Dominica

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.

Main Airports

Canefield (DCF), Melville Hall (DOM)

U.S. Embassy

The United States maintains no official presence in Dominica. The Embassy in Barbados is in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown.
tel: 246-436-4950

Statistics

GDP: purchasing power parity:

$384 million (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

-1% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity:

5,500 (2003 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

1% (2001 est.)

Labor force:

25,000 (1999 est.)

Exports:

$74 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - partners:

UK 26.1%, Jamaica 9.7%, South Korea 8.6%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.5%, Guyana 7.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.6% (2005)

Imports:

$234 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - partners:

US 25%, China 20.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 12.2%, South Korea 7%, Japan 4.6%, UK 4.3% (2005)

Population:

68,910 (July 2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

-0.08% (2006 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line:

30% (2002 est.)

Major Industries:

soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes

Employing Workers: 50*

Registering Property: 78*

Enforcing Contracts: 159*

Closing a Business: 151*

*2006 World Bank rank out of 175 countries

Starting a Business

The table below shows the number of steps and the amount of time needed to start a business, on average

Indicator	Dominica	Region
Procedures (number)	5	10.2
Time (days)	19	73.3

• Agriculture
• Apparel
• Arts & Crafts
• Automobile
• Bags, Cases & Boxes
• Chemicals
• Computer Hardware & Software
• Construction & Real Estate
• Consumer Electronics
• Electrical & Electronics
• Energy & Environment
• Food & Beverage
• Furniture & Furnishing
• Health & Medicine
• Home Supplies
• Industrial Supplies
• Lights & Lighting
• Machinery
• Mineral & Materials
• Office Supplies
• Security & Protection
• Service
• Sports & Entertainment
• Telecommunications
• Textile
• Toys
• Transportation