Geography
Dominica is a boundless island and nation in the Caribbean Sea, located north of the Windward Islands (although it is sometimes considered the southernmost of the Leeward Islands).
The area of the country is 750 km² ((289.5 square miles). Its capital is Roseau.
Dominica is home to the world’s second-largest boiling lake, and is largely covered by rainforest. It has many waterfalls, springs and rivers. The Calibishie area in the northeast of the state has sandy beaches. Certain plants and animals that were thought to be extinct on the adjacent islands can still be found in the forests of Dominica. Its volcanic nature has attracted divers to the island. It also has several protected areas, including the Cabrits National Park, as well as 365 rivers.
The Morne Trois Pitons National Park is a tropical forest that mixes with particularly volcanic landscapes. It was registered as a World Heritage Site on April 4, 1995, a distinction it shares with four islands in the Caribbean. Visitors can find large tropical forests, including one that is on the UNESCO list as a World Heritage Site, hundreds of rivers, coastlines and coral reefs.
There are two major population centers: Roseau and Portsmouth. The Dominican national bird is the Sisserou parrot and it is also indigenous to mountain forests.
Dominica has the largest desert of the Caribbean islands. In the beginning, it was protected by steep mountains which led European forces to build ports and agricultural settlements on the other islands. Today, the citizens of this island have tried to safeguard its original beauty, by discouraging the type of high-impact tourism that has attacked nature in most of the Caribbean.
The Caribbean Sea offshore the island of Dominica is home to numerous cetaceans. The most valuable are a group of sperm whales that exist in this area throughout the year. Other cetaceans that are more frequently seen in the area include dolphins, such as spotted and bottlenose dolphins. Less common animals include killer whales, false killer whales, pygmy sperm whales, pygmy sperm whales, Risso’s dolphins, common dolphin, Atlantic spotted dolphin, humpback whales, and Bryde’s whales. All this makes this island a place of great interest for tourists who are in charge of whale watching.
Dominica is especially sensitive to hurricanes as the island is in what is known as the hurricane zone. In 1979, Dominica was hit hard by Category 5 Hurricane David, putting the island in imminent danger. The 17 of August of 2007, Hurricane Dean, on condition 1 this time hit the island.
Geographic Coordinates: 15 ° 25′N 61 ° 20′W / 15.417, -61.333
Sea coast: 148 km
Economy
On tourism, agriculture, and especially the banana industry, Dominica’s economy largely depends. 40% of the workers correspond to the agricultural sector and are main traders (bananas, soap, baby oil, vegetables, grapefruit and oranges) and mainly farmers. The country preserves some industries (soap, coconut oil, tourism, shopping, furniture, cement blocks and footwear) that constitute 32% of the workforce.
The issuance of postage stamps, mainly intended for collecting, is also a basic source of income for your heritage.
The country’s economy has high poverty (30%), unemployment (23%), and a low per capita rate (US $ 5,400 ). Resources in Dominica have been affected by problems in the banana industry. The entire economy suffers when the weather hurts banana harvests or when the cost of bananas falls. The United States has obstructed the access of bananas to its market, resulting in a drop in the demand for bananas. In effect, the government privatized the banana industry. Likewise, the Dominican regime has tried to differentiate the economy and has raised price controls to try to beat the economy. The government is trying to develop tourism, specifically ecotourism.
For the supply of fuel, it participates in Petrocaribe, receiving for its needs at low cost oil from Venezuela. It has been included in the ALBA.
Society
Demography
Almost all of the residents of Dominica are descendants of African slaves brought in by colonial owners in the 18th century. According to educationvv, Dominica is the only island in the Caribbean to conserve some of its pre-Columbian population, the Caribbean Indians; about 3,000 are found on the east coast of the island. There are also other ethnic groups such as: black, mixed and white.
In 2011 it had a population of 69,017 residents. The rate of population increase is very low, especially due to emigration to more prosperous Caribbean islands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. The English is the national language and universally understood [9] ; however, due to historical French oppression, the Antillean Creole Patwa, a French patois, is widely spoken [9] . 97.1% of the population is literate.
Religion
About 80% of the population is Catholic Christian, although in recent years a significant number of Protestant churches (Methodists, Anglicans) have been established. There is also a tiny Muslim community in Dominica that built the nation’s first mosque, near Ross University. There are also faithful of the Seventh-day Adventist, Pentecostals, Baptists, among others.
Sports
The cricket is a popular sport on the island, and Dominica competes internationally as part of the cricket team of the West Indies. The 24 of October of 2007, the cricket stadium Windsor for 8,000 people was completed with a donation of EC $ 33 million (US $ 17 million, € 12 million) from the government of the People ‘s Republic of China.
Media
Dominica has three main newspapers, The Sun (the sun), The Times (the times) and The Chronicle (the chronicle).
There are two national television stations and a few radio stations, including Q95 FM, the Dominica Broadcasting Corporation, and Kairi FM. Before 2004, there was a telecommunications company called Cable and Wireless. In 2005, Digicel and a British corporation called Orange began doing business on the island. There are a number of cell phone networks operating on the island.
