| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago |
| Capital: |
Port-of-Spain |
| Location: |
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
11 00 N, 61 00 W |
| Area: |
total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than Delaware |
| Land
Boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
362 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin |
| Climate: |
tropical; rainy season (June to December) |
| Terrain: |
mostly plains with some hills and low mountains |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
petroleum, natural gas, asphalt |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
parliamentary democracy |
| Administratives
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) |
| 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 George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament
elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term; election last held 14 February 2003 (next to be held in 2008); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives
election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 43% |
| 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)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 October 2002 (next to be held by October 2007)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 55.5%, UNC 44.5%; seats by party - PNM 20, UNC 16
note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly with 12 members serving four-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 |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Lennox SANKERSINGH]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TU [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY]; Democratic Action Committee or DAC [Hochoy CHARLES], note - only active in Tobago |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
1,088,644 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 20.7% (male 115,594/female 109,665)
15-64 years: 71% (male 403,301/female 369,664)
65 years and over: 8.3% (male 40,638/female 49,782) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 30.91 years
male: 30.46 years
female: 31.44 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian |
| Ethnic groups: |
East Indian (a local term - primarily immigrants from northern India) 40.3%, black 39.5%, mixed 18.4%, white 0.6%, Chinese and other 1.2% |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%, Anglican 10.9%, Muslim 5.8%, Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7% |
| Languages: |
English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
325,100 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
361,900 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: excellent international service; good local service
domestic: NA
international: country code - 1-868; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 4, FM 18, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
4 (2004) |
| Internet country
code: |
.tt |
| Internet hosts: |
8,003 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
138,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 8,320 km
paved: 4,252 km
unpaved: 4,068 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
condensate 253 km; gas 1,117 km; oil 478 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain, Scarborough, Tembladora |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,178 GRT/3,633 DWT
by type: passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1
foreign-owned: 1 (United States 1)
registered in other countries: 4 (2005) |
| Airports: |
6 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
