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Commonwealth of Dominica
Motto: "Après Bondie, C'est La Ter"  (Antillean Creole)
"After God is the Earth"
"Après le Bon Dieu, c'est la Terre"
Anthem: Isle of Beauty, Isle of Splendour
and largest city
15°18′N 61°23′W﻿ / ﻿15.3°N 61.383°W﻿ / 15.3; -61.383
Official languages English
Vernacular languages Dominican Creole French
Ethnic groups (2001) Black 86.8%
Mixed 8.9%
Carib Amerindian 2.9%
White 0.8%
Other 0.7%[1]
Demonym Dominican
Government Parliamentary republic
 -  President Charles Savarin
 -  Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit
 -  from the United Kingdom 3 November 1978 
 -  Total 790 km2 (184th)
290 sq mi
 -  Water (%) 1.6
 -  July 2009 estimate 72,660 (195th)
 -  2011 census 71,293
 -  Density 105/km2 (95th)
272/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate
 -  Total $977 million[2]
 -  Per capita $13,815[2]
GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate
 -  Total $489 million[2]
 -  Per capita $6,909[2]
HDI (2007) Increase 0.724
high · 73rd
Currency East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Time zone Eastern Caribbean (UTC–4)
Drives on the left
Calling code +1-767
Internet TLD .dm
1. Rank based on 2005 UN estimate.

The Commonwealth of Dominica is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. It is between the French-speaking territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The island measures 751 km² (290 mi²) in area. Roseau is its capital; Portsmouth is another main town. Almost seventy thousand people live on the island.

The currency of the island is the East Caribbean dollar.

The island's name comes from the Latin for Sunday, Dies Dominica. It is not to be confused with the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic in the Greater Antilles.

Because of the lush beauty and untouched splendor it boasts (also seen in its rainforests), it is nicknamed the Nature Island of the Caribbean.

The President of Dominica is Nicholas Liverpool; its prime minister is Roosevelt Skerrit.

Dominica was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. In 1763, it became a territory of the United Kingdom from which its independence was received on 3 November 1978.

In August 1979, Hurricane David, the most powerful storm to hit the island, wiped out its entire infrastructure.

In 1980, Dame Eugenia Charles became its prime minister, the first female government leader in the West Indies.

On 21 November 2004, the island was hit by its most destructive earthquake in history; Portsmouth and the northern area were deeply affected.

Dominica is most famously depicted in Jean Rhys' classic prequel to Jane Eyre, Wide Sargasso Sea.

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. Dominica Ethnic groups 2001 Census
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Dominica". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 2012-04-18.

Other websites[change | change source]