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Also known as: |
Land of the Humming Bird |
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Motto: |
Together we Aspire,
Together we Achieve |
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History |
First colonized by
the Spanish, the islands came under British control in the early 19th
century. The islands' sugar industry was hurt by the emancipation of the
slaves in 1834. Manpower was replaced with the importation of contract
laborers from India between 1845 and 1917, which boosted sugar production as
well as the cocoa industry. The discovery of oil on Trinidad in 1910 added
another important export. Independence was attained in 1962. The country is
one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and
natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is
targeted for expansion and is growing. The government is coping with a rise
in violent crime. |
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Geography |
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Location: |
Southernmost islands of the Lesser
Antilles. Separated from Venezuela by the 11 km (7 miles) strait of the
Gulf of Paria. The two islands are linked by a 30 km (19
miles) strait.
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Geographic
coordinates: |
11 00 N, 61 00 W |
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Area: |
total: 5,128 sq km
country comparison to the world: 180
land: 5,128 sq km
water: 0 sq km
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Land boundaries: |
0 Km |
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Coastline: |
362 Km |
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Maritime claims: |
measured from
claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin
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Climate: |
tropical; rainy
season (June to December)
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Terrain: |
mostly plains with
some hills and low mountains
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m
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Natural resources: |
petroleum, natural
gas, asphalt
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Land use: |
arable land:
14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16%
other: 76.22% (2005)
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Natural hazards: |
outside usual path
of hurricanes and other tropical storms
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Environment - current issues: |
water pollution
from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil
pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion
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Geography - note: |
Pitch Lake, on
Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of
asphalt
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People |
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Population |
1,229,953 (July
2009 est.) |
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Age structure: |
0-14 years: 19.6%
(male 123,214/female 117,584)
15-64 years: 72.6% (male 457,868/female 434,486)
65 years and over: 7.9% (male 41,467/female 55,334) (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate: |
-0.102% (2009
est.) |
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Birth rate: |
14.36 births/1,000
population (2009 est.) |
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Death rate: |
8.11 deaths/1,000
population (July 2009 est.) |
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Net migration rate: |
-7.28 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2009 est.) |
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Urbanization: |
urban population:
13% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.03
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Nationality: |
noun:
Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian
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Ethnic groups: |
Indian (South
Asian) 40%, African 37.5%, mixed 20.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 0.8% (2000
census)
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Religions: |
Roman Catholic
26%, Hindu 22.5%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, Muslim
5.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, other Christian 5.8%, other 10.8%,
unspecified 1.4%, none 1.9% (2000 census)
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Languages: |
English
(official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish,
Chinese
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Literacy: |
definition: age 15
and over can read and write
total population: 98.6%
male: 99.1%
female: 98% (2003 est.)
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People - note: |
in 2007, the
government of Trinidad and Tobago estimated the population to be 1.3 million
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Government |
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Name: |
conventional long
form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago
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Government type: |
parliamentary
democracy
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Capital: |
name:
Port-of-Spain
geographic coordinates: 10 39 N, 61 31 W |
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Administrative divisions: |
9 regional
corporations, 2 city corporations, 3 borough corporations, 1 ward
regional corporations: Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Diego Martin, Mayaro/Rio
Claro, Penal/Debe, Princes Town, Sangre Grande, San Juan/Laventille, Siparia,
Tunapuna/Piarco
city corporations: Port-of-Spain, San Fernando
borough corporations: Arima, Chaguanas, Point Fortin
ward: Tobago |
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Independence: |
31 August 1962
(from the UK)
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National holiday: |
Independence Day,
31 August (1962)
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Constitution: |
1 August 1976
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Legal system: |
based on English
common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal
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Executive branch: |
chief of state:
President George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001)Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning (born August 17, 1946) is the current Prime
Minister and Minister of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago and Political Leader
of the People's National Movement (PNM). He served as Prime Minister between
17 December 1991 to 9 November 1995 and since 24 December 2001, as Leader of
the Opposition from 1986 to 1990 and from 1995 to 2001. He has been the
Political Leader of the PNM since 1987.
A geologist by training, Prime Minister Manning has served as Member of
Parliament for the San Fernando East constituency since 1971 and is
currently the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives.[1]
Manning received his secondary education at Presentation College, San
Fernando Bachelor's Degree from the University of the West Indies in Mona,
Jamaica in 1969. After graduation he returned to Trinidad where he worked as
a geologist for Texaco. He entered Parliament in 1971 representing the San
Fernando East constituency
cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament
elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the
members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term
(eligible for a second term); election last held on 11 February 2008 (next
to be held by February 2013); the president usually appoints as prime
minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives
election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS reelected president; percent of
electoral college vote - NA
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Legislative branch: |
bicameral
Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the
ruling party, 9 by the President, 6 by the opposition party to serve a
maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (41 seats;
members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held on 5 November 2007 (next to
be held in 2012)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 46%, UNC
29.7%; seats by party - PNM 26, UNC 15
note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly with 12 members serving
four-year terms; last election held in January 2005; seats by party - PNM
11, DAC 1
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Judicial branch: |
Supreme Court of
Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals;
the chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the
prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are
appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service
Commission); the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London;
member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)
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Political parties and leaders: |
Congress of the
People [Winston DOOKERAN]; Democratic Action Congress or DAC [Hochoy
CHARLES] (only active in Tobago); Democratic National Alliance or DNA
[Gerald YETMING] (coalition of NAR, DDPT, MND); Movement for National
Development or MND [Garvin NICHOLAS]; National Alliance for Reconstruction
or NAR [Dr. Carson CHARLES]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick
MANNING]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY]
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International organization participation:
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ACP, C, Caricom,
CDB, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM,
OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO
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Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Glenda MOREAN-PHILLIP
chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490
FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130
consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission:
Ambassador Roy L. AUSTIN
embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain
mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain
telephone: [1] (868) 622-6371 through 6376
FAX: [1] (868) 822-5905
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National
Holidays: |
New Year's Day (01 January);
Carnival (Monday and Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday); Eid-ul-Fitr (as
decreed); Good Friday; Easter Monday; Corpus Christi; Indian Arrival Day
(30 May); Labour Day (19 June); Emancipation Day (01 August); Independence
Day (31 August); Republic Day (24 September) Diwali (as decreed);
Christmas Day (25 December); Boxing Day (26 December) |
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Date of Caricom Membership: |
1 August 1973 |
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Flag description: |
red with a
white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly
side
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Economy |
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Overview: |
Trinidad and
Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for
international businesses and has one of the highest growth rates and per
capita incomes in Latin America. Economic growth for the past seven years
has averaged slightly over 8%, significantly above the regional average of
about 3.7% for that same period; however, it has slowed down this year to
about 5% and is expected to slow further with the global downturn. Growth
has been fueled by investments in liquefied natural gas (LNG),
petrochemicals, and steel. Additional petrochemical, aluminum, and plastics
projects are in various stages of planning. Trinidad and Tobago is the
leading Caribbean producer of oil and gas, and its economy is heavily
dependent upon these resources but it also supplies manufactured goods,
notably food and beverages, as well as cement to the Caribbean region. Oil
and gas account for about 40% of GDP and 80% of exports, but only 5% of
employment. The country is also a regional financial center, and tourism is
a growing sector, although it is not proportionately as important as in many
other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from a growing trade surplus.
The MANNING administration has benefited from fiscal surpluses fueled by the
dynamic export sector; however, declines in oil and gas prices have reduced
government revenues which will challenge his government's commitment to
maintaining high levels of public investment. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$29.01 billion
(2008 est.) |
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GDP (official exchange rate): |
$24.81 billion
(2008 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate: |
3.5% (2008 est.) |
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GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$23,600 (2008
est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 0.5%
industry: 62.3%
services: 37.2% (2008 est.) |
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Labor force: |
620,800 (2008
est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation |
agriculture 3.8%,
manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 12.8%, construction and utilities
20.4%, services 62.9% (2007 est.) |
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Budget: |
revenues: $7.421
billion
expenditures: $7.141 billion (2008 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
12% (2008 est.) |
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Agriculture - products: |
cocoa, rice,
citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry |
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Industries: |
petroleum,
chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles
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Exports: |
$15.9 billion
(2008 est.) |
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Exports - commodities: |
petroleum and
petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG), methanol, ammonia, urea,
steel products, beverages, cereal and cereal products, sugar, cocoa, coffee,
citrus fruit, vegetables, flowers |
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Exports - partners: |
US 47.5%, Spain
8.3%, Netherlands 7.4%, Jamaica 6.1% (2008) |
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Imports: |
$9.843 billion
(2008 est.) |
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Imports - commodities: |
mineral fuels,
lubricants, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food,
chemicals, live animals |
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Imports - partners: |
US 27.4%, Brazil
10%, Venezuela 8.1%, Colombia 4.8%, China 4.2%, Gabon 4.1% (2008) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$9.496 billion (31
December 2008 est.) |
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Exchange rates: |
Trinidad and
Tobago dollars (TTD) per US dollar - 6.2896 (2008 est.) |
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Business Hours: |
Commercial: 8:00-16:30 hrs Monday
to Friday
Government: 8:00-12:00 13:00-16:30 hrs Monday
to Friday |
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Communications |
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Telephones - main lines in use: |
307,000 (2008) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular: |
1.505 million
(2008) |
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Telephone system: |
general
assessment: excellent international service; good local service
domestic: mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 175 telephones per 100 persons
international: country code - 1-868; submarine cable systems provide
connectivity to US and parts of the Caribbean and South America; satellite
earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to
Barbados and Guyana |
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Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 4, FM 18,
shortwave 0 (2001) |
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Television broadcast stations: |
6 (2005) |
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Internet country code: |
.tt |
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Internet hosts: |
155,722 (2008) |
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Internet users: |
430,800 (2007) |
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Airports: |
6 (2009) Main
airport, Piarco International in Trinidad and Crown Point International in
Tobago |
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Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2009) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2009) |
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Pipelines: |
gas 659 km; oil
336 km (2008) |
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Roadways: |
total: 8,320 km
paved: 4,252 km
unpaved: 4,068 km (2000) |
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Merchant marine: |
total: 9
country comparison to the world: 118
by type: passenger 2, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 2
foreign-owned: 1 (US 1)
registered in other countries: 2 (Bahamas 1, unknown 1) (2008) |
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Ports and terminals: |
Point Fortin,
Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain |
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Military |
Trinidad and
Tobago Defense Force (TTDF): Trinidad and Tobago Army, Coast Guard, Air
Guard, Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (2008) |
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Main Source of Information: the Central Intelligence Agency
World Factbook |
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Items of Interest |
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National Anthem: |
Forged from the love of liberty.
In the fires of Hope and
Prayer,
With boundless faith in our Destiny,
We solemnly
declare,
Side by side we stand,
Islands of the blue Caribbean
Sea,
This our Native Land,
We pledge our lives to Thee,
Here
every creed and race find an eqal place,
And may God bless our
Nation.
Together we aspire, together we achieve
(Words and Music by Patrick S. Castagne) |
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Highest National Award: |
Trinity Cross |
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Favourite local Cuisine: |
Callaloo; Pelau; Roti and Curry |
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Government website: |
http://www.gov.tt |
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