1985 Edition

Agriculture

largely dominated by coconut and banana production, with subsistence crops of taro, yams, sweet potatoes, breadfruit

main crops — sugar, cocoa, coffee, rice, citrus, bananas; largely dependent upon imports of food

Aid

economic commitments — Western* (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF (197081), $77 million

economic — bilateral commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-82), US, $320 million; (1970-82) other Western countries, ODA and OOF, $118 million

Airfields

4 total, 4 usable; 1 with permanentsurface runways 1,220-2,439 m

7 total, 5 usable; 3 with permanentsurface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Area

construction and utilities; 13.5% agriculture; 7.5% transportation and communication; 2.9% other

Branches

executive — King, Cabinet, and Privy Council; unicameral legislature — Legislative Assembly composed of seven nobles elected by their peers, seven elected representatives of the people, eight Ministers of the Crown; the King appoints one of the seven nobles to be the speaker; judiciary — Supreme Court, Magistrate's Court, Land Court

Army carborough Caribbean Sea Trinidad North Atlantic Ocean See refional mtp III Land 5,128 km2; the size of Delaware; 41.9% farm (25.7% cultivated or fallow, 10.6% forest, 4.1% unused or built on, and 1.5% pasture); 58.1% grassland, forest, built on, wasteland, and other Water

bicameral legislature (36-member elected House of Representatives and 31member appointed Senate); executive is Cabinet led by the Prime Minister; judiciary is headed by the Chief Justice and includes a Court of Appeal, High Court, and lower courts

Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force, Trinidad and Tobago Police Service

Btidget

(1982) consolidated central government revenues, $3. 1 billion; expenditures, $4.0 billion (current, $3.0 billion; capital, $973 million)

Budget

(1981-82) revenues, 14,744,237 pa'anga; expenditures, 14,735,833 pa'anga (est.)

Capital

Nuku'alofa, on Tongatapu Island

Port-of-Spain

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

14 major transport aircraft

Coastline

362 km People

Communisms

People's Popular Movement (PPM), Michael Als; February 18 Movement (F/18), James Millette; Workers' Revolutionary Committee (WRC), John Poon

Communists

none known

Elections

supposed to be held every three years, last in April 1978

elections to be held at intervals of not more than five years; last election held 9 November 1981 Political parties and leaders: People's National Movement (PNM), George Chambers; United Labor Front (ULF), Basdeo Panday; Organization for National Reconstruction (ONR), Karl Hudson-Phillips; Democratic Action Congress (DAC), Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson; Tapia House Movement, Michael Harris

Electric power

5,000 kW capacity (1984); 8 million kWh produced (1984), 75 kWh per capita

1,009,000 kW capacity (1984); 2.6 billion kWh produced (1984), 2,226 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

43% black, 40% East Indian, 14% mixed, 1% white, 1% Chinese, 1% other

Exports

$7 million (1979); 65% copra, 8% bananas, 7% coconut products

$2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1983); petroleum and petroleum products, ammonia, fertilizer, chemicals, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus; includes exports of oil under processing agreement

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June Communications

calendar year Communications

Fishing

catch 4,461 metric tons (1980)

GNP

$50 million (1980), $520 per capita

Government leaders

Taufa'ahau TUPOU IV, King (since December 1965); Prince Fatafehi TU'IPELEHAKE), Premier (since December 1965)

George Michael CHAMRERS, Prime Minister (since 1981); Ellis Emmanuel Innocent CLARKE, President (since 1976)

Highways

198 km metaled road (Tongatapu); 74 km (Vava'u); 94 km unsealed roads usable only in dry weather

8,000 km total; 4,000 km paved, 1,000 km improved earth, 3,000 km unimproved earth

Imports

$29 million (1979); food, machinery, petroleum

$2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1983); crude petroleum (33%), machinery, fabricated metals, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals; includes imports under processing agreement

Labor force

about 473,000 (est. 1979-81); 23.0% service; 20.0% mining, quarrying, and manufacturing; 17.4% commerce; 15.7%

Language

English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish

Legal system

based on English law

based on English common law; constitution came into effect 1976; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

12 nm (fishing, 200 nm)

Literacy

95%

Major industries

petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement

Major trade partners

exports — 36% Australia, 34% New Zealand, 14% US; imports 38% New Zealand, 31% Australia, 6% Japan, 5% Fiji (1979)

exports — US 57%, Netherlands 6%; imports — Saudi Arabia 31%, US 26%, UK 10%

Member of

ADB, Commonwealth, FAO, ESCAP, GATT (de facto), IFAD, ITU, South Pacific Bureau for Economic Cooperation, South Pacific Bureau Forum, UNESCO, UPU, WHO Economy

CARICOM, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, International Coffee Agreement, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB — Inter-American Development Bank, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO Economy GNP; $7.316 billion (1982), $6,651 per capita; real growth rate (1983), -2.6%

Military manpower

males 15-49, 340,000; 243,000 fit for military service

Monetary conversion rate

1.0778 pa'anga=US$l (February 1984)

2.37 Trinidad and Tobago dollars=US$l (November 1984)

National holiday

Independence Day, 31 August

Nationality

noun — Trinidadian(s), Tobagan(s); adjective — Trinidadian, Tobagan

Official name

Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Organized labor

30% of labor force Government

Other political pressure groups

National Joint Action Committee (NJ AC), radical antigovernment Black-identity organization; Trinidad and Tobago Peace Council, leftist organization affiliated with the World Peace Council; Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce; Trinidad and Tobago Labor Congress, moderate labor federation; Council of Progressive Trade Unions, radical labor federation

Pipelines

1,032 km crude oil; 19 km refined products; 904 km natural gas

Political subdivisions

three main island groups (Tongatapu, Ha'apai, Vava'u)

8 counties (29 wards, Tobago is 30th)

Population

1,1 85,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 1.5%

Ports

2 minor (Nuku'alofa, Neiafu)

2 major (Port-of-Spain, Chaguaramas Bay), 7 minor

Railroads

none

minimal agricultural system near San Fernando

Religion

36.2% Roman Catholic, 23% Hindu, 13.1% Protestant, 6% Muslim, 21.7% unknown

Suffrage

all literate, tax-paying males and all literate females over 21

universal over age 18

Telecommunications

1,285 telephones (1.4 per 100 popl.); 1 1,000 radio sets; no TV sets; 1 AM station; 1 ground satellite station Defense Forces

excellent international service via tropospheric scatter links to Barbados and Guyana; fair local service; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station; 86,900 telephones (7.0 per 100 popl.); 2 AM, 3 FM, 3 TV stations Defense Forces

Type

parliamentary democracy

Voting strength

(1981 election)55% of registered voters cast ballots; House of Representatives— PNM, 26 seats; ULF, 8; DAC, the 2 Tobago seats