Trinidad and Tobago

Official name: REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Date of membership: 7 June 1976

Short name: Trinidad and Tobago

Capital: Port-of-Spain

Geography

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

Area: 5,128 sq km

Coastline: 362 km

Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, asphalt

Environment - international agreements: Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands.
Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements.

 Economic indicators 

Total at current prices (2013) 21 393 Millions USD 2020
Per capita at current prices 15286 USD 2020
Growth rate per capita 
at constant prices
-7.7 % 2020
Imports of goods and services 
(GDP at current prices)
NA % NA
Exports of goods and services (GDP at current prices) NA % NA

Source: Trinidad and Tobago: Economic National Profile. CEPALSTAT.
Databases and Statistical Publications. ECLAC. Inquiry: 
September 09, 2017. NA= No data available

Socio-demographic indicators 

Total population  1 399.5 (000) 2020
Life expectancy 74 Years 2020-2025
Women 77 Years 2020-2025
Men 61 Years 2020-2025
Public health expenditure 
as a percentage of GDP
6.9 % 2018
Literacy rate for persons between
the ages of 15 to 24
99.6 % 2010
Net rate of enrolment in 
primary education
98.8 % 2010
Net rate of enrolment in 
secondary education
72.3 % 2004
Public expenditure on education
as a percentage of GDP
3.6 % 2019
Gini Coefficient NA NA NA
Unemployment 4.7 % 2020
Migration -0.6 % 2020-2025

Source: Trinidad and Tobago: National Socio-Demographic Profile. 
CEPALSTAT. Data Bases and Statistical Publications. ECLAC. On line. February 24, 2022. NA= No data available

Languages: English (official)

Government

Administrative divisions: 9 regional corporations, 2 city corporations, 3 borough corporations, and 1 ward: regional corporations: Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Diego Martin, Mayaro/Rio Claro, Penal/Debe, Princes Town, Sangre Grande, San Juan/Laventille, Siparia, Tunapuna/Piarco; city corporations: Port-of.Spain, San Fernando; borough corporations: Arima, Point Fortin, Chaguanas; ward: Tobago.

Independence: 31 August 1962 (from UK)

Constitution: 1 August 1976

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: Chief of state: President Christine Carla Kangaloo (since 21 March 2023). Head of government: Prime Minister Keith Rowley (since 9 September 2015).

Legislative branch: Bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, 9 by the President, 6 by the opposition party 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).

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission); High Court of Justice; Court of Appeals; the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London.

Internet country code: .tt

Official Portal Web: http://www.opm.gov.tt