese garrisons (July 2003 est.) |
70,158 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | -0.81% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island being expanded | Portsmouth, Roseau |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 3, FM 10, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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% |
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.) |
Suffrage | - | 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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 19,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 461 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 0 (however, there is one cable television company) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low and flat | rugged mountains of volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | - | 2.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 23% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |