Trinidad and Tobago

total:

0.23 cu km/yr (67%/25%/8%)

per capita:

177.9 cu m/yr (2005)

• 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

noun:

Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)

adjective:

Trinidadian, Tobagonian

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.08 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.76 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

total number:

1,201

percentage:

1 % (2006 est.)

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)

chief of state:

President Anthony CARMONA (since 18 March 2013)

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 15 February 2013 (next to be held by February 2018);
• the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives

election results:

• as the only candidate nominated, Anthony CARMONA elected president;
• sworn in on 18 March 2013;
• percent of electoral college vote - 100%

highest court(s):

Supreme Court of the Judicature (consists of a chief justice for both the Court of Appeal with 12 judges and the High Court with 24 judges); note - Trinidad and Tobago can file appeals beyond its Supreme Court to the Caribbean Court of Justice, with final appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the parliamentary leader of the opposition;
• other judges appointed by the Judicial Legal Services Commission, headed by the chief justice and 5 members with judicial experience;
• all judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 65

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Summary Criminal Jurisdiction;
• Petty Civil Courts;
• Family Court

• Congress of the People or COP [Prakash RAMADHAR]
• Democratic Action Congress or DAC [Hochoy CHARLES] (only active in Tobago)
• Democratic National Alliance or DNA [Charles CARSON] (coalition of NAR, DDPT, MND)
• Movement for National Development or MND [Garvin NICHOLAS]
• National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Lennox SANKERSINGH]
• People's National Movement or PNM [Keith ROWLEY]
• Tobago Organization of the People or TOP [Ashworth JACK]
• United National Congress or UNC [Kamla PERSAD-BISSESSAR]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Neil N. PARSAN (since 14 February 2011)

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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Margaret B. DIOP

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

• cocoa, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables;
• poultry;
• sugar

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:

combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 170 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 (2011)

• 5 TV networks, one of which is state-owned, broadcast on multiple stations;
• 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: 139

paved:

4,252 km

unpaved:

4,068 km (2001)

• 18-25 years of age for voluntary military service (16 years of age with parental consent);
• no conscription;
• Trinidad and Tobago citizenship and completion of secondary school required (2012)

males age 16-49:

341,764

females age 16-49:

317,899 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

269,824

females age 16-49:

261,735 (2010 est.)

male:

8,164

female:

7,503 (2010 est.)

• Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago abide by the April 2006 Permanent Court of Arbitration decision delimiting a maritime boundary and limiting 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 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 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

current situation:

• Trinidad and Tobago is a destination and transit country for adults and children subjected to sex trafficking and adults subjected to forced labor;
• local victims have been trafficked to the US and the UK for sexual exploitation, while women and girls from South America and the Dominican Republic have been subjected to sex trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago's brothels and clubs;
• some economic migrants from the Caribbean region and Asia have had their passports held and experienced forced labor conditions;
• children are vulnerable to forced labor, including scavenging trash;
• the country is a potential transit point for human trafficking to Caribbean and South American destinations

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Trinidad and Tobago does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• in 2013, the government proclaimed its anti-trafficking law and established a counter-trafficking unit, but authorities did not use the law to its full effect;
• despite victim protections in the new law, the government has failed to properly screen and protect hundreds of potential trafficking victims;
• the reported complicity of public officials in trafficking offenses is also an obstacle (2013)