About Trinidad & Tobago
English - the sole official language.
Trinidadian and Tobagonian English Creole - widely spoken informally, alongside Trinidadian Hindustani, Antillean French Creole, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic among various ethnic communities.
English is the sole official language of Trinidad and Tobago.
| Geography |
Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 5,128-5,130 sq km
Geography - note: outside the usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms; Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt
| People |
Population: 1.4-1.5 million (2025-2026 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population 73.5 years (World Bank, 2025)
Nationality:
noun/adjective: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s); "Trinbagonian" used occasionally without specifying island of origin
Ethnic groups: East Indian 35.4%, African descent 34.2%, mixed-other 15.3%, mixed African/East Indian 7.7%, other 1.3%, unspecified 6.2% (2011 est.)
Languages: English (official); Trinidadian and Tobagonian English Creole, Trinidadian Hindustani, Antillean French Creole, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Arabic also spoken
Population distribution: population on Trinidad is concentrated in the western half of the island, on Tobago in the southern half
| Government |
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago; Christopher Columbus named the larger island "La Isla de la Trinidad" (The Island of the Trinity) in 1498, possibly for its three mountain peaks
Data code: TD
Government type: parliamentary republic
National capital: Port of Spain
| Economy |
Economy - overview: high-income Caribbean economy; major hydrocarbon exporter, one of the more prosperous nations in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing; key tourism and finance sectors; faces high inflation, growing public debt, and long foreign currency access delays, though maintains large foreign reserves and a sovereign wealth fund
GDP (purchasing power parity): $51.68 billion (2025 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.4% (2025)
GDP - per capita: $36,020 PPP (2025 est.)
Inflation rate: 4.5% (June 2022)
Unemployment rate: 3.3% (2025 est.)
Population below poverty line: 4% (2007 est.)
Currency: Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD)
| Military |
Military branches: Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (TTDF): Trinidad and Tobago Regiment (Army/Land Forces), Coast Guard, Air Guard, Defense Force Reserves (2026)
Military - note: the TTDF's primary responsibilities include border and maritime security, assisting civil authorities during crises, search and rescue, port security, and supporting civil law enforcement, particularly countering gang-related crime and narcotics trafficking (2025)