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