Dominica
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Commonwealth of Dominica
Geography
Area: 754 sq. km. (290 sq. mi.).
Cities: Capital--Roseau (population 14,500).
Terrain: Mountainous volcanic island with rainforest cover.
Climate: Tropical.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Dominican (Dom-i-nee-can).
Population (2003 est.) 70,352.
Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 0%, slightly decreasing.
Ethnic groups: Mainly African descent, some Carib Indians.
Religions: Roman Catholic (80%), Anglican, other Protestant denominations.
Languages: English (official); a French patois is widely spoken.
Education: Years compulsory--to age 14. Literacy--94%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2003)--18.9/1,000. Life expectancy
(2004)--male 74, female 78.
Work force (2004 est.): 47,000 Agriculture--37%; services--30%;
commerce--20%.
Unemployment--exceeds 26% (Eastern Caribbean Central Bank estimate).
Government
Type: Parliamentary democracy; republic within commonwealth.
Independence: November 3, 1978.
Constitution: November 1978.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister
(head of government), cabinet. Legislative--unicameral House of
Assembly. Judicial--magistrate and jury courts, Eastern Caribbean
Supreme Court (High Court and Court of Appeals), Privy Council.
Subdivisions: 10 parishes.
Political parties: Dominica Labor Party, Dominica Freedom Party
(ruling coalition partners), and United Workers Party (opposition).
Suffrage: Universal adult.
Economy
GDP (2004): $282.2 million.
GDP growth rate (2004): 3.5%.
Per capita GDP (2004): $4010.
Natural resources: timber, water (hydropower), copper.
Agriculture (18% of GDP): Products--bananas, citrus, coconuts,
cocoa, herbal oils and extracts.
Manufacturing (7% of GDP): Types--agricultural processing, soap
and other coconut-based products, apparel.
Trade: Exports--$41.2 million (2004): bananas, citrus fruits,
soap, and cocoa. Major markets--CARICOM 61%, U.K. 18%, U.S. 3%.
Imports--$145 million (2004): machinery and equipment, foodstuffs,
manufactured articles, cement. Major suppliers--U.S. 35%, CARICOM
29%, E.U. 13%, Japan 5%.
PEOPLE
Almost all Dominicans are descendants of African slaves brought
in by colonial planters in the 18th century. Dominica is the only
island in the eastern Caribbean to retain some of its pre-Columbian
population--the Carib Indians--about 3,000 of whom live on the
island's east coast. The population growth rate is very low, due
primarily to emigration to more prosperous Caribbean Islands,
the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
English is the official language; however, because
of historic French domination, the most widely spoken dialect
is a French patois. About 80% of the population is Catholic. In
recent years, a number of Protestant churches have been established.
HISTORY
The island's indigenous Arawak people were expelled or exterminated
by Caribs in the 14th century. Columbus landed there in November
1493. Spanish ships frequently landed on Dominica during the 16th
century, but fierce resistance by the Caribs discouraged Spain's
efforts at settlement.
In 1635, France claimed Dominica. Shortly thereafter,
French missionaries became the first European inhabitants of the
island. Carib incursions continued, though, and in 1660, the French
and British agreed that both Dominica and St. Vincent should be
abandoned. Dominica was officially neutral for the next century,
but the attraction of its resources remained; rival expeditions
of British and French foresters were harvesting timber by the
start of the 18th century.
Largely due to Dominica's position between Martinique
and Guadeloupe, France eventually became predominant, and a French
settlement was established and grew. As part of the 1763 Treaty
of Paris that ended the Seven Years' War, the island became a
British possession. In 1778, during the American Revolutionary
War, the French mounted a successful invasion with the active
cooperation of the population, which was largely French. The 1783
Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, returned the island to Britain.
French invasions in 1795 and 1805 ended in failure.
In 1763, the British established a legislative assembly,
representing only the white population. In 1831, reflecting a
liberalization of official British racial attitudes, the Brown
Privilege Bill conferred political and social rights on free nonwhites.
Three Blacks were elected to the legislative assembly the following
year. Following the abolition of slavery, in 1838 Dominica became
the first and only British Caribbean colony to have a Black-controlled
legislature in the 19th century. Most Black legislators were smallholders
or merchants who held economic and social views diametrically
opposed to the interests of the small, wealthy English planter
class. Reacting to a perceived threat, the planters lobbied for
more direct British rule.
In 1865, after much agitation and tension, the colonial
office replaced the elective assembly with one comprised of one-half
elected members and one-half appointed. Planters allied with colonial
administrators outmaneuvered the elected legislators on numerous
occasions. In 1871, Dominica became part of the Leeward Island
Federation. The power of the Black population progressively eroded.
Crown Colony government was re-established in 1896. All political
rights for the vast majority of the population were effectively
curtailed. Development aid, offered as compensation for disenfranchisement,
proved to have a negligible effect.
Following World War I, an upsurge of political consciousness
throughout the Caribbean led to the formation of the Representative
Government Association. Marshaling public frustration with the
lack of a voice in the governing of Dominica, this group won one-third
of the popularly elected seats of the legislative assembly in
1924 and one-half in 1936. Shortly thereafter, Dominica was transferred
from the Leeward Island Administration and was governed as part
of the Windwards until 1958, when it joined the short-lived West
Indies Federation.
After the federation dissolved, Dominica became
an associated state of the United Kingdom in 1967 and formally
took responsibility for its internal affairs. On November 3, 1978,
the Commonwealth of Dominica was granted independence by the United
Kingdom.
Independence did little to solve problems stemming
from centuries of economic underdevelopment, and in mid-1979,
political discontent led to the formation of an interim government.
It was replaced after the 1980 elections by a government led by
the Dominica Freedom Party under Prime Minister Eugenia Charles,
the Caribbean's first female prime minister. Chronic economic
problems were compounded by the severe impact of hurricanes in
1979 and in 1980. By the end of the 1980s, the economy had made
a healthy recovery, which weakened in the 1990s due to a decrease
in banana prices.
In January 2000 elections, the Edison James United
Workers Party (UWP) was defeated by the Dominican Labor Party
(DLP), led by Roosevelt P. "Rosie" Douglas. Douglas
died after only a few months in office and was replaced by Pierre
Charles, who died in office in January 2004. Roosevelt Skerrit,
also of the DLP, replaced Charles as Prime Minister. Under Prime
Minister Skerrit’s leadership, the DLP won elections in
May 2005 that gave the party 12 seats in the 21-member Parliament
to the UWP’s 8 seats. An independent candidate affiliated
with the DLP won a seat as well.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Dominica has a Westminster-style parliamentary government, and
there are three political parties--the Dominica Labor Party (the
majority party), the Dominica United Workers Party, and the Dominica
Freedom Party. A president and prime minister make up the executive
branch. Nominated by the prime minister in consultation with the
leader of the opposition party, the president is elected for a
5-year term by the parliament. The president appoints as prime
minister the leader of the majority party in the parliament and
also appoints, on the prime minister's recommendation, members
of the parliament from the ruling party as cabinet ministers.
The prime minister and cabinet are responsible to the parliament
and can be removed on a no-confidence vote.
The unicameral parliament, called the House of Assembly,
is composed of 21 regional representatives and nine senators.
The regional representatives are elected by universal suffrage
and, in turn, decide whether senators are to be elected or appointed.
If appointed, five are chosen by the president with the advice
of the prime minister and four with the advice of the opposition
leader. If elected, it is by vote of the regional representatives.
Elections for representatives and senators must be held at least
every 5 years, although the prime minister can call elections
any time. The last election was held in January 2000.
Dominica's legal system is based on English common
law. There are three magistrate's courts, with appeals made to
the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and, ultimately, to the
Privy Council in London.
Councils elected by universal suffrage govern most
towns. Supported largely by property taxation, the councils are
responsible for the regulation of markets and sanitation and the
maintenance of secondary roads and other municipal amenities.
The island is also divided into 10 parishes, whose governance
is unrelated to the town governments.
Principal Government Officials
President--Dr. Nicholas Liverpool
Prime Minister--Roosevelt Skerrit
Minister for Foreign Affairs--Charles Savarin
Ambassador to the United States and Organization of American States--Judith
Anne Rolle (Third Secretary)
Ambassador to the United Nations--Crispin Gregoire
Although the Dominican ambassador to the United
States has customarily been resident in Dominica, the country
maintains an embassy in the U.S. at 3216 New Mexico Ave., NW,
Washington, DC 20016 (tel. 202-364-6781). Dominica also has a
consulate general co-located with its UN mission in New York at
Suite 900, 820 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017 (tel: 212-599-8478).
ECONOMY
Dominica's economy grew by 3.5% in 2004 after a decade of poor
performance. The country nearly had a financial crisis in 2003
and 2004, but it has managed to stabilize its debt and fiscal
deficits using some difficult reform measures, earning the praise
of international financial institutions (IFIs).
Bananas and other agriculture dominate Dominica's
economy, and nearly one-third of the labor force works in agriculture.
This sector, however, is highly vulnerable to weather conditions
and to external events affecting commodity prices. In response
to decreasing European Union (EU) banana trade preferences, the
government has diversified the agricultural sector, with the export
of small quantities of citrus fruits and vegetables and the introduction
of coffee, patchouli, aloe vera, cut flowers, and exotic fruits
such as mangoes, guavas, and papayas. Dominica also has had some
success in increasing its manufactured exports, primarily soap.
Dominica also recently entered the offshore financial services
market.
Dominica is mostly volcanic and has few beaches;
therefore, tourism has developed more slowly than on neighboring
islands. Nevertheless, Dominica's high, rugged mountains, rainforests,
freshwater lakes, hot springs, waterfalls, and diving spots make
it an attractive eco-tourism destination. Cruise ship stopovers
have increased following the development of modern docking and
waterfront facilities in the capital.
Dominica's currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar
(EC$), a regional currency shared among members of the Eastern
Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). The Eastern Caribbean Central
Bank (ECCB) issues the EC$, manages monetary policy, and regulates
and supervises commercial banking activities in its member countries.
The ECCB's primary monetary policy goal is to maintain the long-standing
currency peg of US$1 = EC$2.7.
Dominica is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean
Basin Initiative that grants duty-free entry into the U.S. for
many goods. In 2004, exports totaled $41 million, with 3% going
to the U.S. Dominica's imports totaled $145 million, 35% from
the U.S. Dominica also belongs to the predominantly English-speaking
Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), the CARICOM Single
Market and Economy (CSME), and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean
States (OECS).
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Like its Eastern Caribbean neighbors, the main priority of Dominica's
foreign relations is economic development. The country maintains
missions in Washington, New York, London, and Brussels and is
represented jointly with other Organization of Eastern Caribbean
States (OECS) members in Canada. Dominica also is a member of
the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the British Commonwealth.
It became a member of the United Nations and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1978 and of the World Bank and Organization
of American States (OAS) in 1979.
As a member of CARICOM, in July 1994 Dominica strongly
backed efforts by the United States to implement UN Security Council
Resolution 940, designed to facilitate the departure of Haiti's
de facto authorities from power. The country agreed to contribute
personnel to the multinational force, which restored the democratically
elected Government of Haiti in October 1994.
U.S.-DOMINICAN RELATIONS
The United States and Dominica have friendly bilateral relations.
The United States supports the Dominican Government's efforts
to expand its economic base and to provide a higher standard of
living for its citizens. U.S. assistance is primarily channeled
through multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, the Caribbean
Development Bank (CDB), and through the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) satellite programs office in Bridgetown, Barbados.
The Peace Corps also provides technical assistance, and has just
over 30 volunteers in Dominica, working primarily in education,
youth development, and health.
In addition, the United States and Dominica work
together in the battle against illegal drugs. Dominica cooperates
with U.S. agencies and participates in counternarcotics programs
in an effort to curb narco-trafficking and marijuana cultivation.
In 1995, the Dominican Government signed a maritime law enforcement
agreement with the U.S. to strengthen counternarcotics coordination,
and in 1996, the government signed mutual legal assistance and
extradition treaties to enhance joint efforts in combating international
crime.
Dominica had around 450,000 visitors in 2004, over
350,000 of whom were cruise ship passengers. It is estimated that
4,500 Americans reside in the country.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Mary E. Kramer
Deputy Chief of Mission--Mary Ellen T. Gilroy
Political/Economic Counselor--Sheila Peters
Consul General--Clyde Howard Jr.
Regional Labor Attaché--Alfred Anzaldua
Economic-Commercial Affairs--John Ashworth
Public Affairs Officer--Julie O'Reagan
Peace Corps Director--Terry Armstrong
The United States maintains no official presence
in Dominica. The Ambassador and Embassy officers are resident
in Barbados and frequently travel to Dominica.
The U.S. Embassy in Barbados is located in the Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown (tel:
246-436-4950; fax: 246-429-5246).
Other Contact Information
U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Trade Information Center
14th and Constitution, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Tel: 1-800-USA-TRADE
Caribbean/Latin America Action
1818 N Street, NW, Suite 310
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-466-7464
Fax: 202-822-0075
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides
Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and Public Announcements.
Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include
information on entry requirements, currency regulations, health
conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political
disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country.
Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends
that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Public Announcements
are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about
terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas
that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers.
Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau
of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system:
202-647-3000. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings
also are available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page:
http://travel.state.gov. Consular Affairs Tips for Travelers publication
series, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning
a safe trip abroad, are on the Internet and hard copies can be
purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling
abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services
at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays,
call 202-647-4000.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC)
is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact
center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT
(1-877-487-2778). Customer service representatives and operators
for TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.,
Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information
with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta,
Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site
at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the most recent health
advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and
advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries.
A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel
(HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.
Information on travel conditions, visa requirements,
currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items
of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure
from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this
country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing
in this publication).
U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling
in dangerous areas are encouraged to register their travel via
the State Department’s travel registration web site at https://travelregistration.state.gov
or at the Consular section of the U.S. embassy upon arrival in
a country by filling out a short form and sending in a copy of
their passports. This may help family members contact you in case
of an emergency.
Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov,
the Department of State web site provides timely, global access
to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background
Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key
officers of Foreign Service posts and more.
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related
assistance and market information offered by the federal government
and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the
export process, and more.
STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department
of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international
trade information from the Federal government. The site includes
current and historical trade-related releases, international market
research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides
access to the National Trade Data Bank.
