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Country Guide > Caribbean > Dominica (Commonwealth of) | |
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General Information Area 751 sq km (290 sq miles). Population 71,727 (2001). Population Density 95.5 per sq km. Capital Roseau. Population: 26,000 (UN estimate 2001). Geography Dominica is a large and mountainous island, geographically part of the Leeward Islands, though historically it has been grouped with the Windward Islands for administrative purposes, with volcanic peaks, mountain streams and rivers, dense forests, quiet lakes, waterfalls, geysers and boiling volcanic pools. There are beaches of both black (volcanic) and golden sands, while orchids and untamed subtropical vegetation grow in the valleys. Guadeloupe lies to the north and Martinique to the south. Government Republic. Gained independence from the UK in 1978. Head of State: Nicholas Liverpool since 2003. Head of Government: Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit since 2004. Language The official language is English, but Creole French, the national language, is spoken by most of the population. Religion Almost entirely Christian, with Roman Catholic majority. Time GMT - 4. Electricity 220/240 volts AC, 50Hz. Three-pin European-style plugs are usual. Communications Telephone IDD available. Country code: 1 767. Outgoing international code: 1 for USA, Canada and most Caribbean islands; 011 for other countries. Mobile telephone TDMA network. Network providers include Cable & Wireless Dominica (website: www.cwdom.dm) and Wireless Ventures (Dominica) Ltd. Unregistered roaming is available – visitors with TDMA handsets can make calls without registering, provided they can give a credit card number. Handsets can be hired. Fax Services are available through the Cable & Wireless Company. Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0700-2000. Internet Access is available at the offices of Cable & Wireless in Roseau, at an Internet cafe and in some hotels. The main ISPs are Cable & Wireless (CWDom) (website: www.cwdom.dm) and Marpin. Post There are no Poste Restante facilities. Post office hours: Mon 0830-1300 and 1430-1700, Tues-Fri 0830-1300 and 1430-1600. Press Newspapers are in English. These include The Chronicle, The Independent Newspaper, Official Gazette, The Sun and the The Tropical Star, all of which appear weekly. Radio BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online. |