About 80% of the population is Roman Catholic, though in recent years a number of Protestant churches have been established.
Population: 71,540 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 29% (male 10,556; female 10,254)
15-64 years: 63% (male 23,151; female 21,984)
65 years and over: 8% (male 2,294; female 3,301) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.08% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: 18.27 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -22.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.35 years
male: 70.5 years
female: 76.36 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.05 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican
Ethnic groups: Black 90%, Mulatto, 8 % Carib Amerindian 2%
Religions: Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), none 2%, Buddhist 0.5%, other 6%
Languages: English (official), French patois
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94%
male: 94%
female: 94% (1970 est.)
Migration
There are no restrictions on foreign travel, emigration, or repatriation. In 1999 the net migration rate was -24.65 migrants per 1,000 populations. The number of migrants living in Dominica in 2000 was 4,000, close to 5% of the total population. The government views the migration levels as satisfactory.
Language
English is the official language of Dominica and is universally understood. However, because of historic French domination, and the island's location between the two French-speaking territories of Martinique and Guadeloupe, Antillean Creole Patois, a French-based creole language, is the mother tongue of 80% of the Dominican people. Dominica is therefore a member of the Francophonie organization.
The dialect of Dominica also includes Cocoy, along with Creole—French-based patois. Cocoy, or Kockoy, is a mix of Leeward Island English-Creole and Dominican Creole. It is mainly spoken in the northeastern villages of Marigot and Wesley.
Culture
Dominica's East coast territory of the Kalinago (tribe)
Dominica is home to a wide range of people. Although it was historically occupied by several native tribes, only a Carib tribe remained by the time European settlers reached the island. French and British settlers each claimed the island and imported slaves from Africa. The remaining Caribs now live on a 3,700-acre (15 km²) territory on the east coast of the island. They elect their own chief. This mix of cultures is important to Dominica.
The famed novelist Jean Rhys was born and raised in Dominica. The island is obliquely depicted in her best-known book, Wide Sargasso Sea. Recently, Caribbean writer Marie-Elena John's debut novel Unburnable has evoked much of the same spirit of Dominica captured by Rhys, prompting comparisons between the two novels in spite of the hundred-year difference, and suggesting that Dominica has remained one of the Caribbean's most pristine islands.
Ethnic groups
Up-to-date statistics on racial or ethnic origins are not available. In 1981, the vast majority of Dominicans (91%) were descendants of African slaves brought to the island in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some 6% of the population was of mixed descent, and a small minority of about 0.5% was of European origin. Dominica is the only island of the Caribbean on which descendants of the Carib Indian population still make up a community of significant size. Isolation and the establishment of a 1,500-hectare (3,700-acre) reserve have enabled the Caribs, who number about 3,000 people, to preserve their identity.
Religions
The dominant religion is Christianity, but religious freedom for all faiths is provided for in the constitution. About 77% of the population are Roman Catholic. Various Protestant denominations constitute 15% of the populace, including Methodists with 5%, Pentecostals with 3%, Seventh-Day Adventists with 3%, Baptists with 2%, and others (Anglican, Jehovah's Witnesses, Nazarene, Church of Christ, Brethren Christian Churches) with 2%. Other minority religions comprise the remaining 6%, including Islam, Baha'i and Rastafarianism.