Trinidad and Tobago (2001) | Tokelau (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 8 counties, 3 municipalities*, and 1 ward**; Arima*, Caroni, Mayaro, Nariva, Port-of-Spain*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick, San Fernando*, Tobago**, Victoria | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
24.1% (male 143,730; female 138,160) 15-64 years: 69.2% (male 415,898; female 393,551) 65 years and over: 6.7% (male 34,785; female 43,558) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats; fish |
Airports | 6 (2000 est.) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
5,128 sq km land: 5,128 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | The islands came under British control in the 19th century; independence was granted in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 13.73 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues:
$1.54 billion expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (1998) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million; including capital expenditures of NA (1987 est.) |
Capital | Port-of-Spain | none; each atoll has its own administrative center
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to December) | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 362 km | 101 km |
Constitution | 1 August 1976 | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948; amended in 1970 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD) | - |
Death rate | 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $2.8 billion (2000 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN sponsored referendum on self-governance, in February 2006, did not produce the two thirds majority vote necessary for changing the current political status |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Edward E. SHUMAKER, III (until April, 2001) 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, 6176 FAX: [1] (868) 628-5462 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490 FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $121.4 million (1995) | about $4 million annually from New Zealand |
Economy - overview | Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. Successful economic reforms were implemented in 1995, and foreign investment and trade are flourishing. Persistently high unemployment remains one of the chief challenges of the government. The petrochemical sector has spurred growth in other related sectors, reinforcing the government's commitment to economic diversification. Tourism is growing, especially in the pleasure boat sector. New investment and construction also will continue to drive the economy. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.557 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 4.9 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.59% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0.41% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | black 39.5%, East Indian (a local term - primarily immigrants from northern India) 40.3%, mixed 18.4%, white 0.6%, Chinese and other 1.2% | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.2688 (January 2001), 6.2998 (2000), 6.2989 (1999), 6.2983 (1998), 6.2517 (1997), 6.0051 (1996) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Arthur Napoleon Raymond ROBINSON (since 19 March 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Basdeo PANDAY (since 9 November 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term; election last held 11 December 2000 (next to be held by NA 2005); prime minister appointed from among the members of Parliament; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives is usually appointed prime minister election results: Arthur Napoleon Raymond ROBINSON elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 69% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); New Zealand is represented by Administrator David PAYTON (since 17 October 2006)
head of government: Kolouei O'BRIEN (2006); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders) cabinet: the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, consisting of three Faipule (village leaders) and three Pulenuku (village mayors), functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $0 f.o.b. (2002) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 39.3%, Caricom countries 26.1%, Latin America 9.5%, EU 5.7% (1999) | New Zealand (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $11.2 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2% industry: 44% services: 54% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 61 00 W | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | - | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Highways | total:
8,320 km paved: 4,252 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
- |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis | - |
Imports | $3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $969,200 c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | US 39.8%, Venezuela 11.9%, EU 11%, Caricom 4.8% (1999) | New Zealand (2004) |
Independence | 31 August 1962 (from UK) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.8% (2000) | - |
Industries | petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | 24.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | PIF (observer), SPC, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 17 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 220 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president on the advice of 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); High Court of Justice; Court of Appeals; The Majistracy (hears minor civil cases and summary criminal cases) | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 558,700 (1998) | 440 |
Labor force - by occupation | construction and utilities 12.4%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, agriculture 9.5%, services 64.1% (1997 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
15% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 46% other: 28% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | New Zealand and local statutes |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; members appointed by the president for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 11 December 2000 (next to be held by December 2005) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - UNC 58.1%, PNM 40.8%, NAR 1.1%; seats by party - UNC 19, PNM 16, NAR 1 note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly, with 15 members serving four-year terms |
unicameral General Fono (21 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Nukunonu has 6 seats, Fakaofo has 7 seats, Atafu has 8 seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held January 2005 (next to be held January 2008) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.27 years male: 65.74 years female: 70.92 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.9% male: 98.8% female: 97% (1995 est.) |
NA |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the outer edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,439 GRT/4,040 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $83 million (FY94) | $66.72 million |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
346,043 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
247,297 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 August (1962) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun:
Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s) adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, asphalt | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -9.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,032 km; petroleum products 19 km; natural gas 904 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Hochay CHARLES]; People's Empowerment Party or PEP [leader NA]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Jamaat Al Musilmeen [Abu BAKR] | none |
Population | 1,169,682 (July 2001 est.) | 1,392 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 21% (1992 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.51% (2001 est.) | -0.01% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain, Scarborough, Tembladora | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: 1 radio station provides service to all islands (2002) |
Radios | 680,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando; railway service was discontinued in 1968 | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%, Anglican 10.9%, Muslim 5.8%, Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7% | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
excellent international service; good local service domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana |
general assessment: modern satellite-based communications system;
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | 243,000 (1997) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 17,411 (1997) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1997) | - |
Terrain | mostly plains with some hills and low mountains | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 1.81 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 12.8% (2000) | NA% |
Waterways | none | - |