Trinidad and Tobago

total:

0.31 cu km/yr (68%/26%/6%)

per capita:

237 cu m/yr (2000)

• water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage;
• oil pollution of beaches;
• deforestation;
• soil erosion

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

at birth:

1.028 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.75 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

noun:

Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)

adjective:

Trinidadian, Tobagonian

conventional long form:

Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

conventional short form:

Trinidad and Tobago

name:

Port-of-Spain

geographic coordinates:

10 39 N, 61 31 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• based on English common law;
• judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

President George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)

head of government:

Prime Minister Kamla PERSAD-BISSESSAR (since 26 May 2010)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 11 February 2008 (next to be held by February 2013);
• the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives

election results:

George Maxwell RICHARDS reelected president; percent of electoral college vote - NA

• Supreme Court of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission);
• the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London;
• member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

• Congress of the People or COP [Winston DOOKERAN];
• Democratic Action Congress or DAC [Hochoy CHARLES] (only active in Tobago);
• Democratic National Alliance or DNA [Gerald YETMING] (coalition of NAR, DDPT, MND);
• Movement for National Development or MND [Garvin NICHOLAS];
• National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Dr. Carson CHARLES];
• People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING];
• Tobago Organization of the People or TOP [Ashworth JACK];
• United National Congress or UNC [Kamla PERSAD-BISSESSAR]

chief of mission:

Ambassador vacant; Charge d'Affaires Donna HENRY

chancery:

1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 467-6490

FAX:

[1] (202) 785-3130

consulate(s) general:

Miami, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Beatrice W. WELTERS

embassy:

15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain

mailing address:

P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain

telephone:

[1] (868) 622-6371 through 6376

FAX:

[1] (868) 822-5905

• red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side;
• the colors represent the elements of earth, water, and fire;
• black stands for the wealth of the land and the dedication of the people;
• white symbolizes the sea surrounding the islands, the purity of the country's aspirations, and equality;
• red symbolizes the warmth and energy of the sun, the vitality of the land, and the courage and friendliness of its people

name:

"Forged From the Love of Liberty"

lyrics/music:

Patrick Stanislaus CASTAGNE

note: adopted 1962; the song was originally created to serve as an anthem for the West Indies Federation; it was adopted by Trinidad and Tobago following the Federation's dissolution in 1962

agriculture:

3.8%

manufacturing, mining, and quarrying:

12.8%

construction and utilities:

20.4%

services:

62.9% (2007 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

excellent international service; good local service

domestic:

mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 185 telephones per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 1-868;
• submarine cable systems provide connectivity to US and parts of the Caribbean and South America;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
• tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana

• 5 TV networks each broadcasting on multiple stations;
• one of the networks is state-owned;
• multiple cable TV subscription service providers;
• multiple radio networks, one state-owned, broadcast over about 35 stations (2007)

total:

8,320 km

country comparison to the world: 140

paved:

4,252 km

unpaved:

4,068 km (2000)

males age 16-49:

347,044

females age 16-49:

323,847 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

273,361

females age 16-49:

266,535 (2010 est.)

male:

8,572

female:

7,966 (2010 est.)

• in April 2006, the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a decision that delimited a maritime boundary with Trinidad and Tobago and compelled Barbados to enter a fishing agreement that limited Barbadian fishermen's catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone;
• in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration under UNCLOS challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters;
• Guyana has also expressed its intention to include itself in the arbitration as the Trinidad and Tobago-Venezuela maritime boundary may extend into its waters as well