]! ^! 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 made the island a colony 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. 
]" ^" Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago ^# 15 25 N, 61 20 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 754 sq km `" 754 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 148 km ^) `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `I 200 nm ^* tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall ^+ rugged mountains of volcanic origin ^, `% Caribbean Sea 0 m `& Morne Diablatins 1,447 m ^- timber, hydropower, arable land ^. `' 6.67% `( 20% `) 73.33% (2001) ^/ NA sq km ^0 flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months ^1 NA _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling `L none of the selected agreements ^2 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 
]# ^3 69,029 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 26.7% (male 9,328/female 9,125) `+ 65.4% (male 23,225/female 21,900) `, 7.9% (male 2,193/female 3,258) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 29.59 years `- 29.26 years `. 29.95 years (2005 est.) ^6 -0.27% (2005 est.) ^7 15.73 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 6.81 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -11.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.02 male(s)/female `+ 1.06 male(s)/female `, 0.67 male(s)/female `1 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 14.15 deaths/1,000 live births `- 18.68 deaths/1,000 live births `. 9.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 74.65 years `- 71.73 years `. 77.71 years (2005 est.) ^= 1.96 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Dominican(s) `3 Dominican ^B black, mixed black and European, European, Syrian, Carib Amerindian ^C Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), other 6%, none 2% ^D English (official), French patois ^E `M age 15 and over has ever attended school `1 94% `- 94% `. 94% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Commonwealth of Dominica `5 Dominica ^H parliamentary democracy; republic within the Commonwealth ^I Roseau ^J 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter ^K 3 November 1978 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 3 November (1978) ^M 3 November 1978 ^N based on English common law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Nicholas J. O. LIVERPOOL (since October 2003) `7 Prime Minister Roosevelt SKERRIT (since 8 January 2004); note - assumed post after death of Prime Minister Pierre CHARLES `8 Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister `9 president elected by the House of Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 1 October 2003 (next to be held October 2008); prime minister appointed by the president `: Nicholas LIVERPOOL elected president; percent of legislative vote - NA% ^Q unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats, 9 appointed senators, 21 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms) `9 last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by 5 August 2010); note - tradition dictates that the election will be held within five years of the last election, but technically it is five years from the first seating of parliament (12 May 2005) plus a 90-day grace period `: percent of vote by party - DLP 52.08%, UWP 43.6%, DFP 3.15%; seats by party - DLP 12, UWP 8, independent 1 ^R Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the Court of Appeal and the High Court (located in Saint Lucia; one of the six judges must reside in Dominica and preside over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction) ^S Dominica Freedom Party or DFP [Charles SAVARIN]; Dominica Labor Party or DLP [Roosevelt SKERRIT]; United Workers Party or UWP [Edison JAMES] ^T Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party) ^U ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Swinburne LESTRADE `O 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 `P [1] (202) 364-6781 `Q [1] (202) 364-6791 `R New York ^W the US does not have an embassy in Dominica; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Dominica ^X 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) 
]% ^Y The Dominican economy depends on agriculture, primarily bananas, and remains highly vulnerable to climatic conditions and international economic developments. Production of bananas dropped precipitously in 2003, a major reason for the 1% decline in GDP. Tourism increased in 2003 as the government sought to promote Dominica as an "ecotourism" destination. Development of the tourism industry remains difficult, however, because of the rugged coastline, lack of beaches, and the absence of an international airport. The government began a comprehensive restructuring of the economy in 2003 - including elimination of price controls, privatization of the state banana company, and tax increases - to address Dominica's economic crisis and to meet IMF targets. In order to diversify the island's production base the government is attempting to develop an offshore financial sector and is planning to construct an oil refinery on the eastern part of the island. ^Z $384 million (2003 est.) ^[ -1% (2003 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $5,500 (2003 est.) ^] `; 18% `< 24% `= 58% (2002 est.) ^^ 25,000 (1999 est.) ^_ agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28% ^` 23% (2000 est.) ^a 30% (2002 est.) _! `> NA `? NA _" 1% (2001 est.) _# `@ $73.9 million `A $84.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2001) _$ bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited _% soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes _& -10% (1997 est.) _' 68.41 million kWh (2002) _( 63.62 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 600 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $39 million f.o.b. (2003 est.) _0 bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges _1 UK 21.6%, Jamaica 14.8%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.8%, Guyana 7.5%, Japan 5.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.8%, US 4.3%, Saint Lucia 4% (2004) _2 $98.2 million f.o.b. (2003 est.) _3 manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals _4 China 20.4%, US 16.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 12.3%, UK 6.9%, South Korea 4.6%, Japan 4.3% (2004) _5 $161.5 million (2001) _6 $22.8 million (2003 est.) _7 East Caribbean dollar (XCD) _8 East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000) _9 1 July - 30 June 
]& _: 23,700 (2002) _; 9,400 (2002) _< `B NA `C fully automatic network `D country code - 1-767; microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radiotelephone links to Saint Lucia _= AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004) _> 1 (2004) _? .dm _@ 681 (2003) _A 12,500 (2002) 
]' _B `! 780 km `E 393 km `F 387 km (1999 est.) _C Portsmouth, Roseau _K `! 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 13,771 GRT/19,736 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 19, chemical tanker 2, container 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 `S 21 (Estonia 6, Greece 3, Pakistan 1, Russia 2, Singapore 6, Syria 2, UAE 1) (2005) _D 2 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `_ 2 (2004 est.) 
]( _F no regular military forces; Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (includes Coast Guard) _N NA _O NA 
]) _H joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea _I transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; minor cannabis producer; anti-money-laundering enforcement is weak, making the country particularly vulnerable to money laundering 