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General Information Area: 751 sq km (290 sq miles). Population: 75,871 (official estimate 1998). Population Density: 101 per sq km. Capital: Roseau. Population: 15,853 (1991). GEOGRAPHY: Dominica is a large and mountainous island, geographically part of the Leeward Islands, though historically it has been grouped with the Windward Islands for administrative purposes, with volcanic peaks, mountain streams and rivers, dense forests, quiet lakes, waterfalls, geysers and boiling volcanic pools. There are beaches of both black (volcanic) and golden sands while orchids and untamed subtropical vegetation grow in the valleys. Guadeloupe lies to the north and Martinique to the south. Government: Republic. Gained independence from the UK in 1978. Head of State: Vernon Lorden Shaw since 1998. Head of Government: Prime Minister Pierre Charles since 2001. Language: The official language is English, but Creole French, the national language, is spoken by most of the population. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Time: GMT - 4. Electricity: 220/240 volts AC, 50Hz. Three-pin European-style plugs are usual. Communications:   Telephone IDD available. Country code: 1 767. Outgoing international code: 1 for USA, Canada and most Caribbean islands; 011 for other countries. Mobile telephone TDMA network. Network provider is Cable & Wireless Caribbean Cellular (website: www.caribcell.com). Unregistered roaming is available – visitors with TDMA handsets can make calls without registering, provided they can give a credit card number. Handsets can be hired. Fax Services are available through the Cable & Wireless Company. Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0700-2000. Internet Access is available at the offices of Cable & Wireless in Roseau and also at an Internet cafe. The main ISPs are Cable & Wireless (CWDom) (website: www.tod.dm) and Marpin. Post There are no Poste Restante facilities. Post offices are open Mon 0830-1300 and 1430-1700, Tues-Fri 0830-1300 and 1430-1600. Press Newspapers are in English. These include The Chronicle, The Tropical Star, The Independent Newspaper and The Sun, all of which appear weekly. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 15.19 12.10 6.195 5.975 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 13.79 9.455 6.130 5.995 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.