1.
[syn: Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Trinidad and Tobago
n 1: an island republic in the West Indies off the northeastern
coast of Venezuela; achieved independence from the United
Kingdom in 1962 [syn: Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of
Trinidad and Tobago]
CIA World Factbook 2002:
Trinidad and Tobago
Introduction 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.
Geography Trinidad and Tobago
-----------------------------
Location: Caribbean, islands between the
Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Geographic coordinates: 11 00 N, 61 00 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Delaware
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 362 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic
baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the
outer edge of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 24 NM
Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to
December)
Terrain: mostly plains with some hills and
low mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo
940 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, asphalt
Land use: arable land: 14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16%
other: 76.22% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: outside usual path of hurricanes and
other tropical storms
Environment - current issues: water pollution from agricultural
chemicals, industrial wastes, and
raw sewage; oil pollution of
beaches; deforestation; soil erosion
Environment - international party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of
the selected agreements
Geography - note: Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's
southwestern coast, is the world's
largest natural reservoir of asphalt
People Trinidad and Tobago
--------------------------
Population: 1,163,724 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 23% (male 136,807;
female 131,177)
15-64 years: 70.2% (male 419,847;
female 396,643)
65 years and over: 6.8% (male
35,146; female 44,104) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.52% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 13.66 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 8.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: -10.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/
female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.59 years
female: 71.25 years (2002 est.)
male: 66.04 years
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.05% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 7,800 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 530 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian
Ethnic groups: black 39.5%, East Indian (a local
term - primarily immigrants from
northern India) 40.3%, mixed 18.4%,
white 0.6%, Chinese and other 1.2%
Religions: Roman Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%,
Anglican 10.9%, Muslim 5.8%,
Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7%
Languages: English (official), Hindi, French,
Spanish, Chinese
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 94% (2000)
male: 95.9% (1999)
female: 91.7% (1999)
Government Trinidad and Tobago
------------------------------
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of
Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad
and Tobago
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Port-of-Spain
Administrative divisions: 8 counties, 3 municipalities*, and 1
ward**; Arima*, Caroni, Mayaro,
Nariva, Port-of-Spain*, Saint
Andrew, Saint David, Saint George,
Saint Patrick, San Fernando*,
Tobago**, Victoria
Independence: 31 August 1962 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 31 August (1962)
Constitution: 1 August 1976
Legal system: based on English common law;
judicial review of legislative acts
in the Supreme Court; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Arthur
Napoleon Raymond ROBINSON (since 18
March 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister
Patrick MANNING (since 24 December
2001)
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; election last held 10 December
2001 (next to be held NA 2006); the
president usually appoints as prime
minister the leader of the majority
party in the House of
Representatives
election results: Arthur Napoleon
Raymond ROBINSON elected president;
percent of electoral college vote -
69%
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the
Senate (31 seats; members appointed
by the president 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)
elections: House of Representatives
- last held 10 December 2001 (next
to be held by December 2006)
note: Tobago has a unicameral House
of Assembly, with 15 members serving
four-year terms
election results: House of
Representatives - percent of vote -
UNC 49.9%, PNM 46.5%; seats by party
- UNC 18, PNM 18
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 on the advice of 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
Political parties and leaders: National Alliance for Reconstruction
or NAR [Hochoy CHARLES]; People's
Empowerment Party or PEP [leader
NA]; People's National Movement or
PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or
TUN [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United
National Congress or UNC [Basdeo
PANDAY]
Political pressure groups and Jamaat-al Musilmeen [Yasin BAKR]
leaders:
International organization ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC,
participation: FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC,
ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL,
OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires
Mackisack LOGIE
chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20036
consulate(s) general: Miami and New
York
FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130
telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Roy
US: 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) 628-5462
Flag description: red with a white-edged black
diagonal band from the upper hoist
side
Economy Trinidad and Tobago
---------------------------
Economy - overview: Trinidad and Tobago has earned a
reputation as an excellent
investment site for international
businesses. A leading performer in
the past 4 years has been the
booming natural gas sector. Tourism
is a growing sector, although not
proportionately as important as in
many other Caribbean islands. The
expected recovery of the global
economy, along with anticipated
higher oil prices, are plus factors
for 2002. Negative factors are
persistent high unemployment and the
political uncertainties following
the contentious selection of a new
government in December 2001.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $10.6
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $9,000
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 43.2%
services: 55.2% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 21% (1992 est.)
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.6% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 564,000 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation: construction and utilities 12.4%,
manufacturing, mining, and quarrying
14%, agriculture 9.5%, services
64.1% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 11.8% (2001)
Budget: revenues: $1.54 billion
expenditures: $1.6 billion,
including capital expenditures of
$117.3 million (1998)
Industries: petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food
processing, cement, beverage, cotton
textiles
Industrial production growth rate: 4.2% (2001)
Electricity - production: 5.153 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.59%
hydro: 0%
other: 0.41% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 4.792 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus,
coffee, vegetables; poultry
Exports: $4.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products,
chemicals, steel products,
fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee,
citrus, flowers
Exports - partners: US 45.9%, Caricom countries 26.1%,
Latin America 9.5%, EU 5.7% (1999)
Imports: $3.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery, transportation equipment,
manufactured goods, food, live
animals
Imports - partners: US 39.8%, Venezuela 11.9%, EU 11%,
Caricom 4.8% (1999)
Debt - external: $2.2 billion (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $24 million (1999 est.)
Currency: Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD)
Currency code: TTD
Exchange rates: Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US
dollar - 6.2466 (January 2002),
6.2332 (2001), 6.2998 (2000), 6.2989
(1999), 6.2983 (1998), 6.2517 (1997)
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
Communications Trinidad and Tobago
----------------------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 252,000 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 17,411 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: excellent
international service; good local
service
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic
Ocean); tropospheric scatter to
Barbados and Guyana
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 680,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 4 (1997)
Televisions: 425,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .tt
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 17 (2000)
Internet users: 42,800 (2001)
Transportation Trinidad and Tobago
----------------------------------
Railways: minimal agricultural railroad system
near San Fernando; common carrier
railway service was discontinued in
1968 (2001)
Highways: total: 8,320 km
paved: 4,252 km
unpaved: 4,068 km (1996)
Waterways: none
Pipelines: crude oil 1,032 km; petroleum
products 19 km; natural gas 904 km
Ports and harbors: Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point
Lisas, Port-of-Spain, Scarborough,
Tembladora
Merchant marine: total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 5,910 GRT/7,546 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, petroleum
tanker 1
note: includes a foreign-owned ship
registered here as a flag of
convenience: United States 1 (2002
est.)
Airports: 6 (2001)
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 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2001)
Military Trinidad and Tobago
----------------------------
Military branches: Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force
(including Ground Force, Coast
Guard, and Air Wing), Trinidad and
Tobago Police Service
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 347,831 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 248,324 (2002 est.)
service:
Military expenditures - dollar $90 million (1999)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 1.4% (1999)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Trinidad and Tobago
----------------------------------------
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South
American drugs destined for the US
and Europe; producer of cannabis