## 1.      A technical assistance (TA) mission on improving external sector statistics (ESS)

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---

### Mission overview and objectives
- Mission dates: July 15–26, 2024.
- Location: Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Dominica; two staff from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) joined the mission.
- Primary focus: Identify data gaps and improve statistical techniques for travel exports to enhance the accuracy of ESS and reduce the persistency of negative Net Errors and Omissions (NEOs).
- Compilation context: Balance of payments (BOP) and international investment position (IIP) compiled jointly by CSO and ECCB.

### Key findings — Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program
- No significant progress on pending information from the CBI program; external sector statisticians currently do not receive data on CBI external flows and stocks for the BOP and the IIP, nor information on pre-approved CBI investment in real estate, expenses, or escrow accounts.
- CBI qualifying investments:
  - Direct contribution to the Government (Economic Diversification Fund route), starting at USD 200,000 for a single applicant.
  - Purchase of pre-approved real estate at a minimum value of USD 200,000.
- Classification concern: Participation of non-resident individuals in a real estate project may probably be lower than 10 percent of the investment value; therefore, that investment should be classified as portfolio investment not direct investment (DI), whereas all CBI-related investment is currently classified as DI.
- Current data source for BOP purposes: cash-based CBI information from the fiscal sector.
- Fiscal data classification issues: government share of the Economic Diversification Fund, real estate contributions, agents’ fees, application fees, due diligence fees and certificate of naturalization fees are classified in different codes and names — clarifications on fund flows to accounts are needed.
- Meetings with CBI Unit, developers of CBI-financed projects (geothermal plant construction project and cable car tourism project) yielded expected additional information on project expenses from developers.
- The CBI Unit confirmed the Financial Secretary has information on total expenditure of real estate investments and on escrow accounts.
- Productive meeting with a major multinational headquartered in Dominica; the group committed to responding to BOP surveys.

- Recommendations (CBI):
  - Include data on expenses from CBI-related projects and correctly classify them as portfolio investment or DI based on detailed financing information provided by developers in the BOP survey.
  - Identify the developers of CBI-related projects and survey them to obtain the necessary data for BOP and IIP.
  - Follow up on the request made to the CBI Unit to complete the BOP survey, and meet with the Financial Secretary to request information on escrow accounts.

### Key findings — Travel credits and Visitor Exit Survey (VES)
- The mission reviewed VES methodology and granular data from the December 2023 VES.
- Deficiencies identified: sampling and representativeness of subcomponents.
- Recommendations provided to improve the next VES expected in August 2024, including questionnaire, sampling, and data processing improvements.

- Specific recommended VES questionnaire and processing changes:
  - Introduce procedures to prevent the respondent from answering a question until the previous one has been answered.
  - Use a time stamp in the VES to automatically record the date of departure from the country.
  - Consider a threshold of 50 percent or another indicator for the total expenditure item in the VES from which the data would be considered an outlier.
  - Include a drop-down list in the questions regarding country of origin, place of stay, name of accommodation and other currencies.
  - Eliminate the category "Vacation/Business" in purpose of stay and replace it with a category on health-related travel.
  - Use Yamane's formula to determine the appropriate sample size for each travel subcategory.
  - Conduct a VES of visitors that arrive on yachts, subject to budget approval.
  - For data from the December 2023 survey: clean up the database following recommendations provided during the mission to use as much information as possible.
  - Formally request to Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) the results of the cruise ship survey conducted in recent years.
  - Update the administrative report of the VES and use it as input to document the travel credit methodology.

### Key findings — Mirror statistics, services, and direct investment (DI)
- Mirror statistics indicated possible undercoverage in telecommunications services and personal services; obtaining information from companies operating in these sectors is important.
- Mirror statistics of the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS) showed Luxembourg and Italy would have a significant share in Dominica's DI liabilities.
- Recommendation: Investigate possible lack of coverage of inward DI by companies resident in Luxembourg and outward DI of resident companies in Singapore.
- Recommendation: Review exports of other business services to ensure correct transaction classification.

### Key findings — External debt and BOP/IIP revisions
- Dominica disseminates public sector external debt in the Quarterly External Debt Statistics (QEDS) database.
- An estimate was made of gross external debt of Dominica for both public and private sectors.
- Importance stressed: publish statistics consistent with the IIP and coordinate among institutions to disseminate total external debt in QEDS.
- 2023 BOP revisions:
  - With information received during the mission, the 2023 NEOs moved from positive EC$66 million (as disseminated in March 2024) to negative EC$77 million at the end of this mission, mainly due to revisions in the financial account.
  - The revised 2023 BOP will be disseminated on December 31, 2024—jointly with other Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) countries data—and should incorporate pending data mainly on CBI-financed projects and travel exports, which is expected to reduce the level of NEOs.

### Action plan — Priority recommendations and target dates
- Outcome: Source data are adequate for the compilation of BOP and IIP statistics.
  - October 2024: Follow up on the request made to the CBI Unit to complete the BOP survey, and meet with the Financial Secretary to request information on escrow accounts. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - July 2025: Include data on expenses from CBI-related projects and correctly classify them as portfolio investment or DI based on detailed financing information provided by developers in the BOP survey. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - December 2024: Identify the developers of CBI-related projects and survey them to obtain the necessary data for BOP and IIP. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - December 2024: Follow up on the request made to the Financial Services Unit (FSU) to share information on pension funds' cross-border external assets and liabilities. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - December 2024: Follow-up on the request made to the shipping agent representing all cruises to share information they have on expenditure related indicators of cruise ships and ferries passengers. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - December 2024: Complete the revision of the 2023 BOP and IIP incorporating pending data and recommendations provided. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - July 2025: Identify companies in Dominica operating in the telecommunications services and personal services to ensure that they respond to BOP surveys. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - July 2025: Review exports of other business services to ensure correct transaction classification. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - July 2025: Investigate possible lack of coverage of inward DI by companies resident in Luxembourg and outward DI of resident companies in Singapore. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.

- Outcome: Statistical techniques are sound.
  - December 2024: Address identified gaps in the VES regarding the questionnaire, sampling, and representativeness of subcomponents for the next and subsequent VES. — Responsible: CSO.
  - December 2024: Regarding data from the December 2023 survey, clean up the database following recommendations provided during the mission to use as much information as possible. — Responsible: CSO.
  - December 2024: Consider modifying the VES questionnaire with the specified procedural and question changes (see VES recommendations above). — Responsible: CSO.
  - December 2024: Formally request to Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) the results of the cruise ship survey conducted in recent years. — Responsible: CSO.
  - December 2024: Use Yamane's formula to determine the appropriate sample size for each travel subcategory. — Responsible: CSO.
  - December 2025: Conduct a VES of visitors that arrive on yachts, subject to budget approval. — Responsible: CSO.

- Outcome: Improved data and metadata accessibility.
  - December 2025: Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance’s Debt Unit to disseminate total external debt in the QEDS, consistent with the IIP. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - December 2025: Update the administrative report of the VES and use it as input to document the travel credit methodology. — Responsible: CSO.

*Source: tarea2025002-print-pdf - 1.      A technical assistance (TA) mission on improving external sector statistics (ESS)*

### Appendix II — Travel visitor composition and trends (selected findings and exact counts)
- The vast majority of visitors arrive via cruise ships (around 80 percent).
- Nearly 400,000 visitors were recorded in Dominica in 2023, the first year in which the numbers exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
- Growth from 2022 to 2023 was more than 60 percent, driven by cruise ship arrivals, which grew from 170,145 in 2022 to 314,503 in 2023.
- Stay over visitors grew 14 percent in 2023.

- Table 2. Number of Visitors (exact reported counts)
  - Cruise ship passengers: 2019 229,747; 2020 117,979; 2021 50,829; 2022 170,145; 2023 314,503
  - Stay over visitors without students: 2019 88,890; 2020 21,513; 2021 4,720; 2022 60,542; 2023 68,481
  - Hotel-Holiday visitors: 2019 5,280; 2020 3,735; 2021 15,379
  - Hotel-Business visitors: 2019 2,569; 2020 3,011; 2021 5,706
  - Visitors in accommodation other than hotel: 2019 13,664; 2020 7,974; 2021 39,457
  - Yacht visitors: 2019 13,388; 2020 6,116; 2021 540; 2022 3,058; 2023 4,268
  - Excursionists: 2019 2,196; 2020 167; 2021 67; 2022 407; 2023 488
  - Students: 2019 190; 2020 143; 2021 168; 2022 153; 2023 153
  - Total number of visitors: 2019 334,411; 2020 145,918; 2021 66,324; 2022 234,305; 2023 387,893
- Source of visitor counts: ECCB and CSO.

### VES sampling methodology, Yamane sample-size examples, and representativeness
- Current VES sample of stay over visitors is based on 11 percent of the total visitors in the same month of the previous year (either August or December).
- Sample allocation across the two main ports of entry (Douglas–Charles Airport and Roseau Ferry Terminal) is proportional to total visitors by each port.
- There is no documentation to justify the selection of 11 percent. CSO indicated it could be increased to 15 percent subject to budgetary restrictions.

- Using Yamane’s formula (population known), sample size depends on chosen margin of error. Examples for total visitors in 2023 (387,893):
  - Margin of error 5 percent → suggested sample 400.
  - Margin of error 1 percent → suggested sample 9,749.

- Table 3. Estimated Sample Size for Different Visitors Using Yamane’s Formula (exact reported values)
  - Cruise ship passengers (2023 population 314,503): Margin of error 1% 9,692; Margin of error 5% 399; Margin of error 10% 100; Actual sample 100
  - Stay over visitors (2023 population 68,634): Margin of error 1% 8,728; Margin of error 5% 398; Margin of error 10% 100; Actual sample ~1,400
  - Total number of visitors (2023 population 387,893): Margin of error 1% 9,749; Margin of error 5% 400; Margin of error 10% 100

- Representativeness concern: business travel represented around 9 percent of total stay over visitors in 2022 (5,706 visitors). The number of business travelers who responded to the latest VES was less than 15; due to missing data, less than 10 observations are actually used to estimate business travel expenditure.
  - Short-term suggestion: use surveys with hotel name but missing expenditure to impute daily expenditure and apply to number of nights to double usable information.

### Questionnaire and data-quality recommendations (to start August 2024)
- Modify system to prevent respondent from answering a question until the previous one has been answered.
- Use a time stamp to automatically record date of departure from the country.
- Define a threshold for total daily expenditure considered an outlier; suggested threshold 50 percent — trigger alert for respondent to confirm when crossed.
- Use drop-down lists for country of origin, place of stay, name of accommodation, and other currencies to ease processing and reduce incorrect answers.
- Revise purpose-of-stay categories: eliminate 04 Vacation/Business and include health-related travel category.

### Cruise, yacht, and excursionist expenditure data issues and actions
- Cruise passengers:
  - Cruise visitors represent around 80 percent of total visitors in 2023.
  - Current average expenditure for cruise passengers stands between 32 and 33 US dollars during the last five years (including the COVID-19 pandemic period).
  - Shipping agent representing all cruises has data on date, vessel name, number of crew onboard, number of passengers onboard, number of passengers who disembark (go ashore), and number of passengers who go on tour. They do not have expenditure but committed to sharing data on cruises and ferries.
  - Recommendation: formally request DDA cruise survey results and meet with DDA (with Ministry of Finance support) and follow up with the shipping agent for data.

- Yacht visitors:
  - Average expenditure remains fixed at 732 US dollars (except 2020). Updated information is needed.
  - Recommendation: conduct a VES of visitors arriving on yachts, subject to budget approval.

### Documentation and consolidated recommendations for travel credits
- Recommendation: document the methodology for estimating travel credits and keep it updated; update the administrative report of the VES and use it as input to document methodology of all travel credits.
- Consolidated recommendations (exact reported list)
  - Address the identified gaps in the VES regarding the questionnaire, sampling, and representativeness of subcomponents for the next and subsequent VES.
  - Follow up on the request made to the shipping agent representing all cruises to share the information they have on expenditure related indicators of cruise ships and ferries passengers.
  - Regarding the data from the December 2023 survey, clean up the database following recommendations provided during the mission to use as much information as possible.
  - Consider modifying the questionnaire as follows:
    (i) Introduce procedures to prevent the respondent from answering a question until the previous one has been answered.
    (ii) Use a time stamp in the VES to automatically record the date of departure from the country.
    (iii) Consider a threshold of 50 percent or another indicator for the total expenditure item in the VES from which the data would be considered an outlier.
    (iv) Include a drop-down list in the questions regarding country of origin, place of stay, name of accommodation and other currencies.
    (v) Eliminate the category "Vacation/Business" in purpose of stay and replace it with a category on health-related travel.
  - Formally request to DDA the results of the cruise ship survey conducted in recent years.
  - Use Yamane's formula to determine the appropriate sample size for each travel subcategory.
  - Conduct a VES of visitors that arrive on yachts, subject to budget approval.
  - Update the administrative report of the VES and use it as input to document the travel credit methodology.

### Mirror statistics on services and direct investment (DI) — exact comparisons and actions
- Mirror statistics highlighted possible undercoverage in telecommunications services and personal, cultural, and recreational services.
- Dominica’s exports and imports of services were compared with BaTIS (OECD-WTO Balanced Trade in Services dataset) for 2005–2021; differences found between Dominica's BOP and BaTIS:
  - Telecommunications, computer, and information services and Personal, cultural, and recreational services: BaTIS data significantly higher than Dominica's BOP (possible coverage deficiency).
  - Dominica's exports of other business services are significantly higher (almost double) than BaTIS estimates (possible misclassification into “other business services”).
- Table 4. Dominica’s 2021 Export and Import Value of Services (EC$ million) — exact reported values
  - Exports (BaTIS / BOP)
    - Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others: 0.00002 / 0
    - Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.: 15.8 / 0
    - Transport: 35.9 / 2.6
    - Travel: 109.8 / 68.2
    - Construction: 5.6 / 0
    - Insurance and pension services: 5.5 / 14.2
    - Financial services: 0.01 / 1.1
    - Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e.: 0.3 / 0
    - Telecommunications, computer, and information services: 29.0 / 8.0
    - Other business services: 84.0 / 163.1
    - Personal, cultural, and recreational services: 85.4 / 0
    - Government goods and services n.i.e.: 0.0 / 3.1
    - Total: 371.2 / 260.2
  - Imports (BaTIS / BOP)
    - Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others: 0.00008 / 0
    - Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.: 1.6 / 0
    - Transport: 101.2 / 64.7
    - Travel: 20.3 / 25.4
    - Construction: 1.6 / 11.0
    - Insurance and pension services: 26.9 / 40.3
    - Financial services: 9.4 / 12.1
    - Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e.: 25.9 / 2.8
    - Telecommunications, computer, and information services: 69.2 / 10.8
    - Other business services: 210.1 / 130.5
    - Personal, cultural, and recreational services: 3.5 / 2.5
    - Government goods and services n.i.e.: 0.1 / 0.05
    - Total: 469.8 / 300.2

- Recommendation: review exports of other business services to ensure correct classification and identify companies in telecommunications and personal services for survey coverage.

### DI mirror data and potential coverage gaps (CDIS-derived positions) — exact reported values
- CDIS-derived inward and outward DI positions for 2019–2022 are higher than Dominica’s IIP-recorded positions, suggesting possible lack of coverage of DI in Dominica’s IIP.
- Inward DI: largest reported from Italy and Luxembourg in CDIS-derived positions.
- Outward DI: CDIS-derived data show investments by resident companies in Singapore and many other countries.

- Table 5. Dominica’s Reported DI Positions Compared to Positions Derived from CDIS, Summary (US$ million) — exact reported values
  - Inward (CDIS reported by counterpart economies):
    - Italy: 2019 209; 2020 228; 2021 210; 2022 198
    - Luxembourg: 2019 437; 2020 460; 2021 395; 2022 423
    - Russian Federation: 2019 16; 2020 17; 2021 16; 2022 0
    - Others: 2019 13; 2020 12; 2021 13; 2022 10
    - All counterpart economies: 2019 675; 2020 717; 2021 634; 2022 630
  - Dominica's DI liability position recorded in the IIP: 2019 460; 2020 483; 2021 512; 2022 516

  - Outward (CDIS reported by counterpart economies):
    - Belarus, Rep. of: 2019 8; 2020 6; 2021 6; 2022 5
    - Cyprus: 2019 4; 2020 5; 2021 8; 2022 15
    - Mexico: 2019 13; 2020 13; 2021 14; 2022 16
    - Russian Federation: 2019 16; 2020 13; 2021 17; 2022 0
    - Singapore: 2019 C; 2020 45; 2021 46; 2022 118
    - Ukraine: 2019 14; 2020 12; 2021 9; 2022 C
    - Others: 2019 22; 2020 19; 2021 33; 2022 19
    - World total: 2019 77; 2020 113; 2021 132; 2022 172
  - Dominica's DI asset position recorded in the IIP: 2019 2; 2020 1; 2021 4; 2022 3

- Recommendations:
  - Investigate possible lack of coverage of inward DI by companies resident in Luxembourg.
  - Investigate possible lack of coverage of outward DI of resident companies in Singapore.

### Other financial corporations (pension funds) — coverage and recommendation
- Reported financial-sector coverage: 32 deposit-taking companies (including international banks and credit unions) and 29 other financial corporations in the ESS; compilers confirmed coverage is complete except for pension funds.
- Insurance Act of 2012 requires pension fund plans to be registered; FSU has some pension-fund data but not comprehensive.
- ECCB staff have information on assets invested in the Regional Government Securities Market (RGSM) and estimate most pension funds' assets invested in the RGSM, but no complete ESS record exists.
- Recommendation: follow up on FSU request to share information on pension funds' cross-border external assets and liabilities.

### External debt and QEDS dissemination — exact reported estimates (Table 6)
- Mission estimated QEDS Table 1 using IIP data; summary in Table 6.
  - 2021 / 2022 / 2023
    - 0001_T1_General Government: 979 / 1,053 / 1,131
    - 0015_T1_Central Bank: 0 / 0 / 0
    - 0029_T1_Deposit-Taking Corporations, except the Central Bank: 290 / 481 / 424
    - 0042_T1_Other Sectors: 82 / 81 / 83
    - 0055_T1_Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending: 56 / 48 / 39
    - 0059_T1_Gross External Debt Position: 1,406 / 1,663 / 1,678
  - Source: Estimation made with IIP data from the ECCB.

- Recommendation: coordinate with the Ministry of Finance’s Debt Unit to disseminate total external debt in the QEDS, consistent with the IIP.

### Freight and insurance for trade in goods — methodology and findings
- Compilers use a 10 percent ratio for freight and a 2 percent ratio for insurance for trade in goods.
- Previous missions recommended revising these ratios considering the evolution of international shipping costs during 2020–21.
- Analysis of trade data showed numerous items lacked a breakdown of freight and insurance, including some high-value items such as vehicles and machinery; some reported freight and insurance values were extremely low or omitted entirely.
- Compilers decided to maintain the 10 percent freight and 2 percent insurance ratios because of these reliability concerns.
- The mission notes that addressing the data omissions and low reported values would probably increase the derived ratios, bringing them in line with the ratios currently used.
- Ratios derived from trade data are included in Appendix VIII.

- Appendix VIII — Non-fuel and fuel goods exact reported ratios (selected years)
  - Non-fuel goods imports (invoice value, freight, and insurance/other costs)
    - 2019: Invoice value 764,016,482.34; Freight 52,628,156.59; Freight Percent 6.9; Insurance + other costs 7,890,738.45; Insurance + other costs Percent 1.0
    - 2020: Invoice value 501,090,227.59; Freight 37,438,565.94; Freight Percent 7.5; Insurance + other costs 4,240,948.89; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.8
    - 2021: Invoice value 561,163,571.74; Freight 46,353,624.20; Freight Percent 8.3; Insurance + other costs 4,196,420.51; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.7
    - 2022: Invoice value 622,788,890.97; Freight 58,303,484.75; Freight Percent 9.4; Insurance + other costs 4,381,083.84; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.7
    - 2023*: Invoice value 397,223,372.62; Freight 31,682,757.18; Freight Percent 8.0; Insurance + other costs 2,404,296.29; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.6
  - Fuel goods imports (invoice value, freight, and insurance/other costs)
    - 2019: Invoice value 48,120,572.69; Freight 1,223.96; Freight Percent 0.00254; Insurance + other costs - ; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.0
    - 2020: Invoice value 29,958,511.23; Freight 13,663.89; Freight Percent 0.04561; Insurance + other costs 4.94; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.00002
    - 2021: Invoice value 22,582,418.50; Freight 1,062.78; Freight Percent 0.00471; Insurance + other costs - ; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.0
    - 2022: Invoice value 53,224,136.50; Freight 15,923.58; Freight Percent 0.02992; Insurance + other costs 5,693.38; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.01070
    - 2023*: Invoice value 34,797,358.74; Freight 9,113.00; Freight Percent 0.02619; Insurance + other costs 3,502.44; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.01007
  - Note: *Up to June 2023.*

### 2023 revised BOP estimates and Net Errors and Omissions (NEOs) — exact reported table summary
- The information received during the mission changed the 2023 NEOs from positive EC$66 million (as disseminated in March 2024) to negative EC$77 million at the end of the mission, mainly due to revisions in the financial account.
- The revision corresponds to negative 4 percent of GDP and negative 4 percent of credits and debits of the current account.

- Table 7 — NEOs 2019–2023 (Published vs. Revised) — exact reported values
  - Published March 2024 | Revised as of July 26, 2024
    - 2019: EC$ Million -167.4; % of GDP -10%; % of current account credits and debits -8% | EC$ Million -167.4; % of GDP -10%; % of current account credits and debits -8%
    - 2020: EC$ Million 94.2; % of GDP 7%; % of current account credits and debits 7% | EC$ Million 94.2; % of GDP 7%; % of current account credits and debits 7%
    - 2021: EC$ Million -111.3; % of GDP -7%; % of current account credits and debits -8% | EC$ Million -88.4; % of GDP -6%; % of current account credits and debits -6%
    - 2022: EC$ Million -134.8; % of GDP -8%; % of current account credits and debits -8% | EC$ Million -113.6; % of GDP -7%; % of current account credits and debits -7%
    - 2023: EC$ Million 65.6; % of GDP -4%; % of current account credits and debits 4% | EC$ Million -77.0; % of GDP -4%; % of current account credits and debits -4%
  - Source of Table: ECCB
  - Note: The estimate for 2023 published in March 2024 was based on administrative data only, whereas the estimate to be published in December 2024 will incorporate survey data.

### Appendix IX — BOP 2021–2023 revised vs published (selected exact reported balances)
- Current account (1.):
  - 2021 Published -493; Revised -502; Diff. -9
  - 2022 Published -438; Revised -440; Diff. -2
  - 2023 Published -599; Revised -576; Diff. 23
- Current account Credit / Debit:
  - 2021 Credit Published 463; Revised 463; Diff. 0 — Debit Published 956; Revised 966; Diff. 9
  - 2022 Credit Published 603; Revised 606; Diff. 3 — Debit Published 1,041; Revised 1,046; Diff. 5
  - 2023 Credit Published 626; Revised 650; Diff. 23 — Debit Published 1,225; Revised 1,226; Diff. 0

- Financial account (3.) and components (selected)
  - Financial account net lending (+) / net borrowing (-):
    - 2021 Published -169; Revised -155; Diff. 14
    - 2022 Published -219; Revised -200; Diff. 19
    - 2023 Published -54; Revised -135; Diff. -81
  - Direct investment (3.1.):
    - 2021 Published -70; Revised -70; Diff. 0
    - 2022 Published -50; Revised -48; Diff. 2
    - 2023 Published -58; Revised -83; Diff. -25
    - Net acquisition of financial assets (DI): 2021 6; 2022 -2; 2023 -2
    - Net incurrence of liabilities (DI): 2021 77; 2022 48 (Published) / 46 (Revised); 2023 56 (Published) / 84 (Revised)

- Net errors and omissions:
  - 2021 Published -111; Revised -88; Diff. 23
  - 2022 Published -135; Revised -114; Diff. 21
  - 2023 Published 66; Revised -77; Diff. -143

- Note: Revised as of July 26, 2024.
- Source: ECCB and CSO.

*Source: tarea2025002-print-pdf - 1.      A technical assistance (TA) mission on improving external sector statistics (ESS)*

### 1.      A technical assistance (TA) mission on improving external sector statistics (ESS)

### A technical assistance (TA) mission on improving external sector statistics (ESS)

### Mission overview and objectives
- Mission dates: July 15–26, 2024.
- Location: Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Dominica; two staff from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) joined the mission.
- Primary focus: Identify data gaps and improve statistical techniques for travel exports to enhance the accuracy of ESS and reduce the persistency of negative Net Errors and Omissions (NEOs).
- Compilation context: Balance of payments (BOP) and international investment position (IIP) compiled jointly by CSO and ECCB.

### Key findings — Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program
- No significant progress on pending information from the CBI program; external sector statisticians currently do not receive data on CBI external flows and stocks for the BOP and the IIP, nor information on pre-approved CBI investment in real estate, expenses, or escrow accounts.
- CBI qualifying investments:
  - Direct contribution to the Government (Economic Diversification Fund route), starting at USD 200,000 for a single applicant.
  - Purchase of pre-approved real estate at a minimum value of USD 200,000.
- Classification concern: Participation of non-resident individuals in a real estate project may probably be lower than 10 percent of the investment value; therefore, that investment should be classified as portfolio investment not direct investment (DI), whereas all CBI-related investment is currently classified as DI.
- Current data source for BOP purposes: cash-based CBI information from the fiscal sector.
- Fiscal data classification issues: government share of the Economic Diversification Fund, real estate contributions, agents’ fees, application fees, due diligence fees and certificate of naturalization fees are classified in different codes and names — clarifications on fund flows to accounts are needed.
- Meetings with CBI Unit, developers of CBI-financed projects (geothermal plant construction project and cable car tourism project) yielded expected additional information on project expenses from developers.
- The CBI Unit confirmed the Financial Secretary has information on total expenditure of real estate investments and on escrow accounts.
- Productive meeting with a major multinational headquartered in Dominica; the group committed to responding to BOP surveys.

- Recommendations (CBI):
  - Include data on expenses from CBI-related projects and correctly classify them as portfolio investment or DI based on detailed financing information provided by developers in the BOP survey.
  - Identify the developers of CBI-related projects and survey them to obtain the necessary data for BOP and IIP.
  - Follow up on the request made to the CBI Unit to complete the BOP survey, and meet with the Financial Secretary to request information on escrow accounts.

### Key findings — Travel credits and Visitor Exit Survey (VES)
- The mission reviewed VES methodology and granular data from the December 2023 VES.
- Deficiencies identified: sampling and representativeness of subcomponents.
- Recommendations provided to improve the next VES expected in August 2024, including questionnaire, sampling, and data processing improvements.

- Specific recommended VES questionnaire and processing changes:
  - Introduce procedures to prevent the respondent from answering a question until the previous one has been answered.
  - Use a time stamp in the VES to automatically record the date of departure from the country.
  - Consider a threshold of 50 percent or another indicator for the total expenditure item in the VES from which the data would be considered an outlier.
  - Include a drop-down list in the questions regarding country of origin, place of stay, name of accommodation and other currencies.
  - Eliminate the category "Vacation/Business" in purpose of stay and replace it with a category on health-related travel.
  - Use Yamane's formula to determine the appropriate sample size for each travel subcategory.
  - Conduct a VES of visitors that arrive on yachts, subject to budget approval.
  - For data from the December 2023 survey: clean up the database following recommendations provided during the mission to use as much information as possible.
  - Formally request to Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) the results of the cruise ship survey conducted in recent years.
  - Update the administrative report of the VES and use it as input to document the travel credit methodology.

### Key findings — Mirror statistics, services, and direct investment (DI)
- Mirror statistics indicated possible undercoverage in telecommunications services and personal services; obtaining information from companies operating in these sectors is important.
- Mirror statistics of the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS) showed Luxembourg and Italy would have a significant share in Dominica's DI liabilities.
- Recommendation: Investigate possible lack of coverage of inward DI by companies resident in Luxembourg and outward DI of resident companies in Singapore.
- Recommendation: Review exports of other business services to ensure correct transaction classification.

### Key findings — External debt and BOP/IIP revisions
- Dominica disseminates public sector external debt in the Quarterly External Debt Statistics (QEDS) database.
- An estimate was made of gross external debt of Dominica for both public and private sectors.
- Importance stressed: publish statistics consistent with the IIP and coordinate among institutions to disseminate total external debt in QEDS.
- 2023 BOP revisions:
  - With information received during the mission, the 2023 NEOs moved from positive EC$66 million (as disseminated in March 2024) to negative EC$77 million at the end of this mission, mainly due to revisions in the financial account.
  - The revised 2023 BOP will be disseminated on December 31, 2024—jointly with other Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) countries data—and should incorporate pending data mainly on CBI-financed projects and travel exports, which is expected to reduce the level of NEOs.

### Action plan — Priority recommendations and target dates
- Outcome: Source data are adequate for the compilation of BOP and IIP statistics.
  - October 2024: Follow up on the request made to the CBI Unit to complete the BOP survey, and meet with the Financial Secretary to request information on escrow accounts. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - July 2025: Include data on expenses from CBI-related projects and correctly classify them as portfolio investment or DI based on detailed financing information provided by developers in the BOP survey. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - December 2024: Identify the developers of CBI-related projects and survey them to obtain the necessary data for BOP and IIP. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - December 2024: Follow up on the request made to the Financial Services Unit (FSU) to share information on pension funds' cross-border external assets and liabilities. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - December 2024: Follow-up on the request made to the shipping agent representing all cruises to share information they have on expenditure related indicators of cruise ships and ferries passengers. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - December 2024: Complete the revision of the 2023 BOP and IIP incorporating pending data and recommendations provided. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - July 2025: Identify companies in Dominica operating in the telecommunications services and personal services to ensure that they respond to BOP surveys. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - July 2025: Review exports of other business services to ensure correct transaction classification. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - July 2025: Investigate possible lack of coverage of inward DI by companies resident in Luxembourg and outward DI of resident companies in Singapore. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.

- Outcome: Statistical techniques are sound.
  - December 2024: Address identified gaps in the VES regarding the questionnaire, sampling, and representativeness of subcomponents for the next and subsequent VES. — Responsible: CSO.
  - December 2024: Regarding data from the December 2023 survey, clean up the database following recommendations provided during the mission to use as much information as possible. — Responsible: CSO.
  - December 2024: Consider modifying the VES questionnaire with the specified procedural and question changes (see VES recommendations above). — Responsible: CSO.
  - December 2024: Formally request to Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) the results of the cruise ship survey conducted in recent years. — Responsible: CSO.
  - December 2024: Use Yamane's formula to determine the appropriate sample size for each travel subcategory. — Responsible: CSO.
  - December 2025: Conduct a VES of visitors that arrive on yachts, subject to budget approval. — Responsible: CSO.

- Outcome: Improved data and metadata accessibility.
  - December 2025: Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance’s Debt Unit to disseminate total external debt in the QEDS, consistent with the IIP. — Responsible: CSO and ECCB.
  - December 2025: Update the administrative report of the VES and use it as input to document the travel credit methodology. — Responsible: CSO.

*Source: tarea2025002-print-pdf - 1.      A technical assistance (TA) mission on improving external sector statistics (ESS)*

### Appendix II includes travel credits data.

### tarea2025002-print-pdf - Appendix II includes travel credits data.

### Travel visitor composition and trends (Table 2)
- The vast majority of visitors arrive via cruise ships (around 80 percent).
- Nearly 400,000 visitors were recorded in Dominica in 2023, the first year in which the numbers exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
- Growth from 2022 to 2023 was more than 60 percent, driven by cruise ship arrivals, which grew from 170,145 in 2022 to 314,503 in 2023.
- The rest of the categories have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, although they showed growth in 2023. Stay over visitors grew 14 percent in 2023.

- Table 2. Number of Visitors (exact reported counts)
  - Cruise ship passengers: 2019 229,747; 2020 117,979; 2021 50,829; 2022 170,145; 2023 314,503
  - Stay over visitors without students: 2019 88,890; 2020 21,513; 2021 4,720; 2022 60,542; 2023 68,481
  - Hotel-Holiday visitors: 2019 5,280; 2020 3,735; 2021 15,379
  - Hotel-Business visitors: 2019 2,569; 2020 3,011; 2021 5,706
  - Visitors in accommodation other than hotel: 2019 13,664; 2020 7,974; 2021 39,457
  - Yacht visitors: 2019 13,388; 2020 6,116; 2021 540; 2022 3,058; 2023 4,268
  - Excursionists: 2019 2,196; 2020 167; 2021 67; 2022 407; 2023 488
  - Students: 2019 190; 2020 143; 2021 168; 2022 153; 2023 153
  - Total number of visitors: 2019 334,411; 2020 145,918; 2021 66,324; 2022 234,305; 2023 387,893
- Source of visitor counts: ECCB and CSO.

### VES sampling methodology, sample-size assessment, and representativeness
- Current VES sample of stay over visitors is based on 11 percent of the total visitors in the same month of the previous year (either August or December).
- Sample allocation across the two main ports of entry (Douglas–Charles Airport and Roseau Ferry Terminal) is proportional to total visitors by each port.
- Visitors are selected randomly; questionnaires are self-administered; interviewers are instructed to be mindful of gender balance; an age group selection chart is provided as a guide.
- There is no documentation to justify the selection of 11 percent. CSO indicated it could be increased to 15 percent subject to budgetary restrictions.

- Using Yamane’s formula (population known), sample size depends on chosen margin of error. Examples for total visitors in 2023 (387,893):
  - Margin of error 5 percent → suggested sample 400.
  - Margin of error 1 percent → suggested sample 9,749.
- Table 3. Estimated Sample Size for Different Visitors Using Yamane’s Formula (exact reported values)
  - Cruise ship passengers (2023 population 314,503): Margin of error 1% 9,692; Margin of error 5% 399; Margin of error 10% 100; Actual sample 100
  - Stay over visitors (2023 population 68,634): Margin of error 1% 8,728; Margin of error 5% 398; Margin of error 10% 100; Actual sample ~1,400
  - Total number of visitors (2023 population 387,893): Margin of error 1% 9,749; Margin of error 5% 400; Margin of error 10% 100
- Mission recommendation: use Yamane’s formula to determine appropriate sample size for each subcategory, prioritize personal and business travel (BOP-relevant), and ensure interviewers consider country of origin in random selection.

- Representativeness concern: business travel represented around 9 percent of total stay over visitors in 2022 (5,706 visitors). The number of business travelers who responded to the latest VES was less than 15; due to missing data, less than 10 observations are actually used to estimate business travel expenditure.
  - Short-term suggestion: use surveys with hotel name but missing expenditure to impute daily expenditure and apply to number of nights to double usable information.

### Questionnaire and data-quality recommendations (to start August 2024)
- Modify system to prevent respondent from answering a question until the previous one has been answered.
- Use a time stamp to automatically record date of departure from the country.
- Define a threshold for total daily expenditure considered an outlier; suggested threshold 50 percent — trigger alert for respondent to confirm when crossed.
- Use drop-down lists for country of origin, place of stay, name of accommodation, and other currencies to ease processing and reduce incorrect answers.
- Revise purpose-of-stay categories:
  - Current options include: 01 Vacation, 02 Visit family, 03 Visit friends, 04 Vacation/Business, 05 Business only, 06 Study, 07 Day trip, 08 Other.
  - Suggested elimination of 04 Vacation/Business to avoid confusion; keep 01 Vacation and 05 Business only; include a category for health-related travel (standard BOP component).

### Cruise, yacht, and excursionist expenditure data issues and actions
- Cruise passengers:
  - Cruise visitors represent around 80 percent of total visitors in 2023.
  - Current average expenditure for cruise passengers stands between 32 and 33 US dollars during the last five years (including the COVID-19 pandemic period).
  - This estimate is based on an outdated survey; DDA has carried out surveys in recent years but compilers could not specify dates.
  - Shipping agent representing all cruises has data on date, vessel name, number of crew onboard, number of passengers onboard, number of passengers who disembark (go ashore), and number of passengers who go on tour. They do not have expenditure but committed to sharing data on cruises and ferries.
  - Recommendation: formally request DDA cruise survey results and meet with DDA (with Ministry of Finance support) and follow up with the shipping agent for data.

- Yacht visitors:
  - Average expenditure remains fixed at 732 US dollars (except 2020). Updated information is needed.
  - Recommendation: conduct a VES of visitors arriving on yachts, subject to budget approval.

- Excursionists and other small categories: counts provided in Table 2; continue to monitor.

### Documentation and methodology for travel credits
- Recommendation: document the methodology for estimating travel credits and keep it updated.
  - First step: update the administrative report of the VES and use it as input to document methodology of all travel credits.
  - A metadata sample is in Appendix IV.

- Consolidated recommendations (exact reported list)
  - Address the identified gaps in the VES regarding the questionnaire, sampling, and representativeness of subcomponents for the next and subsequent VES.
  - Follow up on the request made to the shipping agent representing all cruises to share the information they have on expenditure related indicators of cruise ships and ferries passengers.
  - Regarding the data from the December 2023 survey, clean up the database following recommendations provided during the mission to use as much information as possible.
  - Consider modifying the questionnaire as follows:
    (i) Introduce procedures to prevent the respondent from answering a question until the previous one has been answered.
    (ii) Use a time stamp in the VES to automatically record the date of departure from the country.
    (iii) Consider a threshold of 50 percent or another indicator for the total expenditure item in the VES from which the data would be considered an outlier.
    (iv) Include a drop-down list in the questions regarding country of origin, place of stay, name of accommodation and other currencies.
    (v) Eliminate the category "Vacation/Business" in purpose of stay and replace it with a category on health-related travel.
  - Formally request to DDA the results of the cruise ship survey conducted in recent years.
  - Use Yamane's formula to determine the appropriate sample size for each travel subcategory.
  - Conduct a VES of visitors that arrive on yachts, subject to budget approval.
  - Update the administrative report of the VES and use it as input to document the travel credit methodology.

### Mirror statistics on services and direct investment (DI)
- Mirror statistics highlighted possible undercoverage in telecommunications services and personal, cultural, and recreational services.
- Recommendation: identify companies operating in telecommunications and personal services to ensure they respond to BOP surveys.
- Dominica’s exports and imports of services were compared with BaTIS (OECD-WTO Balanced Trade in Services dataset) for 2005–2021; differences found between Dominica's BOP and BaTIS, notably:
  - Telecommunications, computer, and information services and Personal, cultural, and recreational services: BaTIS data significantly higher than Dominica's BOP (possible coverage deficiency).
  - Dominica's exports of other business services are significantly higher (almost double) than BaTIS estimates (possible misclassification into “other business services”).

- Table 4. Dominica’s 2021 Export and Import Value of Services (EC$ million) — exact reported values
  - Exports (BaTIS / BOP)
    - Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others: 0.00002 / 0
    - Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.: 15.8 / 0
    - Transport: 35.9 / 2.6
    - Travel: 109.8 / 68.2
    - Construction: 5.6 / 0
    - Insurance and pension services: 5.5 / 14.2
    - Financial services: 0.01 / 1.1
    - Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e.: 0.3 / 0
    - Telecommunications, computer, and information services: 29.0 / 8.0
    - Other business services: 84.0 / 163.1
    - Personal, cultural, and recreational services: 85.4 / 0
    - Government goods and services n.i.e.: 0.0 / 3.1
    - Total: 371.2 / 260.2
  - Imports (BaTIS / BOP)
    - Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others: 0.00008 / 0
    - Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.: 1.6 / 0
    - Transport: 101.2 / 64.7
    - Travel: 20.3 / 25.4
    - Construction: 1.6 / 11.0
    - Insurance and pension services: 26.9 / 40.3
    - Financial services: 9.4 / 12.1
    - Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e.: 25.9 / 2.8
    - Telecommunications, computer, and information services: 69.2 / 10.8
    - Other business services: 210.1 / 130.5
    - Personal, cultural, and recreational services: 3.5 / 2.5
    - Government goods and services n.i.e.: 0.1 / 0.05
    - Total: 469.8 / 300.2
- Recommendation: review exports of other business services to ensure correct classification and identify companies in telecommunications and personal services for survey coverage.

### DI mirror data and potential coverage gaps (CDIS-derived positions)
- CDIS-derived inward and outward DI positions for 2019–2022 are higher than Dominica’s IIP-recorded positions, suggesting possible lack of coverage of DI in Dominica’s IIP.
- Inward DI: largest reported from Italy and Luxembourg in CDIS-derived positions.
- Outward DI: CDIS-derived data show investments by resident companies in Singapore and many other countries.
- Table 5. Dominica’s Reported DI Positions Compared to Positions Derived from CDIS, Summary (US$ million) — exact reported values

  - Inward (CDIS reported by counterpart economies):
    - Italy: 2019 209; 2020 228; 2021 210; 2022 198
    - Luxembourg: 2019 437; 2020 460; 2021 395; 2022 423
    - Russian Federation: 2019 16; 2020 17; 2021 16; 2022 0
    - Others: 2019 13; 2020 12; 2021 13; 2022 10
    - All counterpart economies: 2019 675; 2020 717; 2021 634; 2022 630
  - Dominica's DI liability position recorded in the IIP: 2019 460; 2020 483; 2021 512; 2022 516

  - Outward (CDIS reported by counterpart economies):
    - Belarus, Rep. of: 2019 8; 2020 6; 2021 6; 2022 5
    - Cyprus: 2019 4; 2020 5; 2021 8; 2022 15
    - Mexico: 2019 13; 2020 13; 2021 14; 2022 16
    - Russian Federation: 2019 16; 2020 13; 2021 17; 2022 0
    - Singapore: 2019 C; 2020 45; 2021 46; 2022 118
    - Ukraine: 2019 14; 2020 12; 2021 9; 2022 C
    - Others: 2019 22; 2020 19; 2021 33; 2022 19
    - World total: 2019 77; 2020 113; 2021 132; 2022 172
  - Dominica's DI asset position recorded in the IIP: 2019 2; 2020 1; 2021 4; 2022 3

- Recommendations:
  - Investigate possible lack of coverage of inward DI by companies resident in Luxembourg.
  - Investigate possible lack of coverage of outward DI of resident companies in Singapore.

### Other financial corporations (pension funds) and recommendations
- Reported financial-sector coverage: 32 deposit-taking companies (including international banks and credit unions) and 29 other financial corporations in the ESS; compilers confirmed coverage is complete except for pension funds.
- Insurance Act of 2012 requires pension fund plans to be registered; FSU has some pension-fund data but not comprehensive.
- ECCB staff have information on assets invested in the Regional Government Securities Market (RGSM) and estimate most pension funds' assets invested in the RGSM, but no complete ESS record exists.
- Recommendation: follow up on FSU request to share information on pension funds' cross-border external assets and liabilities.

### External debt and QEDS dissemination
- Dominica disseminates public sector external debt in the QEDS database; Ministry of Finance’s Debt Unit responsible.
- IIP published by the ECCB includes both public and private sectors; QEDS can be complemented with private-sector information.
- Mission estimated QEDS Table 1 using IIP data; summary in Table 6.

- Table 6. Summary of QEDS Table 1 – Gross External Debt Position by Sector (2021–2023) — exact reported values (EC$ or units as in source)
  - 2021 / 2022 / 2023
    - 0001_T1_General Government: 979 / 1,053 / 1,131
    - 0015_T1_Central Bank: 0 / 0 / 0
    - 0029_T1_Deposit-Taking Corporations, except the Central Bank: 290 / 481 / 424
    - 0042_T1_Other Sectors: 82 / 81 / 83
    - 0055_T1_Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending: 56 / 48 / 39
    - 0059_T1_Gross External Debt Position: 1,406 / 1,663 / 1,678
  - Source: Estimation made with IIP data from the ECCB.

- Recommendation: coordinate with the Ministry of Finance’s Debt Unit to disseminate total external debt in the QEDS, consistent with the IIP.

*Source: tarea2025002-print-pdf - Appendix II includes travel credits data.*

### 29.        Freight and insurance for trade in goods are estimated using a 10 percent ratio for freight

### 29.        Freight and insurance for trade in goods are estimated using a 10 percent ratio for freight

### Freight and insurance estimation: findings and methodology
- Compilers use a 10 percent ratio for freight and a 2 percent ratio for insurance for trade in goods.
- Previous missions recommended revising these ratios considering the evolution of international shipping costs during 2020–21.
- An analysis of available freight and insurance data from trade in goods, covering all Harmonized System codes, was performed.
- Data quality concerns identified:
  - Numerous items lacked a breakdown of freight and insurance, including some high-value items such as vehicles and machinery.
  - Some reported freight and insurance values were extremely low or omitted entirely, raising reliability concerns.
- Compilers decided to maintain the 10 percent freight and 2 percent insurance ratios because of these reliability concerns.
- The mission notes that addressing the data omissions and low reported values would probably increase the derived ratios, bringing them in line with the ratios currently used.
- The ratios derived from trade data are included in Appendix VIII.

### e-GDDS commitments, metadata, and capacity building
- The authorities of Dominica expressed interest in following up on commitments under the Enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS) framework.
- The mission contacted the IMF’s Strategy, Standards, and Review (STASR) area to guide compilers.
- The Integrated Collection System (ICS) registration procedures and the ICS metadata update were shared with the CSO and the ECCB.
- The mission explained main aspects of the e-GDDS framework and emphasized the country’s voluntary commitments:
  - adopt the e-GDDS as a framework,
  - designate a country coordinator,
  - prepare descriptions of statistical practices (i.e., metadata),
  - update their metadata at least once a year.

### 2023 revised Balance of Payments (BOP) estimates and Net Errors and Omissions (NEOs)
- Revised 2023 BOP estimates were reviewed and compilers will continue incorporating source data into the BOP.
- The information received during the mission changed the 2023 NEOs from positive EC$66 million (according to data disseminated in March 2024) to negative EC$77 million at the end of the mission, mainly due to revisions in the financial account.
- The revision corresponds to negative 4 percent of GDP and negative 4 percent of credits and debits of the current account (see Table 7).
- The revised 2023 BOP will be disseminated on December 31 2024—jointly with other ECCU countries’ data—and should incorporate pending data mainly on CBI-financed projects and travel exports, which is expected to reduce the level of NEOs.
- The BOP for 2021–2023 as of July 26, 2024 is in Appendix IX.

### Table 7 — NEOs 2019–2023 (Published vs. Revised)
- Published March 2024 | Revised as of July 26, 2024
  - 2019: EC$ Million -167.4; % of GDP -10%; % of current account credits and debits -8% | EC$ Million -167.4; % of GDP -10%; % of current account credits and debits -8%
  - 2020: EC$ Million 94.2; % of GDP 7%; % of current account credits and debits 7% | EC$ Million 94.2; % of GDP 7%; % of current account credits and debits 7%
  - 2021: EC$ Million -111.3; % of GDP -7%; % of current account credits and debits -8% | EC$ Million -88.4; % of GDP -6%; % of current account credits and debits -6%
  - 2022: EC$ Million -134.8; % of GDP -8%; % of current account credits and debits -8% | EC$ Million -113.6; % of GDP -7%; % of current account credits and debits -7%
  - 2023: EC$ Million 65.6; % of GDP -4%; % of current account credits and debits 4% | EC$ Million -77.0; % of GDP -4%; % of current account credits and debits -4%
- Source of Table: ECCB
- Note: The estimate for 2023 published in March 2024 was based on administrative data only, whereas the estimate to be published in December 2024 will incorporate survey data.

### Recommendations and next steps
- Complete the revision of the 2023 BOP and IIP incorporating pending data and recommendations provided.
- Incorporate pending data on CBI-financed projects and travel exports into the BOP prior to dissemination on December 31 2024 to reduce NEOs.
- Address data quality issues for freight and insurance reporting (missing breakdowns and implausibly low values), which would enable revising the derived ratios from trade data and potentially increase them toward the currently used 10 percent freight and 2 percent insurance ratios.
- Continue incorporation of source and survey data into ongoing BOP compilation processes.

*IMF | CARTAC Dominica — Extracts from the mission report*

### APPENDIX VI. DOMINICA’S REPORTED DI POSITIONS COMPARED TO POSITIONS DERIVED

### APPENDIX VI. DOMINICA’S REPORTED DI POSITIONS COMPARED TO POSITIONS DERIVED FROM CDIS (US$ MILLION)

### Inward direct investment positions (counterpart economies reported on CDIS)
- Selected counterpart economy positions reported on CDIS (2019–2022):  
  - Brazil: 2019 C, 2020 0, 2021 C, 2022 C  
  - Canada: 2019 2, 2020 5, 2021 5, 2022 6  
  - China, P.R.: Hong Kong: 2019 C, 2020 C, 2021 C, 2022 C  
  - China, P.R.: Mainland: 2019 3, 2020 3, 2021 3, 2022 4  
  - Finland: 2019 4, 2020 1, 2021 1, 2022 0  
  - France: 2019 C, 2020 C, 2021 C, 2022 C  
  - Italy: 2019 209, 2020 228, 2021 210, 2022 198  
  - Korea, Rep. of: 2019 0, 2020 0, 2021 0, 2022 -3  
  - Luxembourg: 2019 437, 2020 460, 2021 395, 2022 423  
  - Netherlands, The: 2019 C, 2020 0, 2021 C, 2022 C  
  - Portugal: 2019 C, 2020 C, 2021 C, 2022 C  
  - Russian Federation: 2019 16, 2020 17, 2021 16, 2022 0  
  - Spain: 2019 3, 2020 4, 2021 3, 2022 3  
  - Switzerland: 2019 C, 2020 C, 2021 C, 2022 C  
  - Trinidad and Tobago: 2019 0, 2020 C, 2021 C, 2022 C  
  - United Kingdom: 2019 C, 2020 C, 2021 C, 2022 C  
  - United States: 2019 C, 2020 C, 2021 C, 2022 C  
- All counterpart economies total reported on CDIS: 2019 675, 2020 717, 2021 634, 2022 630
- Dominica's DI liability position recorded in the IIP: 2019 460, 2020 483, 2021 512, 2022 516

### Outward direct investment positions (counterpart economies reported on CDIS)
- Selected counterpart economy positions reported on CDIS (2019–2022):  
  - Argentina: 2019 C, 2020 C, 2021 C, 2022 C  
  - Belarus, Rep. of: 2019 8, 2020 6, 2021 6, 2022 5  
  - Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2019 C, 2020 C, 2021 C, 2022 C  
  - Brazil: 2019 0, 2020 C, 2021 0, 2022 0  
  - Bulgaria: 2019 1, 2020 0, 2021 1, 2022 1  
  - China, P.R.: Hong Kong: 2019 C, 2020 C, 2021 C, 2022 C  
  - China, P.R.: Mainland: 2019 0, 2020 0, 2021 4, 2022 3  
  - Cyprus: 2019 4, 2020 5, 2021 8, 2022 15  
  - Czech Rep.: 2019 0, 2020 5, 2021 1, 2022 1  
  - Denmark: 2019 1, 2020 0, 2021 0, 2022 0  
  - Estonia, Rep. of: 2019 4, 2020 5, 2021 6, 2022 5  
  - France: 2019 0, 2020 0, 2021 0, 2022 C  
  - Georgia: 2019 7, 2020 6, 2021 7, 2022 0  
  - Italy: 2019 1, 2020 1, 2021 1, 2022 1  
  - Korea, Rep. of: 2019 1, 2020 1, 2021 1, 2022 1  
  - Latvia: 2019 2, 2020 2, 2021 0, 2022 1  
  - Malta: 2019 C, 2020 C, 2021 C, 2022 0  
  - Mexico: 2019 13, 2020 13, 2021 14, 2022 16  
  - Moldova, Rep. of: 2019 4, 2020 0, 2021 0, 2022 0  
  - Russian Federation: 2019 16, 2020 13, 2021 17, 2022 0  
  - Singapore: 2019 C, 2020 45, 2021 46, 2022 118  
  - Slovenia, Rep. of: 2019 -7, 2020 -8, 2021 -7, 2022 0  
  - Spain: 2019 3, 2020 4, 2021 3, 2022 3  
  - Thailand: 2019 1, 2020 1, 2021 0, 2022 1  
  - Ukraine: 2019 14, 2020 12, 2021 9, 2022 C  
  - United Kingdom: 2019 1, 2020 C, 2021 16, 2022 0  
  - United States: 2019 0, 2020 0, 2021 0, 2022 1  
- All counterpart economies total reported on CDIS: 2019 77, 2020 113, 2021 132, 2022 172
- Dominica's DI asset position recorded in the IIP: 2019 2, 2020 1, 2021 4, 2022 3

*Source: CDIS and ECCB.*

---

### APPENDIX VII. GROSS EXTERNAL DEBT POSITION BY SECTOR (EC$ MILLION)

### Key sector aggregates and components (2013–2023)
- General Government total:  
  - 2013 817, 2014 826, 2015 827, 2016 790, 2017 760, 2018 723, 2019 694, 2020 839, 2021 979, 2022 1,053, 2023 1,131
- General Government short-term:  
  - 2013 31, 2014 22, 2015 11, 2016 25, 2017 17, 2018 23, 2019 25, 2020 27, 2021 31, 2022 33, 2023 33
  - Debt securities component (short-term): 2013 30, 2014 22, 2015 11, 2016 25, 2017 16, 2018 23, 2019 24, 2020 27, 2021 30, 2022 32, 2023 32
- General Government long-term:  
  - 2013 787, 2014 804, 2015 816, 2016 764, 2017 743, 2018 700, 2019 669, 2020 811, 2021 948, 2022 1,020, 2023 1,099
  - Special drawing rights (allocations): 2013 33, 2014 31, 2015 29, 2016 28, 2017 30, 2018 29, 2019 29, 2020 30, 2021 71, 2022 68, 2023 68
  - Debt securities (long-term): 2013 102, 2014 112, 2015 123, 2016 118, 2017 96, 2018 90, 2019 83, 2020 102, 2021 91, 2022 107, 2023 99
  - Loans (long-term): 2013 652, 2014 661, 2015 664, 2016 618, 2017 617, 2018 580, 2019 557, 2020 679, 2021 786, 2022 846, 2023 931
- Deposit-Taking Corporations, except the Central Bank total:  
  - 2013 464, 2014 454, 2015 506, 2016 597, 2017 552, 2018 549, 2019 414, 2020 333, 2021 290, 2022 481, 2023 424
  - Short-term: 2013 428, 2014 418, 2015 455, 2016 579, 2017 520, 2018 530, 2019 414, 2020 333, 2021 290, 2022 481, 2023 424
  - Currency and deposits (short-term): 2013 414, 2014 403, 2015 434, 2016 557, 2017 499, 2018 509, 2019 391, 2020 307, 2021 286, 2022 475, 2023 423
  - Other debt liabilities (short-term): 2013 14, 2014 15, 2015 21, 2016 22, 2017 21, 2018 21, 2019 23, 2020 26, 2021 3, 2022 6, 2023 2
  - Long-term loans: 2013 37, 2014 37, 2015 51, 2016 18, 2017 32, 2018 19, 2019 0, 2020 0, 2021 0, 2022 0, 2023 0
- Other Sectors total:  
  - 2013 35, 2014 35, 2015 46, 2016 63, 2017 58, 2018 75, 2019 93, 2020 91, 2021 82, 2022 81, 2023 83
  - Short-term (Other Sectors): 2013 5, 2014 4, 2015 11, 2016 28, 2017 20, 2018 10, 2019 9, 2020 8, 2021 3, 2022 3, 2023 2
  - Long-term (Other Sectors): 2013 30, 2014 31, 2015 35, 2016 35, 2017 38, 2018 65, 2019 84, 2020 83, 2021 78, 2022 78, 2023 80
  - Loans (long-term, Other Sectors): 2013 18, 2014 19, 2015 19, 2016 20, 2017 26, 2018 48, 2019 62, 2020 61, 2021 61, 2022 62, 2023 65
  - Other debt liabilities (long-term, Other Sectors): 2013 13, 2014 13, 2015 16, 2016 16, 2017 12, 2018 17, 2019 22, 2020 21, 2021 18, 2022 17, 2023 15
- Direct Investment: Intercompany Lending: 2013 32, 2014 36, 2015 17, 2016 16, 2017 57, 2018 58, 2019 47, 2020 63, 2021 56, 2022 48, 2023 39
  - Debt liabilities of direct investment enterprises to direct investors: 2013 5, 2014 5, 2015 0, 2016 0, 2017 0, 2018 0, 2019 0, 2020 0, 2021 0, 2022 0, 2023 0
  - Debt liabilities of direct investors to direct investment enterprises: 2013 10, 2014 14, 2015 13, 2016 12, 2017 53, 2018 54, 2019 44, 2020 54, 2021 54, 2022 46, 2023 37
  - Debt liabilities to fellow enterprises: 2013 16, 2014 16, 2015 3, 2016 4, 2017 4, 2018 4, 2019 4, 2020 9, 2021 2, 2022 2, 2023 2
- Gross External Debt Position (total):  
  - 2013 1,348, 2014 1,351, 2015 1,396, 2016 1,465, 2017 1,427, 2018 1,406, 2019 1,248, 2020 1,325, 2021 1,406, 2022 1,663, 2023 1,678

*Source: Estimate made with IIP data.*

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### APPENDIX VIII. RATIOS USED TO ESTIMATE INSURANCE AND FREIGHT CHARGES FOR FUEL AND NON-FUEL GOODS IMPORTS

### Non-fuel goods imports (invoice value, freight, and insurance/other costs)
- 2019: Invoice value 764,016,482.34; Freight 52,628,156.59; Freight Percent 6.9; Insurance + other costs 7,890,738.45; Insurance + other costs Percent 1.0
- 2020: Invoice value 501,090,227.59; Freight 37,438,565.94; Freight Percent 7.5; Insurance + other costs 4,240,948.89; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.8
- 2021: Invoice value 561,163,571.74; Freight 46,353,624.20; Freight Percent 8.3; Insurance + other costs 4,196,420.51; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.7
- 2022: Invoice value 622,788,890.97; Freight 58,303,484.75; Freight Percent 9.4; Insurance + other costs 4,381,083.84; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.7
- 2023*: Invoice value 397,223,372.62; Freight 31,682,757.18; Freight Percent 8.0; Insurance + other costs 2,404,296.29; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.6

### Fuel goods imports (invoice value, freight, and insurance/other costs)
- 2019: Invoice value 48,120,572.69; Freight 1,223.96; Freight Percent 0.00254; Insurance + other costs - ; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.0
- 2020: Invoice value 29,958,511.23; Freight 13,663.89; Freight Percent 0.04561; Insurance + other costs 4.94; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.00002
- 2021: Invoice value 22,582,418.50; Freight 1,062.78; Freight Percent 0.00471; Insurance + other costs - ; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.0
- 2022: Invoice value 53,224,136.50; Freight 15,923.58; Freight Percent 0.02992; Insurance + other costs 5,693.38; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.01070
- 2023*: Invoice value 34,797,358.74; Freight 9,113.00; Freight Percent 0.02619; Insurance + other costs 3,502.44; Insurance + other costs Percent 0.01007

- Note: *Up to June 2023.*

*Source: ECCB.*

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### APPENDIX IX. BOP 2021–2023, REVISED VS. PUBLISHED MARCH 2024 (EC$ MILLION)

### Summary of published vs revised balances (2021–2023)
- Current account (1.):  
  - 2021 Published -493; Revised -502; Diff. -9  
  - 2022 Published -438; Revised -440; Diff. -2  
  - 2023 Published -599; Revised -576; Diff. 23
- Current account Credit / Debit:  
  - 2021 Credit Published 463; Revised 463; Diff. 0 — Debit Published 956; Revised 966; Diff. 9  
  - 2022 Credit Published 603; Revised 606; Diff. 3 — Debit Published 1,041; Revised 1,046; Diff. 5  
  - 2023 Credit Published 626; Revised 650; Diff. 23 — Debit Published 1,225; Revised 1,226; Diff. 0

### Goods and services (1.A.)
- 1.A. Goods and services total:  
  - 2021 Published -529; Revised -539; Diff. -9  
  - 2022 Published -478; Revised -485; Diff. -7  
  - 2023 Published -618; Revised -597; Diff. 22
- Goods (1.A.a.):  
  - 2021 Published -489; Revised -489; Diff. 0  
  - 2022 Published -565; Revised -565; Diff. 0  
  - 2023 Published -654; Revised -647; Diff. 8
  - Goods credit and debit examples: 2021 Credit 58 / Debit 547; 2022 Credit 68 / Debit 632; 2023 Credit 63 / Debit 717
- Services (1.A.b.):  
  - 2021 Published -40; Revised -49; Diff. -9  
  - 2022 Published 87; Revised 80; Diff. -7  
  - 2023 Published 36; Revised 50; Diff. 14
  - Travel (component):  
    - 2021 Published 43; Revised 43; Diff. 0  
    - 2022 Published 164; Revised 164; Diff. 0  
    - 2023 Published 199; Revised 207; Diff. 8

### Primary and secondary income
- Primary income (1.B.):  
  - 2021 Published 1; Revised 1; Diff. 0  
  - 2022 Published 5; Revised 8; Diff. 3  
  - 2023 Published 5; Revised -1; Diff. -6
- Secondary income (1.C.):  
  - 2021 Published 35; Revised 35; Diff. 0  
  - 2022 Published 35; Revised 37; Diff. 2  
  - 2023 Published 14; Revised 22; Diff. 8

### Capital account (2.)
- Capital account totals (Credit / Debit):  
  - 2021 Published 436; Revised 436; Diff. 0  
  - 2022 Published 354; Revised 354; Diff. 0  
  - 2023 Published 480; Revised 518; Diff. 38
- Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current + capital):  
  - 2021 Published -57; Revised -67; Diff. -9  
  - 2022 Published -84; Revised -86; Diff. -2  
  - 2023 Published -120; Revised -58; Diff. 61

### Financial account (3.) and components
- Financial account net lending (+) / net borrowing (-):  
  - 2021 Published -169; Revised -155; Diff. 14  
  - 2022 Published -219; Revised -200; Diff. 19  
  - 2023 Published -54; Revised -135; Diff. -81
- Direct investment (3.1.):  
  - 2021 Published -70; Revised -70; Diff. 0  
  - 2022 Published -50; Revised -48; Diff. 2  
  - 2023 Published -58; Revised -83; Diff. -25
  - Net acquisition of financial assets (DI): 2021 6; 2022 -2; 2023 -2  
  - Net incurrence of liabilities (DI): 2021 77; 2022 48 (Published) / 46 (Revised); 2023 56 (Published) / 84 (Revised)
- Portfolio investment (3.2.):  
  - 2021 Published 42; Revised 42; Diff. 0  
  - 2022 Published -11; Revised -30; Diff. -19  
  - 2023 Published -30; Revised -29; Diff. 1
  - Net acquisition of financial assets (PI): 2021 34; 2022 7 / -12 (Revised); 2023 -38 / -41 (Revised)
  - Net incurrence of liabilities (PI): 2021 -8; 2022 18; 2023 -7 / -12 (Revised)
- Other investment (3.4.):  
  - 2021 Published -181; Revised -167; Diff. 14  
  - 2022 Published -199; Revised -163; Diff. 36  
  - 2023 Published 85; Revised 31; Diff. -54
  - Net acquisition of financial assets (Other): 2021 -84; 2022 70 / 99 (Revised); 2023 109 / 40 (Revised)  
  - Net incurrence of liabilities (Other): 2021 97; 2022 270 / 262 (Revised); 2023 24 / 10 (Revised)
  - Currency and deposits (Other): 2021 -10; 2022 -114; 2023 167 / 146 (Revised)
  - Loans (Other): 2021 -159; 2022 -86 / -51 (Revised); 2023 -90 / -114 (Revised)
  - Insurance, pension, and standardized guarantee schemes (Other): 2021 4 / 18 (Revised) Diff. 14; 2022 5; 2023 5 / -1 (Revised) Diff. -6
  - Trade credit and advances (Other): 2021 5; 2022 0; 2023 0
  - Other accounts receivable/payable (Other): 2021 21; 2022 -4; 2023 3
- Special drawing rights: 2021 42; 2022 0; 2023 0
- Reserve assets: 2021 40; 2022 41; 2023 -51 / -55 (Revised) Diff. -4
  - Currency and deposits (reserve assets): 2021 -1; 2022 46; 2023 -49 / -49 (Revised)

### Net errors and omissions
- Net errors and omissions:  
  - 2021 Published -111; Revised -88; Diff. 23  
  - 2022 Published -135; Revised -114; Diff. 21  
  - 2023 Published 66; Revised -77; Diff. -143

- Note: 1/ Revised as of July 2 6, 2024.

*Source: ECCB and CSO.*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/tar/2025/english/tarea2025002-print-pdf.pdf_