CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Trinidad and Tobago


 * }

!| Background:
 * The islands came under British control in the 19th century; independence was granted 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.
 * }


 * }

!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: land: 5,128 sq km water: 0 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin contiguous zone: 24 nm territorial sea: 12 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 9.16% other: 76.22% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
 * 11 00 N, 61 00 W
 * Central America and the Caribbean
 * total: 5,128 sq km
 * slightly smaller than Delaware
 * 0 km
 * 362 km
 * measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
 * tropical; rainy season (June to December)
 * mostly plains with some hills and low mountains
 * lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
 * petroleum, natural gas, asphalt
 * arable land: 14.62%
 * 30 sq km (1998 est.)
 * outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms
 * water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
 * Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt
 * }


 * }

!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 70.6% (male 403,202; female 370,498) 65 years and over: 8.1% (male 39,762; female 48,765) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 30 years female: 30.9 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 22.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 26.58 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 66.86 years female: 71.82 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98% (2003 est.)
 * 1,096,585 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 21.4% (male 120,153; female 114,205)
 * total: 30.4 years
 * -0.71% (2004 est.)
 * 12.75 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 9.02 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * -10.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 24.64 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 69.28 years
 * 1.77 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * 3.2% (2003 est.)
 * 29,000 (2003 est.)
 * 1,900 (2003 est.)
 * noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
 * East Indian (a local term - primarily immigrants from northern India) 40.3%, black 39.5%, mixed 18.4%, white 0.6%, Chinese and other 1.2%
 * Roman Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%, Anglican 10.9%, Muslim 5.8%, Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7%
 * English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
 * }


 * }

!| Country name: conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: : 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; : ward: Tobago : borough corporations: Arima, Point Fortin, Chaguanas !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term; election last held 14 February 2003 (next to be held in 2008); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 43% cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001) !| Legislative branch: elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 October 2002 (next to be held by October 2007) note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly with 12 members serving four-year terms election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 55.5%, UNC 44.5%; seats by party - PNM 20, UNC 16 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490 FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York !| Diplomatic representation from the US: embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain telephone: [1] (868) 622-6372 through 6376, 622-6176 FAX: [1] (868) 628-5462 !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
 * parliamentary democracy
 * Port-of-Spain
 * 9 regional corporations, 2 city corporations, 3 borough corporations, and 1 ward
 * 31 August 1962 (from UK)
 * Independence Day, 31 August (1962)
 * 1 August 1976
 * based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: President George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)
 * bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, 9 by the President, 6 by the opposition party for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
 * 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); High Court of Justice; Court of Appeals; the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London
 * National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Lennox SANKERSINGH]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TU [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY]; Democratic Action Committee or DAC [Hochoy CHARLES], note - only active in Tobago
 * Jamaat-al Muslimeen [Yasin BAKR]
 * ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Marina Annette VALERE
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Roy L. AUSTIN
 * red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side
 * }


 * }

!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 49% services: 48.4% (2003 est.) !| Investment (gross fixed): !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $2.51 billion, including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (2003) !| Public debt: !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Oil - proved reserves: !| Natural gas - production: !| Natural gas - consumption: !| Natural gas - exports: !| Natural gas - imports: !| Natural gas - proved reserves: !| Current account balance: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * Trinidad and Tobago, the leading Caribbean producer of oil and gas, has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from low inflation and a growing trade surplus. Prospects for growth in 2004 are good as prices for oil, petrochemicals, and liquified natural gas are expected to remain high, and foreign direct investment continues to grow to support expanded capacity in the energy sector. The government is coping with a rise in violent crime.
 * purchasing power parity - $10.52 billion (2003 est.)
 * 3.7% (2003 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $9,500 (2003 est.)
 * agriculture: 2.6%
 * 14.8% of GDP (2003)
 * 21% (1992 est.)
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 3.8% (2003 est.)
 * 590,000 (2003)
 * agriculture 9.5%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, construction and utilities 12.4%, services 64.1% (1997 est.)
 * 10.4% (2003)
 * revenues: $2.663 billion
 * 55.9% of GDP (2003)
 * cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry
 * petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles
 * 5.7% (2003 est.)
 * 5.315 billion kWh (2001)
 * 4.943 billion kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 136,200 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 24,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * 990 million bbl (1 January 2004)
 * 25 billion cu m (2003 est.)
 * 13.76 billion cu m (2003 est.)
 * 11.79 billion cu m (2003 est.)
 * 0 cu m (2001 est.)
 * 589 billion cu m (1 January 2004)
 * $954 million (2003)
 * $4.9 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers
 * US 63.5%, Jamaica 5.6%, France 3.2% (2003)
 * $3.917 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals
 * US 31.7%, Venezuela 13.6%, Brazil 7.3%, Germany 6.6%, UK 5.1%, Japan 4.3% (2003)
 * $2.477 billion (2003)
 * $2.608 billion (2003 est.)
 * $24 million (1999 est.)
 * Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD)
 * TTD
 * Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.2929 (2003), 6.2487 (2002), 6.2332 (2001), 6.2998 (2000), 6.2989 (1999)
 * 1 October - 30 September
 * }


 * }

!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: NA international: country code - 1-868; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 325,100 (2002)
 * 361,900 (2002)
 * general assessment: excellent international service; good local service
 * AM 4, FM 18, shortwave 0 (2004)
 * 680,000 (1997)
 * 4 (2004)
 * 425,000 (1997)
 * .tt
 * 8,003 (2003)
 * 17 (2000)
 * 138,000 (2002)
 * }


 * }

!| Highways: paved: 4,252 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1999 est.) !| Pipelines: !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.) foreign-owned: United States 1 by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, short-sea/passenger 1 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
 * total: 8,320 km
 * condensate 253 km; gas 1,117 km; oil 478 km (2004)
 * Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain, Scarborough, Tembladora
 * total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,178 GRT/3,633 DWT
 * 6 (2003 est.)
 * total: 3
 * total: 3
 * }


 * }

!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 * Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force: Ground Force, Coast Guard, and Air Wing
 * 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)
 * males age 15-49: 326,447 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 232,234 (2004 est.)
 * $66.7 million (2003)
 * 0.6% (2003)
 * }