President: Maxwell Richards Prime minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
President: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
Population
1,226,383
42,192,494
Life Expectancy
71.670 years
77.140 years
Capital City
Port-of-Spain
Buenos Aires
Largest city
Chaguanas (population: 72,159)
Buenos Aires (population: 13,076,300)
Human Development Index
0.833
0.86
GDP per capita
$20,300 US
$17,700 US
Literacy Rate
98.6%
97.2%
Corruption Perception Index
3.6
2.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
33.3%
39.8%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Gregorio Perez Companc & family ($1.8bn US)
Unemployment Rate
6.400%
7.200%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
parliamentary democracy
republic
Independence date
31 August 1962 (from UK)
9 July 1816 (from Spain)
Religions
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)
nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Languages
English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French
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
soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat
External Debt
$4,483,000,000 $
$136,800,000,000 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)
Argentine pesos (ARS) per US dollar - 3.1636 (2008 est.), 3.1105 (2007), 3.0543 (2006), 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.300%
0.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
6
Location
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Area
5,128 km sq
2,780,400 km sq
Coastline
362 km
4,989 km
Climate
tropical; rainy season (June to December)
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
