1988 Edition

Climate

tropical; rainy season (June to December)

Coastline

362 km

Comparative area

about the size of Delaware

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation

Environment

outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms

Ethnic divisions

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

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Infant mortality rate

6.4/1,000 (1983)

20/1,000 (1984)

Labor force

70% engaged in agriculture; 600 engaged in mining

about 463,900 (est. 1985); 18.1% construction and utilities; 14.8% manufacturing, mining, and quarrying; 10.9% agriculture; 47.9% other services (1985); 15.4% unemployment (June 1985)

Land use

14% arable land; 17% permanent crops; 2% meadows and pastures; 44% forest and woodland; 23% other; includes 4% irrigated

Language

Tongan, English

English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish

Life expectancy

58

men 67, women 72

Literacy

90-95%; compulsory education for children ages 6-14

89%

Nationality

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

Organized labor

40% of labor force (1984)

Population

1,250,839 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.36%

Religion

36.2% Roman Catholic, 23.0% Hindu, 13.1% Protestant, 6.0% Muslim, 21.7% unknown

Special notes

southernmost of Southern Antilles; only 11 km from Venezuela

Terrain

mostly plains with some hills and low mountains

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

5,130 km2; land area: 5,130 km2

Administrative divisions

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

8 counties (29 wards, Tobago is 30th)

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

bicameral legislature (36-member elected House of Representatives and 31 -member 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

Capital

Nuku'alofa

Port-of-Spain

Communists

none known

People's Popular Movement (PPM), Michael Als; February 18 Movement (F/18), James Millette

Elections

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

elections to be held at intervals of not more than five years; last election held 15 December 1986 Political parties and leaders: National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), A.N.R. Robinson; People's National Movement (PNM), Patrick Manning (interim leader); Organization for National Reconstruction (ONR), Karl Hudson-Phillips

Government leaders

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

Arthur Napoleon Raymond ROBINSON, Prime Minister (since December 1986); Noor HASSANALI, President (since February 1987)

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

Member of

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

CARICOM, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, International Coffee Agreement, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDE — 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

National holiday

Independence Day, 31 August

Official name

Kingdom of Tonga

Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Other political pressure groups

National Joint Action Committee (NJAC), 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

Suffrage

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

universal over age 18

Type

constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth

parliamentary democracy

Voting strength

(1986 election) 62% of registered voters cast ballots; House of Representatives— NAR, 33 seats; PNM, 3

Agriculture

largely dominated by coconut and banana production; vanilla beans, taro, yams, sweet potatoes, breadfruit, fruits and vegetables

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

Aid

$6.2 million; Australia and other Western donors (1985 est.)

bilateral commitments, US, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $370 million; (1970-84) other Western countries, ODA and OOF, $369 million

Budget

(1985 est.) revenues, 22.0 million pa'anga; expenditures, 19.1 million pa'anga

(1985 est.) consolidated central government revenues, $2.6 billion; expenditures, $3.0 billion (current, $2.4 billion; capital, $438 million)

Electric power

5,000 kW capacity; 8 million kWh produced, 80 kWh per capita (1986)

1,171,000 kW capacity; 2,720 million kWh produced, 2,260 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$7.33 million (1985 est); coconut oil, vanilla, copra, bananas, taro, vanilla beans, fruits and vegetables

$2.0 billion (f.o.b., 1985); petroleum and petroleum products, ammonia, fertilizer, chemicals, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus; includes exports of oil under processing agreement

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

calendar year

Fishing

catch 4,461 metric tons (1983)

GDP

$100 million, $1,030 per capita (1985)

$7.8 billion (1986 est.), $6,390 per capita; real growth rate (1986 est.), —3.5%; inflation rate 7.0% (1985)

Imports

$41.36 million (1985 est.); textiles, food, consumers products, machinery, petroleum, building supplies

$1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1985); crude petroleum (33%), machinery, fabricated metals, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals; includes imports under processing agreement

Major industries

petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement

Major industry

tourism

Major trade partners

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

(1984 est.) exports — US 56%, CARICOM 10%, UK 8%; imports—US 37%, UK 10%, CARICOM 7%

Monetary conversion rate

.8463 pa'anga=US$l (December 1985)

3.60 Trinidad and Tobago dollars=US$l (August 1986)

Natural resources

fish

oil, gas, petroleum, asphalt

Airfields

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

6 total, 5 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

Land Force, Maritime Force Caribbean Sea '^'Scarborough PORT OF SPAIN GuHofPtrii

Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force, Trinidad and Tobago Police Service

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

14 major transport aircraft

Highways

198 km sealed 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

Inland waterways

none

Military manpower

males 15-49, 322,434; 234,451 fit for military service

Pipelines

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

Ports

2 minor (Nuku'alofa, Neiafu)

1 major (Port-of-Spain), 8 minor

Railroads

none

minimal agricultural system near San Fernando

Telecommunications

3,529 telephones (3.3 per 100 popl.); 66,000 radio sets; no TV sets; 1 AM station; 1 satellite ground station Defense Forces

excellent international service via tropospheric scatter links to Barbados and Guyana; good local service; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station; 109,000 telephones (9.6 per 100 popl.); 2 AM, 4 FM, 5 TV stations Defense Forces