| Country summary | |
|---|---|
|
Capital |
Port-of-Spain |
|
Borders |
(N/A) |
|
Government type |
parliamentary democracy |
|
Population |
1,229,953 (July 2010 est.)[1] |
|
Population growth |
-0.102% (2010 est.)[1] |
|
Life expectancy |
70.86 years[1] |
|
Unemployment |
5.8% (2009 est.)[1] |
|
79[2] | |
|
81[3] | |
First colonized by the Spanish, the islands came under British control in the early 19th century. The islands' sugar industry was hurt by the emancipation of the slaves in 1834. Manpower was replaced with the importation of contract laborers from India between 1845 and 1917, which boosted sugar production as well as the cocoa industry. The discovery of oil on Trinidad in 1910 added another important export. Independence was attained in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. The government is coping with a rise in violent crime.[1]
Economical characteristics[]
- Currency: Trinidad and Tobago dollar (ISO code: TTD)
- Central bank discount rate: 10.75% (31 December 2008)[1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 12.44% (31 December 2008)[1]
- Stock of money (M1): $3.047 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $6.795 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
Statistics[]
| Statistic / Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (million USD)[4] | 6 809 | 8 154 | 8 825 | 9 008 | 11 236 | 12 885 | 15 179 | 18 413 | 21 717 | 24 145 |
| Govt. debt (% of GDP)[5] | ||||||||||
| Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[6] | 27.138 | 26.021 | 25.777 | 26.955 | 32.274 | 34.681 | 30.335 | |||
| Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[7] | 23.862 | 24.900 | 22.236 | 23.313 | 23.851 | 29.435 | 24.428 | |||
| Debt to revenue (years) |
References[]
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Facebook. "Trinidad and Tobago", from The World Facebook. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Trinidad and Tobago", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Doing Business. "Trinidad and Tobago", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Trinidad and Tobago: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Trinidad and Tobago: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Trinidad and Tobago: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Trinidad and Tobago: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
External links[]
- Trinidad and Tobago on Wikipedia
- Central bank of Trinidad and Tobago
- and Tobago Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)