Dominica

The Commonwealth of Dominica, located in the Eastern Caribbean, is the largest and most northerly of the Windward Islands. It lies 1,400 miles south of Miami, at latitude 15° north and longitude 61° west. Dominica is approximately 29 miles long and 16 miles at its widest point; its area is 289.5 sq. miles. Dominica has some of the richest mountain rainforests in the Caribbean.

Dubbed “The Nature Island of the Caribbean”, this rugged landscape of blue-green slopes, rushing streams, waterfalls, and cloud-drenched mountain peaks, rises to almost 5000 feet, giving the island a legendary beauty. Dominica is volcanic in origin with rich fertile soil and abundant tropical rain forests. Dominica’s Morne Trois Pitons National Park has been inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and is home to one of the largest boiling lakes in the world.

Dominica gained independence in 1978 from the United Kingdom and is a republic with a Parliamentary Democracy within the Commonwealth of Nations. The President is the Head of State, while executive power rests with the cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister. The unicameral parliament consists of the thirty-member House of Assembly, which consists of twenty-one directly elected members and nine senators, who may either be appointed by the President or elected by the other members of the House of Assembly. The country enjoys political and social stability.