Nation at a Glance - Dominica

History

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 colonized the island 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.

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago

Border Countries: 0 km

Total Area: 751 sq km Land: 751 sq km Water: 0 sq km

Climate: Tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall

Terrain: Rugged mountains of volcanic origin

Natural resources: Timber, hydropower, arable land

Land use: Agricultural land: 34.7% arable land 8%; permanent crops 24%; permanent pasture 2.7% Forest: 59.2% Other: 6.1% (2011 est.)

Ethnic groups: Black 86.6%, Mixed 9.1%, Indigenous 2.9%, Other 1.3%, Unspecified 0.2% (2001 est.)

Languages: English (official), French patois

Religions: Roman Catholic 61.4%, Protestant 28.6% (includes Evangelical 6.7%, Seventh Day Adventist 6.1%, Pentecostal 5.6%, Baptist 4.1%, Methodist 3.7%, Church of God 1.2%, Other 1.2%), Rastafarian 1.3%, Jehovah's Witness 1.2%, Other 0.3%, None 6.1%, Unspecified 1.1% (2001 est.)

Population: 73,757 (July 2016 est.)

Administrative divisions: 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter

Economy: The Dominican economy was dependent on agriculture - primarily bananas - in years past, but increasingly has been driven by tourism, as the government seeks to promote Dominica as an "ecotourism" destination. However, Hurricane Maria, which passed through the island in September 2017, destroyed much of the country’s agricultural sector and caused damage to all of the country’s transportation and physical infrastructure. Before Hurricane Maria, the government had attempited to foster an offshore financial industry and planned to sign agreements with the private sector to develop geothermal energy resources. At a time when government finances are fragile, the government’s focus has been to get the country back in shape to service cruise ships. The economy contracted in 2015 and recovered to positive growth in 2016 due to a recovery of agriculture and tourism. Dominica suffers from high debt levels, which increased from 67% of GDP in 2010 to 77% in 2016. Dominica is one of five countries in the East Caribbean that have citizenship by investment programs whereby foreigners can obtain passports for a fee and revenue from this contribute to government budgets.

Agriculture - products: Bananas, citrus, mangos, root crops, coconuts, cocoa

Industries: Soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes