President: Maxwell Richards Prime minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
President: Abdullah Gul
Population
1,226,383
79,749,461
Life Expectancy
71.670 years
72.770 years
Capital City
Port-of-Spain
Ankara
Largest city
Chaguanas (population: 72,159)
Istanbul (population: 11,174,300)
Human Development Index
0.833
0.798
GDP per capita
$20,300 US
$14,700 US
Literacy Rate
98.6%
87.4%
Corruption Perception Index
3.6
4.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
33.3%
9.1%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Husnu Ozyegin ($2.9bn US)
Unemployment Rate
6.400%
9.800%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
parliamentary democracy
republican parliamentary democracy
Independence date
31 August 1962 (from UK)
29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
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)
Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Languages
English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian note: there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the European part of Turkey
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
apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment
External Debt
$4,483,000,000 $
$306,600,000,000 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)
Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar - 1.3179 (2008 est.), 1.319 (2007), 1.4286 (2006), 1.3436 (2005), 1.4255 (2004) note: on 1 January 2005 the old Turkish lira (TRL) was converted to new Turkish lira (TRY) at a rate of 1,000,000 old to 1 new Turkish lira; on 1 January 2009 the Turkish government dropped the word "new" and the currency is now called simply the Turkish lira
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.300%
5.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
8
Location
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria
Area
5,128 km sq
783,562 km sq
Coastline
362 km
7,200 km
Climate
tropical; rainy season (June to December)
temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
