President: Maxwell Richards Prime minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Population
6,086,495
1,226,383
Life Expectancy
62.860 years
71.670 years
Capital City
Port-of-Spain
Largest city
Asmara (population: 563,930)
Chaguanas (population: 72,159)
Human Development Index
0.442
0.833
GDP per capita
$20,300 US
Literacy Rate
58.6%
98.6%
Corruption Perception Index
2.6
3.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
22%
33.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
6.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished in practice
Legal
Political System
transitional government note: following a successful referendum on independence for the Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23-25 April 1993, a National Assembly, composed entirely of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, was established as a transitional legislature; a Constitutional Commission was also established to draft a constitution; ISAIAS Afworki was elected president by the transitional legislature; the constitution, ratified in May 1997, did not enter into effect, pending parliamentary and presidential elections; parliamentary elections were scheduled in December 2001, but were postponed indefinitely; currently the sole legal party is the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
31 August 1962 (from UK)
Religions
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
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
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
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
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Area
117,600 km sq
5,128 km sq
Coastline
2,234 km
362 km
Climate
hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands
