Dominica

Commonwealth of Dominica
Flag Coat of arms
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
Capital and largest city	Roseau 15°18′N 61°23′W / 15.300°N 61.383°W / 15.300; -61.383
Official languages	English
Recognised national languages	French Antillean Creole Dominican Spanish
Ethnic groups (2001)	Black 86.8% Mixed 8.9% Carib Amerindian 2.9% White 0.8% Other 0.7%[1]
Demonym(s)	Dominican
Government	Parliamentary republic
• President	Sylvanie Burton[2]
• Prime Minister	Roosevelt Skerrit
Independence
• from the United Kingdom	3 November 1978
Area
• Total	790 km2 (310 sq mi) (184th)
• Water (%)	1.6
Population
• July 2009 estimate	72,660 (195th)
• 2011 census	71,293
• Density	105/km2 (271.9/sq mi) (95th)
GDP (PPP)	2011 estimate
• Total	$977 million[3]
• Per capita	$13,815[3]
GDP (nominal)	2011 estimate
• Total	$489 million[3]
• Per capita	$6,909[3]
HDI (2007)	0.724 high · 73rd
Currency	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Time zone	UTC–4 (Eastern Caribbean)
Driving side	left
Calling code	+1-767
ISO 3166 code	DM
Internet TLD	.dm
Rank based on 2005 UN estimate.

The Commonwealth of Dominica is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. It is an English-speaking country.^[4] It is between the French-speaking territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The island is 751 km² (290 mi²) in area. Roseau is its capital. Portsmouth is another main town. Almost 70,000 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 the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic in the Greater Antilles.

The country is nicknamed the Nature Island of the Caribbean.

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

1. ↑ "Dominica Ethnic groups 2001 Census". Archived from the original on 2016-01-30. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
2. ↑ "Office of the President". Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} "Dominica". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
4. ↑ The Commonwealth Website