| Dominica |  |  | | Basic facts | | | The country | |
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| | Capital: Roseau | | Area: 750 sq km; 289 sq miles | | Population: 70,786 (July 2001 est.) | | Urbanisation: Urban 69 per cent (1998 Estimate); Rural 30 per cent (1998 Estimate) | |
Economy
| Exports: Bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges, coconut and coconut products
| Industry: Soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes
| Agriculture: Principal crops: bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts
| Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$), consisting of 100 cents
| Natural resources: Timber, fish
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The people
| Ethnic: Black, Carib
| Language: English (official), French patois. English is the official language, but most people speak a French dialect.
| Religion: Roman Catholic 80 per cent, Protestant 15 per cent, None, unknown or other 5 per cent
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The history
| Independence: Dominica attained full independence in November 1978 and subsequently joined the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations (UN).
| Government: Christopher Columbus sighted and named Dominica in 1493, but the indigenous Carib people successfully resisted early European attempts at colonisation. In 1632 the French gained a foothold on the island. They retained parts of it until 1763, when the Treaty of Paris assigned it to the United Kingdom. The British, however, did not assert full dominance over the French raiders and rebel slaves based on the island until 1805. Under British rule, Dominica became part of the Leeward Islands dependency in 1833 and was attached to the Windward Islands group in 1940. In 1967 it became an internally self-governing state associated with the United Kingdom.
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