President: Maxwell Richards Prime minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
President: Rafael Correa
Population
1,226,383
15,223,680
Life Expectancy
71.670 years
75.940 years
Capital City
Port-of-Spain
Quito
Largest city
Chaguanas (population: 72,159)
Guayaquil (population: 1,952,030)
Human Development Index
0.833
0.807
GDP per capita
$20,300 US
$8,600 US
Literacy Rate
98.6%
91%
Corruption Perception Index
3.6
2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
33.3%
25%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
6.400%
4.200%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
parliamentary democracy
republic
Independence date
31 August 1962 (from UK)
24 May 1822 (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)
Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
Languages
English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
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
petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish
External Debt
$4,483,000,000 $
$10,050,000,000 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)
the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.300%
0.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
1
Location
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Area
5,128 km sq
283,561 km sq
Coastline
362 km
2,237 km
Climate
tropical; rainy season (June to December)
tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
