Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela

Geographic coordinates: 11 00 N, 61 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 5,130 sq km
land: 5,130 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 362 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone : 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to December)

Terrain: mostly plains with some hills and low mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, asphalt

Land use:
arable land: 15%
permanent crops: 9%
permanent pastures: 2%
forests and woodland : 46%
other: 28% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms

Environment - current issues: water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified : none of the selected agreements

Population: 1,163,724 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 23% (male 136,807; female 131,177)
15-64 years: 70.2% (male 419,847; female 396,643)
65 years and over: 6.8% (male 35,146; female 44,104) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.52% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 13.66 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 8.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -10.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years:1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over : 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population :68.59 years
male:66.04 years
female:71.25 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.13 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian

Ethnic groups: black 39.5%, East Indian (a local term - primarily immigrants from northern India) 40.3%, mixed 18.4%, white 0.6%, Chinese and other 1.2%

Religions:Roman Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%, Anglican 10.9%, Muslim 5.8%, Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7%

Languages: English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94% (2000)
male: 95.9% (1999)
female : 91.7% (1999)

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago

Data code: TD

Government type: parliamentary democracy

National 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 Arthur Napoleon Raymond ROBINSON (since 19 March 1997)
head of government:Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament
elections : president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term; election last held 10 December 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives
election results: Arthur Napoleon Raymond ROBINSON elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 69%

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; members appointed by the president for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 10 December 2001 (next to be held by December 2006)
election results:House of Representatives - percent of vote - UNC 49.9%, PNM 46.5%; seats by party - UNC 18, PNM 18
note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly with 15 members serving four-year terms

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, judges are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister; Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister

Political parties and leaders: National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Hochoy CHARLES]; People's Empowerment Party or PEP [leader NA]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TUN [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY]

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mackisack LOGIE
chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490
FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Roy AUSTIN
embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain
mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain
telephone: [1] (809) 622-6372 through 6376, 6176
FAX : [1] (809) 628-5462

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

Economy - overview: Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. A leading performer in the past 4 years has been the booming natural gas sector. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The expected recovery of the global economy, along with anticipated higher oil prices, are plus factors for 2002. Negative factors are persistent high unemployment and the political uncertainties following the contentious selection of a new government in December 2001.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $10.6 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.6%
industry:43.2%
services: 55.2% (2000 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 5.6% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
total: 564,000 (2000)
by occupation: construction and utilities 12.4%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, agriculture 9.5%, services 64.1% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate:11.8% (2001)

Budget:
revenues: $1.54 billion
expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (1998)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 4.2% (2001)

Electricity - capacity: 1.253 million kW (1995)

Electricity - production: 5.153 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 4.792 billion kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry

Exports:
total value : $4.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers
partners:US 45.9%, Caricom countries 26.1%, Latin America 9.5%, EU 5.7% (1999)

Imports:
total value:$3.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
commodities: machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals
partners: US 39.8%, Venezuela 11.9%, EU 11%, Caricom 4.8% (1999)

Debt - external: $2.2 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: $24 million (1999 est.)

Currency: 1 Trinidad and Tobago dollar(TTD) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.2466 (January 2002), 6.2332 (2001), 6.2998 (2000), 6.2989 (1999), 6.2983 (1998), 6.2517 (1997)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

Telephones: 252,000 (1999)

Telephone system: excellent international service; good local service
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: 680,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:4 (1997)

Televisions: 425,000 (1997)

Railways:
note: minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando; railway service was discontinued in 1968 (2001)

Highways:
total: 8,320 km
paved:4,252 km
unpaved: 4,068 km (1996)

Pipelines: crude oil 1,032 km; petroleum products 19 km; natural gas 904 km

Ports and harbors: Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain, Scarborough, Tembladora

Merchant marine:
total : 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,910 GRT/7,546 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.)

Airports: 6 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways:
total :3
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2001)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m :2 (2001)

Military branches: Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49:347,831 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 248,324 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $90 million (1999)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:1.4% (1999)

Disputes - international: none

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe and producer of cannabis