Trinidad and Tobago
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Port of Spain
- Population
- 1,410,170 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 5,128 sq km
- Government
- parliamentary republic
- Languages
- English (official), Trinidadian Creole English, Tobagonian Creole English, Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Trinidadian Creole French, Spanish, Chinese
- Religions
- Protestant 32.1% (Pentecostal/Evangelical/Full Gospel 12%, Baptist 6.9%, Anglican 5.7%, Seventh Day Adventist 4.1%, Presbyterian/Congregational 2.5%, other Protestant 0.9%), Roman Catholic 21.6%, Hindu 18.2%, Muslim 5%, Jehovah's Witness 1.5%, other 8.4%, none 2.2%, unspecified 11.1% (2011 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- East Indian 35.4%, African descent 34.2%, mixed - other 15.3%, mixed - African/East Indian 7.7%, other 1.3%, unspecified 6.2% (2011 est.)
- Currency
- Trinidad and Tobago dollars (TTD)
- Life Expectancy
- 76.5 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .tt
- Climate
- tropical; rainy season (June to December)
- Terrain
- mostly plains with some hills and low mountains
- Natural Resources
- petroleum, natural gas, asphalt
- Major Exports
- natural gas, alcohols, ammonia, crude petroleum, iron reductions (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
First colonized by the Spanish, Trinidad and Tobago came under British control in the early 19th century. The emancipation of enslaved people in 1834 disrupted the twin islands' sugar industry.