Dominica

 

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs                                          
June 2007                                                                     
                                                                       
  Background Note: Dominica                                                   
                                                                       
  Flag of Dominica is 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).                                        
                                                                       
  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 (2005): 72,000.                                                  
  Annual growth rate (2005): 0.8%.                                            
  Ethnic groups: Mainly of African descent, mixed Black and European, Syrian  
  and some Carib Amerindians.                                                 
  Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant (Methodist, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day  
  Adventist, and Baptist), Islam, Baha'I, Rastafarianism, Anglican, Jehovah's 
  Witnesses, Nazarene, Church of Christ, and Brethren Christian Churches.     
  Languages: English (official); a French patois is widely spoken.            
  Education (2005): Adult literacy--94%.                                      
  Health (2006): Infant mortality rate--13/1,000. Life expectancy--men 72     
  years; women 77.9 years.                                                    
  Work force (2005): 24,370.                                                  
  Unemployment (2005): 13.1%.                                                 
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Parliamentary democracy; republic within the 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 Labour Party (incumbent), United Workers Party, 
  and Dominica Freedom Party.                                                 
  Suffrage: Universal at 18.                                                  
                                                                       
  Economy                                                                     
  GDP (2005): $283.6 million.                                                 
  GDP growth rate (2006): 4.0%.                                               
  Per capita GDP (2005): $3,790.                                              
  Inflation (2005): 4.6%.                                                     
  Natural resources: timber, water (hydropower), copper.                      
  Agriculture (10% of GDP in 2005): Products--bananas, citrus, coconuts, cocoa,
  herbal oils and extracts.                                                   
  Manufacturing (3% of GDP in 2005): Types--agricultural processing, soap and 
  other coconut-based products, apparel.                                      
  Trade (2005): Exports--$41.0 million (merchandise) and $82.0 million        
  (commercial services). Major markets--European Union (27.8%), Jamaica       
  (12.7%), Antigua and Barbuda (11.3%), Trinidad and Tobago (9.0%), and Saint 
  Lucia (6.8%). Imports--$165 million (merchandise) and $49 million (commercial
  services). Major suppliers--United States (36.6%), Trinidad and Tobago      
  (20.5%), China (19.4%), European Union (13.4%), and Japan (4.6%).           
                                                                       
  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. Nearly 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. 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 recovered, but weakened again in 
  the 1990s due to a decrease in banana prices.                               
                                                                       
  In the January 2000 elections, the Edison James United Workers Party (UWP)  
  was defeated by the Dominican Labour 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 Labour 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 May 2005.                                                       
                                                                       
  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 A. Savarin                            
  Ambassador to the United States and Organization of American States--Chargé 
  Judith-Anne Rolle                                                           
  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 United States 
  at 3216 New Mexico Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 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 2005 and 4.0% in 2006, following a decade
  of poor performance. The country nearly had a financial crisis in 2003 and  
  2004. Growth in 2006 was attributed to gains in tourism, construction,      
  offshore and other services, and some sub-sectors of the banana industry. The
  International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently praised the Government of Dominica
  for its successful macroeconomic reforms. The IMF also pointed out remaining
  challenges, including further reductions in public debt, increased financial
  sector regulation, and market diversification.                              
                                                                       
  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 by      
  introducing coffee, patchouli, aloe vera, cut flowers, and exotic fruits such
  as mangoes, guavas, and papayas. Dominica has had some success in increasing
  its manufactured exports, primarily soap.                                   
                                                                       
  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 has kept the EC$ pegged at EC$2.7=U.S. $1.       
                                                                       
  Dominica is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative that grants
  duty-free entry into the United States for many goods. 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.                              
                                                                       
  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 and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), as well as through the 
  U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) office in Bridgetown,     
  Barbados. The Peace Corps also provides technical assistance to Dominica, and
  has volunteers on the island 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 United States
  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 252,000 visitors in 2005, which represented a contraction
  in both cruise line and stay-over arrivals over the record performance set in
  2004. It is estimated that 4,500 Americans reside in the country.           
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Embassy Officials                                            
  Ambassador--Mary M. Ourisman                                                
  Deputy Chief of Mission--Mary Ellen T. Gilroy                               
  Political/Economic Counselor--Martina Strong (Acting)                       
  Consul General--Clyde Howard Jr.                                            
  Regional Labor Attaché--Martina Strong                                      
  Economic-Commercial Affairs--Anthony Eterno                                 
  Public Affairs Officer--Julie O'Reagan                                      
  Peace Corps Director--Kate Raftery                                          
                                                                       
  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 Wildey Business Park, Wildey,
  St. Michael (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                                                           
                                                                       
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  For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad  
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  publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government       
  Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.                 
                                                                       
  Further Electronic Information                                              
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