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North & Central America and Caribbean
Trinidad and Tobago |
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Last reviewed: 09 July 2008 |
Country information
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TODAY
Country Facts
Area: 5,128 sq km; 1,980 sq miles
Population: 1,056,608 (July 2007 est.)
Capital City: Port of Spain (population 300,000)
People: Trinidad and Tobago's people are mainly of African or East Indian descent. Virtually all speak English. Small percentages also speak Hindi, French patois, and several other dialects. Trinidad has two major cultural traditions: Creole and East Indian. Creole is a mixture of African elements with Spanish, French, and English colonial culture. Trinidad's East Indian culture came to the island with indentured servants brought to fill a labour shortage created by the emancipation of the African slaves in 1833. Most remained on the land, and they still dominate the agricultural sector, but many have become prominent in business and the professions. East Indians retain many traditions, including the celebration of Hindu and Muslim religious festivals.
Languages: English (official), Spanish
Religion(s): (approximately) Roman Catholic 30%, Hindu 24%, Anglican 11%, Muslim 6%, Presbyterian 4%, other 25%
Currency: Trinidad and Tobago Dollar (TTD): approximately 12.53 TTD to one UK pound (October 2007).
Major Political Parties: United National Congress (UNC); People's National Movement (PNM); National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR); Congress of the People (COP); Democratic National Alliance (DNA).
Government: Trinidad and Tobago is a unitary state, with a parliamentary democracy modelled after that of the UK.
Head of State: Professor George Maxwell RICHARDS
Prime Minister/Premier: Patrick MANNING
Foreign Minister: Paua GOPEE-SCOON
DID YOU KNOW...?
- Pitch Lake, in southwest Trinidad, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt. The lake has occasionally yielded fossils of prehistoric animals.
- The highest point in Trinidad and Tobago is 'El Cerro del Aripo'. At about 940 metres it is located in Trinidad.
- The islands are home to more than 400 species of birds, 600 species of butterflies, 50 kinds of reptiles and 100 types of mammals, including red howler monkeys, anteaters, agouti and armadillos.
Crime
Transhipment of illegal drugs, money-laundering and high levels of violent crime are all problems that Trinidad and Tobago faces. It also has a high level of domestic violence. The prison population is high.
The death penalty remains on the statute books but the law now allows for different categories of murder, removing the automatic death sentence for murder. The last executions were held in 1999 but a number of prisoners remain on death row.
ECONOMY
Basic Economic Facts
GDP, 2007 est: US$21.4bn (EIU)
GDP per capita, 2007 est: US$16,462 (EIU)
GDP growth, 2007 est: 5.8% (EIU)
Interest rate, October 2007: 8% (EIU)
Inflation, August 2007: 7.9% (EIU)
Unemployment, 2007 est: 6.5% (EIU)
Key export partners, 2005: US 68.6%, Jamaica 5.4%, Barbados 2.9%, France 0.9% (EIU)
Key import partners, 2005: US 27.2%, Venezuela 13.1%, Germany 13.1%, Spain 3.8% (EIU)
Economically, Trinidad and Tobago is different from other Caribbean countries because of its significant oil and gas reserves. It is currently the fifth largest exporter of liquid natural gas (LNG) in the world and the largest exporter of both ammonia and methanol. It is an important market for BP and BG, who have both made substantial investments in the country.
Estimated GDP for 2006: US$14.7bn; US$19,800 per capita.
The economy is predicted to grow by an estimated 6% in 2008, down from a high of 12% in 2006 and 8% in 2007. This is the thirteenth consecutive year of growth which has seen GDP double in US$ terms and has outpaced the average regional growth rates for more than a decade. The Stabilisation and Heritage fund currently stands at a healthy US$ 6.8 Billion, or the equivalent of 9 months worth of imports. Unemployment dropped to a record low of 6.2% in 2006.
Consumer price inflation has been increasing and at time of writing stands at around 9.8% (it is predicted to be around 10% at the end of 2008). The central bank plans to continue with an aggressive liquidity absorption policy to contain domestic demand and reduce inflationary pressures, with the aim of reducing inflation. The main drivers of inflation are increased wage demands, the global increase in food prices, high government spending on large infrastructure projects.
The energy sector continues to expand with growth in production, exports and exploration, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the expansion of the Atlantic LNG facility. With new operational facilities shoring up export capacity, and new investment supporting construction activity, real GDP growth is expected to continue. In an attempt to provide incentives for new oil and gas exploration, the government has revised oil and natural-gas production sharing contracts (PSCs), allowing for consolidation of profits and losses in certain deep-water areas and reduces overall tax payments. At current extraction rates, gas reserves will be empty by 2019.
Whilst oil and gas keep the economy strong, the government is aware of its high dependence on earnings from the energy sector and is encouraging diversification into the non-energy sector.
In October 2007, RBTT Financial Holdings Ltd (second largest bank in Trinidad and Tobago) announced it's buy-out by the Royal Bank of Canada for about TT$13.8bn in cash and stocks.
HISTORY
BBC News Country Timeline: Trinidad and Tobago
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Relations with the UK
Bilateral relations are in excellent shape, consolidated by a steady stream of high-level visits.
Visits from the UK
- The UK's Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken McDonald, visited Trinidad and Tobago 28-30 January for discussions on judicial reform
- Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited on 3-6 March.
- Sir Mark Stanhope, Commander in Chief of the Fleet, visited on10-12 May. The visit focussed on relations with the T&T Defence Force and the MODUK.
- The England Football Team played a friendly match against the T&T team on 1 June. They were in T&T for 3 days and undertook a very successful children’s coaching clinic during their stay.
Visits to the UK - The Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, visited from 6-10 June for the Commonwealth mini-Summit on International Institutional Reform. He attended a reception at No 10 with the PM.
- Kendy Sawarasingh, Minister of Public Administration visited in May for discussions with the DVLA on ways to improve the issue of T&T driving licences.
- Geoffrey Henderson, Director of Public Prosecutions, visited in April for follow up talks with Crown Prosecution Service, Ministry of Justice and Sir Ken McDonald.
Other participation
Trinidad and Tobago will participate in the UK/Caribbean Forum that will take place in July in London.
T&T will host the Summit of Americas in April 2009 and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November 2009.
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
Trade and Investment with the UK
Trade 2002-07 (UKTI figures):- Exports from the UK amounted to £81.38 million in 2002, £104.06 million in 2003, £96.75 million in 2004, £103 million in 2005 and £102 million in 2006. Exports for 2007 totalled £118.36 million
- Imports to the UK amounted to £56.96 million in 2002, £75.05 million in 2003, £71.62 million in 2004, £70 million in 2005 and £184.3 million in 2006. Imports for 2007 were £124.79 million (the reduction due to a big decrease in sugar and gas imports).
POLITICS
Trinidad and Tobago maintains close relations with its Caribbean neighbours and major North American and European trading partners. As the most industrialised and second-largest country in the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago takes a leading role in the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), and supports CARICOM economic integration efforts. It is also active in the Summit of the Americas process and supports the establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Trinidad & Tobago was one of the first CARICOM states to formally enter into the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) in January 2006.
After independence in 1962, Trinidad joined the UN and the Commonwealth. In 1967, it became the first Commonwealth country to join the Organisation of American States (OAS). In 1995, Trinidad played host to the inaugural meeting of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and has become the seat of this 35-member grouping, which seeks to further economic progress and integration among its states.
Elections were last held on 5 November 2007. The PNM won by 26-15 over the UNC. The voter tun-out was 66% - 4% lower than the last elections in 2002. PM Manning was returned to office with a mandate and sworn in on 7 November 2007. The next elections are due in 2012.
Government
From 1962 until 1976, Trinidad and Tobago, although completely independent, acknowledged the British monarch as their head of state. In 1976, the country adopted a republican constitution, replacing Queen Elizabeth with a president elected by parliament. The general direction and control of the government rests with the cabinet, led by a Prime Minister and answerable to the bicameral parliament. The 36 members of the House of Representatives are elected to terms of at least five years. Elections may be called earlier by the President at the request of the Prime Minister or after a vote of no confidence in the House of Representatives. The President from among outstanding members of the community appoints the Senate's 31 members. Professor George Maxwell Richards was voted in as Prsident by the Electoral College for a second consecutive five year term in March 2008.
Elected councils administer Trinidad's seven counties and four largest cities.
The country's highest court is the Court of Appeal, whose Chief Justice is appointed by the president on the advice of the Prime Minister. Final appeal on some matters is decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. Trinidad and Tobago house the Caribbean Court of Justice, which was established to act as a court that can handle trade disputes amongst CARICOM member states (Original Jurisdiction), and that will eventually serve as a supreme appellate court to replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London (Final Appellate Court). The court's jurisdiction is currently limited to only Barbados and Guyana.
Tobago was given a measure of self-government in 1980 and is administered by the Tobago House of Assembly. In 1996, Trinidad and Tobago's Parliament passed further legislation giving Tobago a greater degree of autonomy.
Country information
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Contacts
Address:
42 Belgrave Square
London SW1X 8NT
Telephone:
Fax:
(020) 7823 1065
Email: tthc.info@btconnect.net
Office hours:
Mon–Fri: 0900–1700