1989 Edition

Climate

tropical; rainy season (June to December)

Coastline

362 km

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Delaware

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation

Disputes

maritime boundary with Venezuela in the Gulf of Paria

Environment

outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Land boundaries

none

Land use

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

Natural resources

crude oil, natural gas, asphalt

Note

located 1 1 km from Venezuela

Terrain

mostly plains with some hills and low mountains

Territorial sea

1 2 nm

Total area

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

Birth rate

28 births/ 1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

6 deaths/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

10 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

463,900; 18.1% construction and utilities; 14.8% manufacturing, mining, and quarrying; 10.9% agriculture; 56.2% other (1 985 est.)

Language

English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish

Life expectancy at birth

69 years male, 74 years female (1990)

Literacy

98%

Nationality

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

Net migration rate

0 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

22% of labor force (1988)

Population

1,344,639 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)

Religion

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

Total fertility rate

3.3 children born/ woman (1990)

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

Capital

Port-of-Spain

Communists

Communist Party of Trinidad and Tobago; Trinidad and Tobago Peace Council, James Millette

Constitution

31 August 1976

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Angus Albert KHAN; Chancery at 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 467-6490; Trinidad and Tobago has a Consulate General in New York; US — Ambassador Charles A. GARGANO; Embassy at 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain (mailing address is P. O. Box 752, Port-ofSpain); telephone [809] 622-6372 or 6376,

Elections

House of Representatives — last held 15 December 1986 (next to be held by December 1991); results— NAR 66%, PNM 32%, others 2%; seats— (36 total) NAR 33, PNM 3 Trinidad and Tobago (continued)

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Cabinet

Flag

red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side

Independence

31 August 1962 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal, Supreme Court

Leaders

Chief of State — President Noor Mohammed HASSAN ALI (since 18 March 1987); Head of Government — Prime Minister Arthur Napoleon Raymond ROBINSON (since 18 December 1986) Political parties and leaders: National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), A. N. R. Robinson; People's National Movement (PNM), Patrick Manning; United National Congress, Basdeo Panday; Movement for Social Transformation (MOTION), David Abdullah

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Long-form name

Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Member of

ACP, CARICOM, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB— InterAmerican 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 (1962)

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

universal at age 18

Type

parliamentary democracy

Agriculture

accounts for about 3% of GDP and 4% of labor force; highly subsidized sector; major crops — cocoa and sugarcane; sugarcane acreage is being shifted into rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; must import large share of food needs

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $370 million; Western (nonUS) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $437 million

Budget

revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $430 million (1988 est.)

Currency

Trinidad and Tobago dollar (plural— dollars); 1 Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TT$)= 100 cents

Electricity

1,176,000 kW capacity; 3,350 million kWh produced, 2,700 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Trinidad and Tobago dollars (TT$) per US$1— 4.2500 (January 1990), 4.2500 (1989), 3.8438 (1988), 3.6000 (1987), 3.6000 (1986), 2.4500 (1985) Fiscal yean calendar year

Exports

$1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1987); commodities— includes reexports — petroleum and petroleum products 70%, fertilizer, chemicals 1 5%, steel products, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus (1987); partners — US 61%, EC 15%, CARICOM 9%, Latin America 7%, Canada 3% (1986)

External debt

$2.02 billion (December 1987)

GDP

$3.75 billion, per capita $3,070; real growth rate -2.0% (1988 est.)

Imports

$1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1987); commodities— raw materials 41%, capital goods 30%, consumer goods 29% (1986); partners— US 42%, EC 21%, Japan 10%, Canada 6%, Latin America 6%, CARICOM 4% (1986)

Industrial production

growth rate 5.2%, excluding oil refining (1986)

Industries

petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

15.0% (1989 est.)

Overview

Trinidad and Tobago's petroleum-based economy has been in decline since 1982. During the first half of the 1980s, the petroleum sector accounted for nearly 80% of export earnings, 40% of government revenues, and almost 25% of GDP. In recent years, however, the economy has suffered because of the sharp fall in the price of oil. The government, in response to the revenue loss, pursued a series of austerity measures that pushed the unemployment rate to 22% in 1988. Agriculture employs only about 1 1% of the labor force and produces less than 3% of GDP. Since this sector is small, it has been unable to absorb the large numbers of the unemployed. The government currently seeks to diversify its export base.

Unemployment rate

22% (1988)

Airports

6 total, 6 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439

6 total, 5 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with runways 1, 220-2,439 m

Branches

Land Force, Maritime Force

Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force, Trinidad and Tobago Police Service

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

14 major transport aircraft

Defense expenditures

NA 50km Caribbean Sea Scarborough PORTOF SPAIN Gulf of Paris Srf regional map III Guayaguayare

1.6% of GDP, or $59 million (1989 est.) Tromelin Island (French possession)

Highways

198 km sealed road ( Tonga - tapu); 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

Merchant marine

6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 37,249 GRT/50,116 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 1 roll-on /roll-off cargo, 2 container, 1 liquefied gas

Military manpower

NA

males 1 5-49, 343,292; 248,674 fit for military service

Pipelines

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

Ports

Nukualofa, Neiafu, Pangai

Port-of-Spain, Point Lisas, Pointea-Pierre

Railroads

minimal agricultural system near San Fernando

Telecommunications

3,529 telephones; 66,000 radio receivers; no TV sets; stations— 1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station Defense Forces

excellent international service via tropospheric scatter links to Barbados and Guyana; good local service; 109,000 telephones; stations — 2 AM, 4 FM, 5 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station Defense Forces