Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 provided courtesy of
the libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
======================================================
National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : CI WOFACT WO0238
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994
 
AGENCY      : CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
PROGRAM     : WORLD FACTBOOK
TITLE       : World Factbook: Trinidad and Tobago
 
Source key      : CI 
Program key     : CI WOFACT 
Update sched.   : Annually         
Data type       : TEXT 
End year        : 1994
Date of record  : 19941020
Keywords 3      :  
Keywords 3      : | Trinidad and Tobago 
 
 
                            Trinidad and Tobago
 
 
                                 Geography
 
Location:
     Caribbean, in the extreme southeastern Caribbean Sea, 11 km off the
     coast of Venezuela
Map references:
     Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Standard Time Zones
     of the World
Area:
total area:
     5,130 sq km
land area:
     5,130 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly smaller than Delaware
Land boundaries:
     0 km
Coastline:
     362 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
     24 nm
continental shelf:
     200 nm or the outer edge of continental margin
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     none
Climate:
     tropical; rainy season (June to December)
Terrain:
     mostly plains with some hills and low mountains
Natural resources:
     petroleum, natural gas, asphalt
Land use:
arable land:
     14%
permanent crops:
     17%
meadows and pastures:
     2%
forest and woodland:
     44%
other:
     23%
Irrigated land:
     220 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
     water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and
     untreated sewage; oil pollution of beaches; land degradation
 
 
natural hazards:
     outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms
international agreements:
     party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
     Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
     Tropical Timber; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate
     Change
 
                                  People
 
Population:
     1,328,282 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.1% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     19.6 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     6.28 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -2.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     16.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     70.73 years
male:
     68.09 years
female:
     73.43 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     2.32 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective:
     Trinidadian, Tobagonian
Ethnic divisions:
     black 43%, East Indian 40%, mixed 14%, white 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 32.2%, Hindu 24.3%, Anglican 14.4%, other Protestant
     14%, Muslim 6%, none or unknown 9.1%
Languages:
     English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
total population:
     95%
male:
     97%
female:
     93%
Labor force:
     463,900
 
 
by occupation:
     construction and utilities 18.1%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying
     14.8%, agriculture 10.9%, other 56.2% (1985 est.)
 
                                Government
 
Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form:
Digraph:
     TD
Type:
     parliamentary democracy
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 Noor Mohammed HASSANALI (since 18 March 1987)
head of government:
     Prime Minister Patrick Augustus Mervyn MANNING (since 17 December
     1991)
cabinet:
     Cabinet; responsible to parliament
Legislative branch:
     bicameral Parliament
Senate:
     consists of a 31-member body appointed by the president
House of Representatives:
     elections last held 16 December 1991 (next to be held by December
     1996); results - PNM 32%, UNC 13%, NAR 2%; seats - (36 total) PNM 21,
     UNC 13, NAR 2
Judicial branch:
     Court of Appeal, Supreme Court
 
 
Political parties and leaders:
     People's National Movement (PNM), Patrick MANNING; United National
     Congress (UNC), Basdeo PANDAY; National Alliance for Reconstruction
     (NAR), Selby WILSON; Movement for Social Transformation (MOTION),
     David ABDULLAH; National Joint Action Committee (NJAC), Makandal
     DAAGA; Republic Party, Nello MITCHELL; National Development Party
     (NDP), Carson CHARLES
Member of:
     ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD,
     ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
     ISO, ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
     UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Corinne Averille McKNIGHT
chancery:
     1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone:
     (202) 467-6490
FAX:
     (202) 785-3130
consulate(s) general:
     New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Sally G. COWAL
embassy:
     15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain
mailing address:
     P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain
telephone:
     (809) 622-6372 through 6376, 6176
FAX:
     (809) 628-5462
Flag:
     red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side
 
                                  Economy
 
Overview:
     Trinidad and Tobago's petroleum-based economy still enjoys a high per
     capita income by Latin American standards, even though output and
     living standards are substantially below the boom years of 1973-82.
     The country suffers from widespread unemployment, large foreign-debt
     payments, and periods of low international oil prices. Seven
     successive years of economic contraction were followed by small gains
     in output in 1990-91 of 1.2% and 0.9%, in turn followed by small
     declines in 1992-93 of roughly 1.0%. The government has begun to make
     progress in its efforts to diversify exports.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $10.4 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     -1% (1993)
National product per capita:
     $8,000 (1993 est.)
 
 
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     9.5% (1993)
Unemployment rate:
     18.5% (1991)
Budget:
revenues:
     $1.6 billion
expenditures:
     $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $158 million (1993
     est.)
Exports:
     $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
     petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products,
     fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers
partners:
     US 47%, CARICOM 13%, Latin America 9%, EC 5% (1992)
Imports:
     $900 million (f.o.b. , 1993)
commodities:
     machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live
     animals (1992)
partners:
     US 41%, Venezuela 10%, UK 8%, other EC 8%
External debt:
     $2 billion (1993)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 2.3% (1991); accounts for 37% of GDP, including petroleum
Electricity:
capacity:
     1,176,000 kW
production:
     3.48 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     2,680 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage,
     cotton textiles
Agriculture:
     accounts for 3% of GDP; highly subsidized sector; major crops - cocoa,
     sugarcane; sugarcane acreage is being shifted into rice, citrus,
     coffee, vegetables; poultry sector most important source of animal
     protein; must import large share of food needs
Illicit drugs:
     transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and
     Europe
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $373 million; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $518
     million
Currency:
     1 Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TT$) = 100 cents
 
 
Exchange rates:
     Trinidad and Tobago dollars (TT$) per US$1 - 5.8111 (January 1994),
     5.3511 (1993), 4.2500 (fixed rate 1989-1992); note - effective 13
     April 1993, the exchange rate of the TT dollar is market-determined as
     opposed to the prior fixed relationship to the US dollar
Fiscal year:
     calendar year
 
                              Communications
 
Railroads:
     minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando
Highways:
total:
     8,000 km
paved:
     4,000 km
unpaved:
     improved earth 1,000 km; unimproved earth 3,000 km
Pipelines:
     crude oil 1,032 km; petroleum products 19 km; natural gas 904 km
Ports:
     Port-of-Spain, Pointe-a-Pierre, Scarborough
Merchant marine:
     2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,507 GRT/21,923 DWT
Airports:
total:
     6
usable:
     5
with permanent-surface runways:
     2
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     1
Telecommunications:
     excellent international service via tropospheric scatter links to
     Barbados and Guyana; good local service; 109,000 telephones; broadcast
     stations - 2 AM, 4 FM, 5 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
 
                              Defense Forces
 
Branches:
     Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast
     Guard, and Air Wing), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 357,904; fit for military service 257,667
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $59 million, 1%-2% of GDP (1989 est.)
 
 
 
===========================================================================
This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK (NTDB) CD-ROM,
November, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/11/v.1-2 / Presented by Raleigh Muns,
(srcmuns@umslvma.umsl.edu) University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.