Trinidad and Tobago

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 coping with a rise in violent crime.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: Trinidad and Tobago dollar (ISO code: TTD)
* Central bank discount rate: 10.75% (31 December 2008)
* Commercial banks lending rate: 12.44% (31 December 2008)
* Stock of money (M1): $3.047 billion (31 December 2008)
* Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $6.795 billion (31 December 2008)
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999 	2000 	2001 	2002 	2003 	2004 	2005 	2006 	2007 	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Trinidad and Tobago: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	6 809	8 154	8 825 	9 008 	11 236	12 885	15 179	18 413	21 717	24 145
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Trinidad and Tobago: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Trinidad and Tobago: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	 	 	27.138	26.021	25.777	26.955	32.274	34.681	30.335	
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Trinidad and Tobago: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.	 	 	23.862	24.900	22.236	23.313	23.851	29.435	24.428	
Debt to revenue (years) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Trinidad and Tobago on Wikipedia
* Central bank of Trinidad and Tobago
* and Tobago Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
Category:Countries