President: Maxwell Richards Prime minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
President: Jakaya Kikwete
Population
1,226,383
46,912,768
Life Expectancy
71.670 years
53.140 years
Capital City
Port-of-Spain
Largest city
Chaguanas (population: 72,159)
Dar es Salaam (population: 2,698,650)
Human Development Index
0.833
0.503
GDP per capita
$20,300 US
Literacy Rate
98.6%
69.4%
Corruption Perception Index
3.6
3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
33.3%
30.4%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
6.400%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished in practice
Political System
parliamentary democracy
republic
Independence date
31 August 1962 (from UK)
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)
mainland - Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 35%; Zanzibar - more than 99% Muslim
Languages
English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages
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
External Debt
$4,483,000,000 $
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)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
0
Location
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique
Area
5,128 km sq
947,300 km sq
Coastline
362 km
1,424 km
Climate
tropical; rainy season (June to December)
varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands
