| 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. GDP:
purchasing power parity - $11.2 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5% (1999 est.), 5% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $9,500 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2%
industry: 44%
services: 54% (1998 est.)
Population below poverty line: 21% (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.5% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 558,700 (1998)
Labor force - by occupation: construction and utilities 12.4%, manufacturing,
mining, and quarrying 14%, agriculture 9.5%, services 64.1% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 14.2% (1998)
Budget:
revenues: $1.54 billion
expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (1998)
Industries: petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage,
cotton textiles
Industrial production growth rate: 7.5% (1995)
Electricity - production: 4.763 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 99.27%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.73% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 4.43 billion kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables;
poultry
Exports: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel
products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers
Exports - partners: US 36.9%, Caricom countries 29.4%, Central and South America
9.7%, EU 6.3% (1998)
Imports: $3 billion (c.i.f., 1998)
Imports - commodities: machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods,
food, live animals
Imports - partners: US 44.7%, Latin America 18.9%, EU 13.7%, Japan 4.8% (1998)
Debt - external: $2.2 billion (1997 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $121.4 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD) = 100 cents
SOURCE: The World Factbook |