An Overview of the Economy
Trinidad and Tobago have a stable economy and, unlike other
Caribbean countries, it has considerable amounts of oil and gas
reserves. The economy relies heavily on earnings from its
energy sector so the government is making efforts to
diversify the economy and develop other areas such as
tourism. The economy has seen considerable growth for the past few
years, an estimated 12% in 2006. Indicators of economic growth
include an increase in tourism, a raise in property prices and
expanding infrastructure.
| statistics |
|
| GDP (PPP) (IMF) (US$Billions) |
23.8 |
| GDP (PPP) (CIA) (US$Billions) |
23.8 |
| GDP Growth (IMF) (%) |
5.5% |
| GDP Growth (CIA) (%) |
5.5% |
| GDP Per Capita (PPP) (IMF) (US$) |
18,277 |
| GDP Per Capita (PPP) (CIA) (US$) |
18,300 |
| GDP by Sector (%) |
Agriculture: 0.6%
Services: 37.5%
Industry: 61.9% |
| Inflation (%) |
7.9% |
| Population Below the Poverty Line (%) |
17% |
| Labour Force (Millions) |
0.615 |
| Labour Force by Occupation (%) |
Agriculture: 4%
Manufactures/
Mining & quarrying: 12.9%
Construction and utilities: 17.5%
Services: 65.6% |
| Unemployment (%) |
6.5% |
| Main Industries |
Petroleum, chemicals, tourism,
food processing, cement, beverages,
Cotton textiles. |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, IMF
GDP
| economic indicators |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| GDP (US$Billions) |
11.2 |
12.7 |
15.1 |
19.0 |
20.7 |
| GDP Growth (%) |
13.7% |
6.6% |
7.0% |
10.4% |
5.5% |
| GDP Per Capita (US$) |
9,001 |
10,025 |
12,328 |
14,772 |
15,904 |
| GDP Per Capita (PPP) (US$) |
21,056 |
13,087 |
14,258 |
16,020 |
18,300 |
| Inflation (%) |
3.8% |
3.8% |
6.9% |
7.8% |
7.9% |
| Unemployment (%) |
10.8% |
10.4% |
10.4% |
8.0% |
6.5% |
Foreign-Exchange
& Gold Reserves (US$Billions) |
2.5 |
2.9 |
4.9 |
6.9 |
6.7 |
| Mobile Phone Users |
17,411 |
361,900 |
361,900 |
800,000 |
1,655,000 |
| Internet Users |
120,000 |
138,000 |
138,000 |
160,000 |
163,000 |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, IMF
Major Exports & Imports
Trinidad and Tobago's main imports include machinery,
transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food and live
animals. With the government promoting tourism the islands are
starting to rely on their imports to support their expanding
tourism sector; the islands have seen a rise of 46.36% in imports
since 2003. The islands' main exports consist of both natural
resources and manufactured goods.The US is the country's main
trading partner.
major exports 2007
Petroleum and products, liquified natural gas, methanol, amonia,
steel products, sugar, cocoa, coffee.
major imports 2007
Mineral fuels, lubricants, machinery, transportation
equipment.
| export partners |
% of total |
| US |
59.8% |
| Spain |
5.3% |
| Jamaica |
5.2% |
| import partners |
% of total |
| US |
30.6% |
| Brazil |
12.0% |
| Venezuala |
6.8% |
| Gabon |
4.7% |
| Colombia |
4.6% |
Source: CIA World Factbook
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