Overview: Trinidad and Tobago's petroleum-based economy has been in decline since 1982. During the first half of the 1980s, the petroleum sector accounted for nearly 80% of export earnings, 40% of government revenues, and almost 25% of GDP. In recent years, however, the economy has suffered because of the sharp fall in the price of oil. The government, in response to the revenue loss, pursued a series of austerity measures that pushed the unemployment rate to 21.6% in 1987. Agriculture employs only about 10% of the labor force and produces less than 3% of GDP. Since this sector is small, it has been unable to absorb the large numbers of the unemployed.

GDP: $4.2 billion, per capita $3,550; real growth rate - 4.8% (1987)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.7% (1987)

Unemployment rate: 21.6% (1987)

Budget: revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $430 million (1988 est.)

Exports: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1987); @m5commodities--includes reexports--petroleum and petroleum products 70%, fertilizer, chemicals 15%, steel products, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus (1987); @m5partners--US 61%, EC 15%, CARICOM 9%, Latin America 7%, Canada 3% (1986)

Imports: $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1987); @m5commodities--raw materials 41%, capital goods 30%, consumer goods 29% (1986); @m5partners--US 42%, EC 21%, Japan 10%, Canada 6%, Latin America 6%, CARICOM 4% (1986)

External debt: $2.02 billion (December 1987)

Industrial production: growth rate 5.2%, excluding oil refining (1986)

Electricity: 1,176,000 kW capacity; 3,312 million kWh produced, 2,720 kWh per capita (1988)

Industries: petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles

Agriculture: sugar, cocoa, coffee, rice, citrus, bananas; largely dependent upon imports of food

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $370 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-86), $410 million

Currency: Trinidad and Tobago dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TT$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Trinidad and Tobago dollars (TT$) per US$1--4.2500 (January 1989), 3.8438 (1988), 3.6000 (1987), 3.6000 (1986), 2.4500 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Trinidad and Tobago on this page is re-published from the 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Trinidad and Tobago Economy 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Trinidad and Tobago Economy 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.