Economic Overview
Trinidad and tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses and has one of the highest growth rates and per capita incomes in latin america. recent growth has been fueled by investments in liquefied natural gas (lng), petrochemicals, and steel. additional petrochemical, aluminum, and plastics projects are in various stages of planning. trinidad and tobago is the leading caribbean producer of oil and gas, and its economy is heavily dependent upon these resources but it also supplies manufactured goods, notably food and beverages, as well as cement to the caribbean region. oil and gas account for about 40% of gdp and 80% of exports, but only 5% of employment. the country is also a regional financial center, and tourism is a growing sector, although it is not proportionately as important as in many other caribbean islands. the economy benefits from a growing trade surplus. economic growth reached 12.6% in 2006 and 5.5% in 2007 as prices for oil, petrochemicals, and lng remained high, and as foreign direct investment continued to grow to support expanded capacity in the energy sector.
Environmental Issues
Water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion
Government Type
Parliamentary democracy
Population
1,047,366 (july 2008 est.)
Location
Caribbean, islands between the caribbean sea and the north atlantic ocean, northeast of venezuela
Area
Total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Slightly smaller than delaware
Country Aliases
Conventional long form: republic of trinidad and tobago
conventional short form: trinidad and tobago
Capital
Name: port-of-spain
geographic coordinates: 10 39 n, 61 31 w
time difference: utc-4 (1 hour ahead of washington, dc during standard time)
Military Service
18 years of age for voluntary military service (16 years of age with parental consent); no conscription (2008)
International Disputes
In april 2006, the permanent court of arbitration issued a decision that delimited a maritime boundary with trinidad and tobago and compelled barbados to enter a fishing agreement that limited barbadian fishermen's catches of flying fish in trinidad and tobago's exclusive economic zone; in 2005, barbados and trinidad and tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration under unclos challenging whether the northern limit of trinidad and tobago's and venezuela's maritime boundary extends into barbadian waters; guyana has also expressed its intention to include itself in the arbitration as the trinidad and tobago-venezuela maritime boundary may extend into its waters as well
Sources: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
