Dominica

parliamentary republic

name: Roseau geographic coordinates: 15 18 N, 61 24 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name is French for "reed;" the first settlement was named after the river reeds that grew in the area

chief of state: President Sylvanie BURTON (since 2 October 2023) head of government: Prime Minister Roosevelt SKERRIT (since 8 January 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister election/appointment process: president nominated by the prime minister and leader of the opposition party and elected by the House of Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by the president most recent election date: 27 September 2023 election results: 2023: parliament elects Sylvanie BURTON (DLP) with 20 votes for and five against 2018: Charles A. SAVARIN (DLP) reelected president unopposed expected date of next election: October 2028

legislature name: House of Assembly legislative structure: unicameral number of seats: 32 (21 directly elected; 9 appointed) electoral system: proportional representation scope of elections: full renewal term in office: 5 years most recent election date: 12/6/2022 parties elected and seats per party: Dominica Labor Party (DLP) (19); Independents (2) percentage of women in chamber: 40.6% expected date of next election: December 2027

highest court(s): the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the superior court of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States; the ECSC is headquartered on St. Lucia and consists of the Court of Appeal -- headed by the chief justice and 4 judges -- and the High Court with 18 judges; the Court of Appeal travels to member states on a schedule to hear appeals from the High Court and subordinate courts; the Caribbean Court of Justice is the final court of appeal judge selection and term of office: chief justice of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed by the British monarch; other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, an independent body of judicial officials; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62 subordinate courts: Court of Summary Jurisdiction; magistrates' courts

history: previous 1967 (pre-independence); latest presented 25 July 1978, entered into force 3 November 1978 amendment process: proposed by the House of Assembly; passage of amendments to constitutional sections such as fundamental rights and freedoms, the government structure, and constitutional amendment procedures requires approval by three fourths of the Assembly membership in the final reading of the amendment bill, approval by simple majority in a referendum, and assent of the president

ACP, ACS, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CD, CDB, CELAC, Commonwealth of Nations, ECCU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

no regular military forces; Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (CDPF) under the Ministry of National Security and Legal Affairs

Dominica has been a member of the Caribbean Regional Security System (RSS) since its creation in 1982; RSS signatories (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) agreed to prepare contingency plans and assist one another, on request, in national emergencies, prevention of smuggling, search and rescue, immigration control, fishery protection, customs and excise control, maritime policing duties, protection of off-shore installations, pollution control, national and other disasters, and threats to national security (2025)

$1.241 billion (2024 est.) $1.216 billion (2023 est.) $1.173 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$18,700 (2024 est.) $18,300 (2023 est.) $17,600 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

2.1% (2024 est.) 3.7% (2023 est.) 10.4% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

2.6% (2024 est.) 5.1% (2023 est.) 2.9% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

71.7% of GDP (2016 est.)

$212.753 million (2024 est.) $188.818 million (2023 est.) $173.93 million (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$387.532 million (2024 est.) $417.164 million (2023 est.) $354.27 million (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

revenues: $233.831 million (2017 est.) expenditures: $164.673 million (2017 est.) note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

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

taro, grapefruits, yams, bananas, coconuts, plantains, milk, yautia, sugarcane, oranges (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 74,661 (2024 est.) male: 37,753 female: 36,908

-0.04% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 20.7% (male 7,891/female 7,530) 15-64 years: 65.6% (male 25,000/female 24,009) 65 years and over: 13.7% (2024 est.) (male 4,862/female 5,369)

13.02 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

8.15 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-5.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 78.7 years (2024 est.) male: 75.8 years female: 81.8 years

urban population: 72% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 0.84% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

African descent 84.5%, mixed 9%, Indigenous 3.8%, other 2.1%, unspecified 0.6% (2011 est.)

English (official), French patois

Roman Catholic 52.7%, Protestant 29.7% (includes Seventh Day Adventist 6.7%, Pentecostal 6.1%, Baptist 5.2%, Christian Union Church 3.9%, Methodist 2.6%, Gospel Mission 2.1%, other Protestant 3.1%), Jehovah's Witness 1.3%, Rastafarian 1.1%, other 4.3%, none 9.4%, unspecified 1.4% (2011 est.)

timber, hydropower, arable land

refugees: 5 (2024 est.)

2 (2025)

total: 77 (2023) by type: general cargo 26, oil tanker 10, other 41

total subscriptions: 56,929 (2022 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 85 (2022 est.)

percent of population: 84% (2023 est.)