Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 provided courtesy of The Libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis Match 69 DB Rec# - 55,816 Dataset-WOFACT Source :CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Source key :CI Program :WORLD FACTBOOK Program key :CI WOFACT Update sched. :Annually ID number :CI WOFACT 068 Title :DOMINICA Data type :TEXT End year :1994 Date of record:02/16/1994 Keywords 3 : | DOMINICA Text : DOMINICA GEOGRAPHY Location: in the eastern Caribbean, about halfway between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago Map references: Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: land area: 750 km2 comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 148 km contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm International disputes: none Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall Terrain: rugged mountains of volcanic origin Natural resources: timber Land use: arable land: 9% permanent crops: 13% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 41% other: 34% Irrigated land: NA km2 Environment: flash floods a constant hazard; occasional hurricanes PEOPLE Population: 86,547 (July 1993 est.) Population growth rate: 1.31% (1993 est.) Birth rate: 20.82 births/1,000 population (1993 est.) Death rate: 5.06 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.) Net migration rate: -2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.) Infant mortality rate: 10.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.72 years male: 73.89 years Total fertility rate: 2.03 children born/woman (1993 est.) Nationality: noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican Ethnic divisions: black, Carib Indians Religions: Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), none 2%, unknown 1%, other 5% Languages: English (official), French patois Literacy: age 15 and over having ever attended school (1970) total population: 94% male: 94% female: 94% Labor force: 25,000 by occupation: agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28% (1984) GOVERNMENT Names: conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica conventional short form: Dominica Digraph: DO Type: parliamentary democracy Capital: Roseau Administrative divisions: 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter Independence: 3 November 1978 (from UK) Constitution: 3 November 1978 Legal system: based on English common law National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1978) Political parties and leaders: Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), (Mary) Eugenia CHARLES; Dominica Labor Party (DLP), Rosie DOUGLAS; United Workers Party (UWP), Edison JAMES Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Elections: House of Assembly: last held 28 May 1990 (next to be held May 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (30 total; 9 appointed senators and 21 elected representatives) DFP 11, UWP 6, DLP 4 President: last held 20 December 1988 (next to be held December 1993); results - President Sir Clarence Augustus SEIGNORET was reelected by the House of Assembly Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Leaders: Chief of State: President Sir Clarence Augustus SEIGNORET (since 19 December 1983) Head of Government: Prime Minister (Mary) Eugenia CHARLES (since 21 July 1980, elected for a third term 28 May 1990) Member of: ACCT, ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WMO Diplomatic representation in US: there is no chancery in the US US diplomatic representation: no official presence since the Ambassador resides in Bridgetown (Barbados), but travels frequently to Dominica Flag: green with a centered cross of three equal bands - the vertical part is yellow (hoist side), black, and white - 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) ECONOMY Overview: The economy is dependent on agriculture and thus is highly vulnerable to climatic conditions. Agriculture accounts for about 30% of GDP and employs 40% of the labor force. Principal products include bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, and coconuts. In 1991, GDP grew by 2.1%. The tourist industry remains undeveloped because of a rugged coastline and the lack of an international airport. National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $174 million (1991 est.) National product real growth rate: 2.1% (1991 est.) National product per capita: $2,100 (1991 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.5% (1991) Budget: revenues $70 million; expenditures $84 million, including capital expenditures of $26 million (FY91 est.) Exports: $66.0 million (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges partners: UK 50%, CARICOM countries, US, Italy Imports: $110.0 million (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals partners: US 27%, CARICOM, UK, Canada External debt: $87 million (1991) Industrial production: growth rate 4.5% in manufacturing (1988 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP Electricity: 7,000 kW capacity; 16 million kWh produced, 185 kWh per capita (1992) Industries: soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes Agriculture: accounts for 26% of GDP; principal crops - bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts; bananas provide the bulk of export earnings; forestry and fisheries potential not exploited Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $120 million Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70 (fixed rate since 1976) Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June COMMUNICATIONS Highways: 750 km total; 370 km paved, 380 km gravel and earth Ports: Roseau, Portsmouth Airports: total: 2 usable: 2 with permanent-surface runways: 2 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 0 Telecommunications: 4,600 telephones in fully automatic network; VHF and UHF link to Saint Lucia; new SHF links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; broadcast stations - 3 AM, 2 FM, 1 cable TV Defense forces Branches: Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force Manpower availability: NA Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 produced by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK CD-ROM, July, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/7/v.1-2 / R. 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