Dominica

• tropical;
• moderated by northeast trade winds;
• heavy rainfall

agricultural land:

34.7%;

• arable land 8%;
• permanent crops 24%;
• permanent pasture 2.7%

forest:

59.2%

other:

6.1% (2011 est.)

total:

0.02 cu km/yr

per capita:

244.1 cu m/yr (2004)

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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

• 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

noun:

Dominican(s)

adjective:

Dominican

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.15 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.79 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

urban:

95.7% of population

urban:

4.3% of population (2015 est.)

conventional long form:

Commonwealth of Dominica

conventional short form:

Dominica

etymology:

island named by Christopher COLUMBUS after the day of the week on which he spotted it, Sunday ("Domingo" in Latin), 3 November 1493

name:

Roseau

geographic coordinates:

15 18 N, 61 24 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• previous 1967 (preindependence);
• latest presented 25 July 1978, entered into force 3 November 1978;
• amended several times, last in 1984 (2015)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Charles A. SAVARIN (since 2 October 2013)

head of government:

Prime Minister Roosevelt SKERRIT (since 8 January 2004)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• president nominated by the prime minister and leader of the opposition party and elected by the House of Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 30 September 2013 (next to be held in October 2018);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Charles A. SAVARIN (DLP) elected president by a vote of 19-0 on 30 September 2013

description:

unicameral House of Assembly (32 seats; 21 representatives directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 9 senators appointed by the Assembly, and 2 ex-officio members - the House Speaker and the Clerk of the House; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

• last held on 8 December 2014 (next to be held in 2019);
• note - tradition dictates that the election is held within five years of the last election, but technically it is five years from the first seating of parliament plus a 90-day grace period

election results:

percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DLP 15, UWP 6

highest court(s):

• The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the itinerant superior court of record for the 9-member Organization of Eastern Caribbean States to include Dominica;
• the ECSC - based on St. Lucia - is headed by the chief justice and is comprised of the Court of Appeal with 3 justices and the High Court with 16 judges;
• sittings of the Court of Appeal and High Court rotate among the 9 member states;
• 2 High Court judges reside in Dominica;
• note - Dominica is a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice

judge selection and term of office:

• ECSC chief justice appointed by Her Majesty, Queen ELIZABETH II;
• other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission;
• Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65;
• High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62

subordinate courts:

Court of Summary Jurisdiction; magistrates' courts

• Dominica Freedom Party or DFP [Judith PESTAINA]
• Dominica Labor Party or DLP [Roosevelt SKERRIT]
• Dominica United Workers Party or UWP [Hector JOHN]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Hubert J. CHARLES (since 16 July 2010)

chancery:

3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016

telephone:

[1] (202) 364-6781

FAX:

[1] (202) 364-6791

consulate(s) general:

New York

• 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, unique to Dominica, encircled by 10 green, five-pointed stars edged in yellow;
• the 10 stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes);
• green symbolizes the island's lush vegetation;
• the triple-colored cross represents the Christian Trinity;
• the yellow color denotes sunshine, the main agricultural products (citrus and bananas), and the native Carib Indians;
• black is for the rich soil and the African heritage of most citizens;
• white signifies rivers, waterfalls, and the purity of aspirations;
• the red disc stands for social justice

name:

"Isle of Beauty"

lyrics/music:

Wilfred Oscar Morgan POND/Lemuel McPherson CHRISTIAN

note: adopted 1967

agriculture:

40%

industry:

32%

services:

28% (2002 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

fully automatic network

domestic:

• fixed-line connections continued to decline slowly with the two active operators providing about 20 fixed-line connections per 100 persons;
• subscribership among the three mobile-cellular providers continued to increase with teledensity reaching 150 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 1-767;
• landing points for the East Caribbean Fiber Optic System (ECFS) and the Global Caribbean Network (GCN) submarine cables providing connectivity to other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad;
• microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone links to Martinique and Guadeloupe;
• VHF and UHF radiotelephone links to Saint Lucia (2010)

• no terrestrial TV service available;
• subscription cable TV provider offers some locally produced programming plus channels from the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean;
• state-operated radio broadcasts on 6 stations;
• privately owned radio broadcasts on about 15 stations (2007)

total:

1,512 km

paved:

762 km

unpaved:

750 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 178

males age 16-49:

16,035

females age 16-49:

15,499 (2010 est.)

male:

675

female:

636 (2010 est.)

Dominica is the only Caribbean state to challenge Venezuela's sovereignty claim over Aves Island and joins the other island nations in challenging whether the feature sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf claims over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea