Trinidad and Tobago (2006) | Guinea-Bissau (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 regional corporations, 2 city corporations, 3 borough corporations, 1 ward
regional corporations: Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Diego Martin, Mayaro/Rio Claro, Penal/Debe, Princes Town, Sangre Grande, San Juan/Laventille, Siparia, Tunapuna/Piarco city corporations: Port-of-Spain, San Fernando borough corporations: Arima, Chaguanas, Point Fortin ward: Tobago |
9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.1% (male 109,936/female 104,076)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 398,657/female 361,093) 65 years and over: 8.6% (male 41,162/female 50,918) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.09% (male 276,312; female 277,536) 15-64 years: 55.05% (male 344,493; female 379,889) 65 years and over: 2.86% (male 16,850; female 20,742) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 6 (2006) | 29 (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 (2006) |
total:
3 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
total:
26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
36,120 sq km land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
Background | First colonized by the Spanish, the islands came under British control in the early 19th century. The islands' sugar industry was hurt by the emancipation of the slaves in 1834. Manpower was replaced with the importation of contract laborers from India between 1845 and 1917, which boosted sugar production as well as the cocoa industry. The discovery of oil on Trinidad in 1910 added another important export. Independence was attained 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. | In 1994, 20 years after independence from Portugal, the country's first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held. An army uprising that triggered a bloody civil war in 1998, created hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. The president was ousted by a military junta in May 1999. An interim government turned over power in February 2000 when opposition leader Koumba YALLA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by a crippled economy devastated by civil war and the military's predilection for governmental meddling. |
Birth rate | 12.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 39.29 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.5 billion
expenditures: $4.06 billion; including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | 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) |
Bissau |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to December) | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 362 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 1 August 1976 | 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago |
conventional long form:
Republic of Guinea-Bissau conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used |
Death rate | 10.57 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 15.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.767 billion (2005 est.) | $964 million (1998 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Roy L. AUSTIN
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) 628-5462 |
the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Marina Annette VALERE
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 Mario LOPES DA ROSA chancery: Suite 519, 1511 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954 |
Disputes - international | Barbados will assert its claim before the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into its waters; Guyana has also expressed its intention to challenge this boundary as it may extend into its waters as well | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $24 million (1999 est.) | $115.4 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Trinidad and Tobago, the leading Caribbean producer of oil and gas, has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from low inflation and a growing trade surplus. Prospects for growth in 2006 are good as prices for oil, petrochemicals, and liquefied natural gas are expected to remain high, and foreign direct investment continues to grow to support expanded capacity in the energy sector. The government is coping with a rise in violent crime. | One of the 20 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2000. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.651 billion kWh (2003) | 51.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 6.076 billion kWh (2003) | 55 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Indian (South Asian) 40%, African 37.5%, mixed 20.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 0.8% (2000 census) | African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.2842 (2005), 6.299 (2004), 6.2951 (2003), 6.2487 (2002), 6.2332 (2001) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); Guinea-Bissauan pesos per US dollar - 26,373 (1996)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the CFA franc as the national currency; since 1 January 1999, the CFA franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001) 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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 February 2003 (next to be held in 2008); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 43% |
chief of state:
President Koumba YALLA (since 18 February 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Faustino IMBALI (since 20 March 2001) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Koumba YALLA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Koumba YALLA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $80 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers | cashew nuts 70%, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber (1996) |
Exports - partners | US 68.8%, Jamaica 5.5%, Barbados 2.9% (2005) | India 59%, Singapore 12%, Italy 10% (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.7%
industry: 57% services: 42.3% (2005 est.) |
agriculture:
54% industry: 15% services: 31% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2005 est.) | 7.6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 61 00 W | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Geography - note | Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt | - |
Highways | - | total:
4,400 km paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $55.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products (1996) |
Imports - partners | US 27.7%, Venezuela 13.3%, Brazil 11.8%, Japan 5.5%, Canada 4.2% (2005) | Portugal 26%, France 8%, Senegal 8%, Netherlands 7% (1998) |
Independence | 31 August 1962 (from UK) | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9% (2005 est.) | 2.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | total: 25.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
110.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2005 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (2003) | 17 sq km (1993 est.) |
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 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); High Court of Justice; Caribbean Court of Appeals member; Court of Appeals; the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
Labor force | 620,000 (2005 est.) | 480,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 9.5%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, construction and utilities 12.4%, services 64.1% (1997 est.) | agriculture 78% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
724 km border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16% other: 76.22% (2005) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 38% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, 9 by the President, 6 by the opposition party 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 7 October 2002 (next to be held by October 2007) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 55.5%, UNC 44.5%; seats by party - PNM 20, UNC 16 note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly with 12 members serving four-year terms; last election held January 2005; seats by party - PNM 11, DAC 1 |
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years)
elections: last held 28 November 1999 (next to be held by NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRS 37, RGB 27, PAIGC 25, 11 remaining seats went to 5 of the remaining 10 parties that fielded candidates |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.76 years
male: 65.71 years female: 67.86 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
49.42 years male: 47.12 years female: 51.78 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 53.9% male: 67.1% female: 40.7% (1997 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 16,760 GRT/7,941 DWT
by type: liquefied gas 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 1 (US 1) registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2006) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force: Ground Force, Coast Guard (includes air wing) (2004) | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $66.72 million (2003 est.) | $8 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2003 est.) | 2.8% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
305,071 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
173,703 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 August (1962) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian |
noun:
Guinean (s) adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, asphalt | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | -11.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 253 km; gas 1,278 km; oil 571 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Lennox SANKERSINGH]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TU [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY]; Democratic Action Committee or DAC [Hochoy CHARLES], note - only active in Tobago | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Francisco BENANTE]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Koumba YALLA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Victor Sau'de MARIA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Jamaat-al Muslimeen [Yasin BAKR] | NA |
Population | 1,065,842 (July 2006 est.) | 1,315,822 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 21% (1992 est.) | 50% (1991 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.87% (2006 est.) | 2.23% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 18, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 49,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 26%, Hindu 22.5%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, other Christian 5.8%, Muslim 5.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4%, none 1.9% (2000 census) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent international service; good local service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-868; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana |
general assessment:
small system domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 323,500 (2005) | 8,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 800,000 (2005) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2005) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly plains with some hills and low mountains | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 5.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping |