Trinidad and Tobago




                                 Geography


Location:
     Caribbean, in the extreme southeastern Caribbean Sea, 11 km off the
     coast of Venezuela
Map references:
     Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Standard Time Zones
     of the World
Area:
total area:
     5,130 sq km
land area:
     5,130 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly smaller than Delaware
Land boundaries:
     0 km
Coastline:
     362 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
     24 nm
continental shelf:
     200 nm or the outer edge of continental margin
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     none
Climate:
     tropical; rainy season (June to December)
Terrain:
     mostly plains with some hills and low mountains
Natural resources:
     petroleum, natural gas, asphalt
Land use:
arable land:
     14%
permanent crops:
     17%
meadows and pastures:
     2%
forest and woodland:
     44%
other:
     23%
Irrigated land:
     220 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
     water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and
     untreated sewage; oil pollution of beaches; land degradation




natural hazards:
     outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms
international agreements:
     party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
     Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
     Tropical Timber; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate
     Change


                                  People


Population:
     1,328,282 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.1% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     19.6 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     6.28 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -2.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     16.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     70.73 years
male:
     68.09 years
female:
     73.43 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     2.32 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective:
     Trinidadian, Tobagonian
Ethnic divisions:
     black 43%, East Indian 40%, mixed 14%, white 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 32.2%, Hindu 24.3%, Anglican 14.4%, other Protestant
     14%, Muslim 6%, none or unknown 9.1%
Languages:
     English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
total population:
     95%
male:
     97%
female:
     93%
Labor force:
     463,900




by occupation:
     construction and utilities 18.1%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying
     14.8%, agriculture 10.9%, other 56.2% (1985 est.)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form:
Digraph:
     TD
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 Noor Mohammed HASSANALI (since 18 March 1987)
head of government:
     Prime Minister Patrick Augustus Mervyn MANNING (since 17 December
     1991)
cabinet:
     Cabinet; responsible to parliament
Legislative branch:
     bicameral Parliament
Senate:
     consists of a 31-member body appointed by the president
House of Representatives:
     elections last held 16 December 1991 (next to be held by December
     1996); results - PNM 32%, UNC 13%, NAR 2%; seats - (36 total) PNM 21,
     UNC 13, NAR 2
Judicial branch:
     Court of Appeal, Supreme Court




Political parties and leaders:
     People's National Movement (PNM), Patrick MANNING; United National
     Congress (UNC), Basdeo PANDAY; National Alliance for Reconstruction
     (NAR), Selby WILSON; Movement for Social Transformation (MOTION),
     David ABDULLAH; National Joint Action Committee (NJAC), Makandal
     DAAGA; Republic Party, Nello MITCHELL; National Development Party
     (NDP), Carson CHARLES
Member of:
     ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD,
     ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
     ISO, ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
     UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Corinne Averille McKNIGHT
chancery:
     1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone:
     (202) 467-6490
FAX:
     (202) 785-3130
consulate(s) general:
     New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Sally G. COWAL
embassy:
     15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain
mailing address:
     P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain
telephone:
     (809) 622-6372 through 6376, 6176
FAX:
     (809) 628-5462
Flag:
     red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side


                                  Economy


Overview:
     Trinidad and Tobago's petroleum-based economy still enjoys a high per
     capita income by Latin American standards, even though output and
     living standards are substantially below the boom years of 1973-82.
     The country suffers from widespread unemployment, large foreign-debt
     payments, and periods of low international oil prices. Seven
     successive years of economic contraction were followed by small gains
     in output in 1990-91 of 1.2% and 0.9%, in turn followed by small
     declines in 1992-93 of roughly 1.0%. The government has begun to make
     progress in its efforts to diversify exports.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $10.4 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     -1% (1993)
National product per capita:
     $8,000 (1993 est.)




Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     9.5% (1993)
Unemployment rate:
     18.5% (1991)
Budget:
revenues:
     $1.6 billion
expenditures:
     $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $158 million (1993
     est.)
Exports:
     $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
     petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products,
     fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers
partners:
     US 47%, CARICOM 13%, Latin America 9%, EC 5% (1992)
Imports:
     $900 million (f.o.b. , 1993)
commodities:
     machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live
     animals (1992)
partners:
     US 41%, Venezuela 10%, UK 8%, other EC 8%
External debt:
     $2 billion (1993)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 2.3% (1991); accounts for 37% of GDP, including petroleum
Electricity:
capacity:
     1,176,000 kW
production:
     3.48 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     2,680 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage,
     cotton textiles
Agriculture:
     accounts for 3% of GDP; highly subsidized sector; major crops - cocoa,
     sugarcane; sugarcane acreage is being shifted into rice, citrus,
     coffee, vegetables; poultry sector most important source of animal
     protein; must import large share of food needs
Illicit drugs:
     transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and
     Europe
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $373 million; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $518
     million
Currency:
     1 Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TT$) = 100 cents




Exchange rates:
     Trinidad and Tobago dollars (TT$) per US$1 - 5.8111 (January 1994),
     5.3511 (1993), 4.2500 (fixed rate 1989-1992); note - effective 13
     April 1993, the exchange rate of the TT dollar is market-determined as
     opposed to the prior fixed relationship to the US dollar
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando
Highways:
total:
     8,000 km
paved:
     4,000 km
unpaved:
     improved earth 1,000 km; unimproved earth 3,000 km
Pipelines:
     crude oil 1,032 km; petroleum products 19 km; natural gas 904 km
Ports:
     Port-of-Spain, Pointe-a-Pierre, Scarborough
Merchant marine:
     2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,507 GRT/21,923 DWT
Airports:
total:
     6
usable:
     5
with permanent-surface runways:
     2
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     1
Telecommunications:
     excellent international service via tropospheric scatter links to
     Barbados and Guyana; good local service; 109,000 telephones; broadcast
     stations - 2 AM, 4 FM, 5 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast
     Guard, and Air Wing), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 357,904; fit for military service 257,667
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $59 million, 1%-2% of GDP (1989 est.)