Dominica lies in the center of the Caribbean chain of islands, between the French overseas territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique. It is a rugged island noted for its mountains, rivers and waterfalls. It, more than any other island in the Caribbean, has managed to retain its natural beauty. Dominica is home to the second largest boiling lake in the world.

With an area of 298 square miles (751 sq km), it is the fourth largest island in the English speaking Caribbean. At its longest, it is twenty-nine (29) miles and at its widest, it is sixteen (16) miles. It has a population of 71,727 (2000 census) peopled mainly of African descent. There is also an increasing white and Chinese population. Dominica is also home to the last Carib population in the Caribbean.

There are two urban centers in Dominica - the capital of Roseau and the second town of Portsmouth. Roseau is the administrative and commercial center and has a population of 20 000 people. Portsmouth which is much more scenic has a population of 5 000 people. About one thousand (1,000) of these are students and staff (mostly Americans) of Ross University School of Medicine, an offshore medical school.

Dominica was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493 but most of its early colonial history was spent changing hands between the French and the English. Although the French finally lost control to the English in 1776, their influence is still strong, principally through the French Creole language which most islanders speak, the dominance of the Roman Catholic church and numerous place names. Dominica became independent in 1978 and is a member of the British Commonwealth. It is also a member of the United Nations, Organisation of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Community and a number of other regional and international organisations.

Dominica is a democratic country which has enjoyed universal adult sufferage since the 1950's. It follows the Westminster model of Government. Elections are held every five years to elect twenty-one (21) members of Parliament. Nine (9) senators are then appointed and together they sit in a unicameral legislature. The Head of State is a President who is elected by Parliament and holds office for a term of five years. His role is essentially ceremonial. The current Prime Minister is the Honourable Pierre Charles who was selected in 2000 following the death in office of Prime Minister Roosevelt Douglas; and the President is His Excellency Mr. Vernon Shaw who was elected in 1999.

There are three (3) main political parties in Dominica. They are the United Workers Party, the Dominica Freedom Party and the Dominica Labour Party. The present government is a Labour/Freedom party coalition.

Dominica enjoys an independent judiciary with its highest court being the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. At the lowest rung of the judiciary is the Magistrate Court which deals with minor civil and criminal matters. Then there is the High Court which handles serious civil and criminal cases. Appeals from both the High Court and the Magistrate Court go to the Court of Appeal. Dominica shares a Court of Appeal with other members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. That court is a circuit court which sits in each island two or three times a year. Appeals from the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal go to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Dominica has an English common law legal system and most of its statute law is based on United Kingdom precedents. There are about 50 practicing lawyers in Dominica.

Dominica's economy is substantially based on agriculture, although in recent years great strides have been made on diversification into tourism and offshore services. Bananas is Dominica's principal export and it contributes about 80 percent of Gross Development Product (GDP). Dominica's traditional market for its bananas is the United Kingdom where its exports, along with those of the other Windward Islands, enjoy preferential treatment. Recently, however, the preferential treatment of Dominica and other African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) bananas has been under attack and has been subject of adverse decisions in the Word Trade Organisation (WTO). This has cast a dark shadow over the continued existence of Dominica's banana industry in its traditional form.

Dominica has a very modern telecommunication system. Indeed, it holds the position in the Guiness Book of World Records as being the first country in the world to establish a fully digital system. The telecommunications providers are Cable & Wireless (Dominica) Ltd. and Marpin Telecoms and Broadcasting Ltd. These companies are willing to facilitate the establishment of business, be they internet gaming, data processing operations or otherwise.