1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
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 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
People and Society
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 (1985 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)
Government
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-of-Spain); telephone [809] 622-6372 or 6376, 6176
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
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 HASSANALI (since 18 March 1987); Head of Government--Prime Minister Arthur Napoleon Raymond ROBINSON (since 18 December 1986)
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--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 (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
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
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
parliamentary democracy
Economy
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 (non-US) 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)
Exports
$1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1987); commodities--includes reexports--petroleum and petroleum products 70%, fertilizer, chemicals 15%, steel products, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus (1987); partners--US 61%, EC 15%, CARICOM 9%, Latin America 7%, Canada 3%
External debt
$2.02 billion (December 1987)
Fiscal year
calendar year
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 11% 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)
Communications
Airports
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
Civil air
14 major transport aircraft
Highways
8,000 km total; 4,000 km paved, 1,000 km improved earth, 3,000 km unimproved earth
Pipelines
1,032 km crude oil; 19 km refined products; 904 km natural gas
Ports
Port-of-Spain, Point Lisas, Pointe-a-Pierre
Railroads
minimal agricultural system near San Fernando
Telecommunications
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
Military and Security
Branches
Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force, Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
Defense expenditures
1.6% of GDP, or $59 million (1989 est.)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 343,292; 248,674 fit for military service