President: Maxwell Richards Prime minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Population
1,274,709
1,226,383
Life Expectancy
73.580 years
71.670 years
Capital City
Tallinn
Port-of-Spain
Largest city
Tallinn (population: 394,024)
Chaguanas (population: 72,159)
Human Development Index
0.871
0.833
GDP per capita
$20,600 US
$20,300 US
Literacy Rate
99.8%
98.6%
Corruption Perception Index
6.6
3.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
20.8%
33.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
12.100%
6.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
parliamentary republic
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
31 August 1962 (from UK)
Religions
Evangelical Lutheran 13.6%, Orthodox 12.8%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal) 1.4%, unaffiliated 34.1%, other and unspecified 32%, none 6.1% (2000 census)
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
Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census)
English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
Exports
machinery and equipment 29%, wood and paper 13%, metals 10%, food products 8%, textiles 5%, chemical products (2007)
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
$25,220,000,000 $
$4,483,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
krooni (EEK) per US dollar - 10.7 (2008), 11.535 (2007), 12.473 (2006), 12.584 (2005), 12.596 (2004) note: the krooni is pegged to the euro
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
2.000%
0.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
2
Location
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela