President: Maxwell Richards Prime minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Population
7,590,758
1,226,383
Life Expectancy
81.070 years
71.670 years
Capital City
Jerusalem
Port-of-Spain
Largest city
Jerusalem (population: 714,000)
Chaguanas (population: 72,159)
Human Development Index
0.93
0.833
GDP per capita
$31,400 US
$20,300 US
Literacy Rate
97.1%
98.6%
Corruption Perception Index
6
3.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
14.2%
33.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Sammy Ofer & family ($4.0bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
5.600%
6.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished except for special circumstances
Legal
Political System
parliamentary democracy
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
31 August 1962 (from UK)
Religions
Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
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
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
Exports
machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
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
$102,300,000,000 $
$4,483,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.56 (2008 est.), 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (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
7.300%
0.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
2
Location
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Area
20,770 km sq
5,128 km sq
Coastline
273 km
362 km
Climate
temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
