Cultural Demography
Dominica's total population numbers over 70,000, on a mountainous island extending about 29 miles north to south and 16 miles east to west.
Landscape and Legacy
The country is best known for a pristine landscape that has given it the sobriquet "nature isle of the Caribbean." Traditionally agriculture, particularly banana growing, has been the main underpinning of the island's economy, but the importance of the tourism industry has grown considerably in recent years.
Dominica lacks the wide sandy beaches that typify many Caribbean tourist destinations. Instead, this small country's beauty derives from the grandeur of its central peak, Morne Diablotin (elevation 4,750 feet), and the well-preserved rain forests that cover much of the islan d. Christopher Columbus reached the island in 1493, and gave it its present name, which commemorates the fact that he arrived on a Sunday.
Origins
The original inhabitants of Dominica were Arawak and Carib Indians. The indigenous name of the island, "Wai'tukubuli," can be rendered in English "tall is her body." Today, approximately 3,000 Caribs live in Dominica, most of them on a reservation deeded to them in the northeastern part of the island. Dominica is unique among the islands of the eastern Caribbean in that it retains some of its pre-Columbian population; throughout the rest of the region, Amerindian groups failed to survive the first century after the European conquest.
Aside from the Caribs, almost all of Dominica's people are the descendants of African slaves brought in by colonial planters in the 18th century. The population growth rate is re latively low, due in part to a declining birth rate but more significantly to emigration from Dominica to more prosperous Caribbean islands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.
Language
English is the official language. Still, because the island was under French dominion in the past, the most widely spoken dialect is a French patois.
Religion
In terms of religion, about 80 percent of the population is Catholic. In recent years, a number of Protestant churches have been established.
Education
Education is compulsory up to age 14. According to recent estimates, the literacy rate at 94 percent, the infant mortality rate is 14.61 deaths per 1,000 live births, and life expectancy is 75 years years of age.
Human Development
About 4.7 percent of GDP is spent on education in this country; about 5.9 percent of GDP is spent on health expenditures. Access to water and sanitation is regarded as very good although there may be some limits in certain areas.
Another quality-of-life indicator is the Human Development Index (HDI), compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a recent ranking of 177 countries, the HDI placed Dominica in the medium human development category, at 71st place. The most recent HDI update by the United Nations, however, omitted Dominica.
Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.