President: Maxwell Richards Prime minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Population
10,557,259
1,226,383
Life Expectancy
59.240 years
71.670 years
Capital City
Port-of-Spain
Largest city
Bujumbura (population: 331,700)
Chaguanas (population: 72,159)
Human Development Index
0.382
0.833
GDP per capita
$20,300 US
Literacy Rate
59.3%
98.6%
Corruption Perception Index
1.9
3.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
31.7%
33.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
6.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
republic
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
31 August 1962 (from UK)
Religions
Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%
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
Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
Exports
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
$4,483,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
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
0.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
2
Location
Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Area
27,830 km sq
5,128 km sq
Coastline
0 km
362 km
Climate
equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January)
