"text":"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. The government is struggling to reverse a surge in violent crime."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela"
"text":"water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; widespread pollution of waterways and coastal areas; illegal dumping; deforestation; soil erosion; fisheries and wildlife depletion"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"tropical; rainy season (June to December)"
"text":"explorer Christopher COLUMBUS named the larger island \"La Isla de la Trinidad\" (The Island of the Trinity) on 31 July 1498 on his third voyage; the tobacco grown and smoked by the natives of the smaller island or its elongated cigar shape may account for the \"tobago\" name, which is spelled \"tobaco\" in Spanish"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"parliamentary republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Port of Spain"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"10 39 N, 61 31 W"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"text":"the name dates to the period of Spanish colonial rule (16th to late 18th centuries) when the city was referred to as \"Puerto de Espana\"; the name was anglicized following the British capture of Trinidad in 1797"
"text":"proposed by Parliament; passage of amendments affecting constitutional provisions, such as human rights and freedoms or citizenship, requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the membership of both houses and assent of the president; passage of amendments, such as the powers and authorities of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, and the procedure for amending the constitution, requires at least three-quarters majority vote by the House membership, two-thirds majority vote by the Senate membership, and assent of the president; amended many times, last in 2007"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
"text":"president indirectly elected by an electoral college of selected Senate and House of Representatives members for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 20 January 2023 (next to be held by February 2028); the president usually appoints the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives as prime minister"
"text":"Christine KANGALOO (PNM) elected president by the electoral college on 20 January 2023; Christine KANGALOO received 48 votes against 22 votes for opposition candidate Israel KHAN (UNC)"
"text":"bicameral Parliament consists of:<br>Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, 9 by the president, and 6 by the opposition party; members serve 5-year terms;)<br>House of Representatives (42 seats; 41 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and the house speaker - usually designated from outside Parliament; members serve 5-year terms)"
"text":"Senate - last appointments on 28 August 2020 (next appointments in August 2025)<br>House of Representatives - last held on 10 August 2020 (next to be held in 2025)"
"text":"Senate - percent by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition as of May 2020 - men 18, women 13, percent of women 41.9%<br>House of Representatives - percent by party - NA; seats by party - PNM 22, UNC 19; composition - as of May 2022 - men 31, women 11, percent of women 26.2%; note - overall Parliament percent of women 32.9%"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly (19 seats; 15 assemblymen directly elected by simple majority vote and 4 appointed councilors - 3 on the advice of the chief secretary and 1 on the advice of the minority leader; members serve 4-year terms)"
"text":"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":{
"text":"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 serve for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 65"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Courts of Summary Criminal Jurisdiction; Petty Civil Courts; Family Court"
"text":"Congress of the People or COP [Kirt SINNETTE]<br>People's National Movement or PNM [Keith ROWLEY]<br>Progressive Democratic Patriots or PDP (Tobago) [Watson DUKE]<br>United National Congress or UNC [Kamla PERSAD-BISSESSAR]"
"text":"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"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"scarlet ibis (bird of Trinidad), cocrico (bird of Tobago), Chaconia flower; national colors: red, white, black"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> adopted 1962; song originally created to serve as an anthem for the West Indies Federation; adopted by Trinidad and Tobago following the Federation's dissolution in 1962"
"text":"high-income Caribbean economy; major hydrocarbon exporter; key tourism and finance sectors; high inflation and growing public debt; long foreign currency access delays; large foreign reserves and sovereign wealth fund"
"text":"excellent international service; good local service; broadband access; expanded FttP (Fiber to the Home) markets; LTE launch; regulatory development; major growth in mobile telephony and data segments which attacks operation investment in fiber infrastructure; moves to end roaming charges (2020)"
"text":"country code - 1-868; landing points for the EC Link, ECFS, Southern Caribbean Fiber, SG-SCS and Americas II submarine cable systems provide connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean and South America; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana (2020)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"text":"Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (TTDF): Army/Land Forces (Trinidad and Tobago Regiment), Coast Guard, Air Guard, Defense Force Reserves; Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) (2023)",
"text":"the TTDF's ground force inventory includes only light weapons, while the Coast Guard and Air Guard field mostly secondhand equipment from a mix of countries, including Australia, China, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US (2022)"
"text":"the Police Service maintains internal security; the TTDF's primary responsibilities are conducting border and maritime security, assisting civil authorities in times of crisis or disaster, providing search and rescue services, and supporting law enforcement, particularly in countering gang-related crime and trafficking of narcotics and other illicit goods; the Coast Guard is responsible for maritime border security in places with no official ports of entry (2023)"
"text":"<p><em>Trinidad and Tobago-Barbados</em>: 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 EEZ</p> <p><em>Trinidad and Tobago-Barbados-Guyana-Venezuela</em>: in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration under UN 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 expressed its intention to include itself in the arbitration, as the Trinidad and Tobago-Venezuela maritime boundary may also extend into its waters</p>"
"text":"28,500 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum, are recognized as refugees, or have received alternative legal stay) (2021)"
"text":"Tier 2 Watch List — Trinidad and Tobago does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; officials increased investigations and prosecutions, identified more victims, and expanded training; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous year to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; the government has never convicted a trafficker under its 2011 anti-trafficking law; corruption and official complicity in trafficking remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement, and the government did not take action against senior officials alleged in 2020 to be involved in trafficking; victim identification and services remained weak, and the government did not formally adopt the National Action Plan for 2021-2023; therefore, Trinidad and Tobago remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2022)"
},
"trafficking profile":{
"text":"human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Trinidad and Tobago, and also exploit victims from Trinidad and Tobago abroad; the country serves as a transit point for Venezuelan refugees and migrants en route to Europe, North Africa, and elsewhere in the Caribbean, and large numbers of Venezuelans in particular continued to arrive in large numbers on a daily basis; unaccompanied or separated Venezuelan children are at increased risk for sex trafficking; migrants from the Caribbean region and from Asia are at risk for forced labor in domestic service and the retail sector; women and girls primarily from Venezuela, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Guyana are at risk of sex trafficking; traffickers also exploit victims from Puerto Rico, the Philippines, China, India, Nepal, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and they increasingly target vulnerable foreign women and girls; LGBTQI+ persons are at risk for sex trafficking; Cuban medical professionals may have been forced to work in Trinidad and Tobago by the Cuban government; Corruption by police, immigration and customs, and coast guard officials has been associated with facilitating labor and sex trafficking; transnational organized crime may increasingly be involved in trafficking; Trinidad and Tobago is likely a sex tourism destination (2022)"
"text":"<p>a transit point for drugs destined for Europe, North America, and the rest of the Caribbean; drug trafficking organizations use the country’s proximity to Venezuela, its porous borders, vulnerabilities at ports of entry, a limited law enforcement capacity and resources, and corruption</p> <p></p>"
