President: Maxwell Richards Prime minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Population
42,192,494
1,226,383
Life Expectancy
77.140 years
71.670 years
Capital City
Buenos Aires
Port-of-Spain
Largest city
Buenos Aires (population: 13,076,300)
Chaguanas (population: 72,159)
Human Development Index
0.86
0.833
GDP per capita
$17,700 US
$20,300 US
Literacy Rate
97.2%
98.6%
Corruption Perception Index
2.9
3.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
39.8%
33.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Gregorio Perez Companc & family ($1.8bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
7.200%
6.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
republic
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
9 July 1816 (from Spain)
31 August 1962 (from UK)
Religions
nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Roman Catholic 26%, Hindu 22.5%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, Muslim 5.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, other Christian 5.8%, other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4%, none 1.9% (2000 census)
Languages
Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French
English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
Exports
soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat
petroleum and petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG), methanol, ammonia, urea, steel products, beverages, cereal and cereal products, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus fruit, vegetables, flowers
External Debt
$136,800,000,000 $
$4,483,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Argentine pesos (ARS) per US dollar - 3.1636 (2008 est.), 3.1105 (2007), 3.0543 (2006), 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004)
Trinidad and Tobago dollars (TTD) per US dollar - 6.3228 (2008 est.), 6.3275 (2007), 6.3107 (2006), 6.2842 (2005), 6.299 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.800%
0.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
6
2
Location
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Area
2,780,400 km sq
5,128 km sq
Coastline
4,989 km
362 km
Climate
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
