Trinidad and Tobago

Flag Proportion: 2:3

Capital: Trinidad - Port of Spain and Tobago - Scarborough

Language: English

Currency: Trinidad and Tobago Dollar

Continent: North America

Republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, comprising the southernmost of the Caribbean islands, namely, Trinidad and Tobago and adjacent islets situated off the coast of Venezuela. Trinidad is situated north of and opposite the mouth of the Orinoco River and is separated from the South American coast by the Gulf of Paria. Tobago is 32 km (20 mi) northeast of Trinidad. Area of Trinidad, 4828 sq km (1864 sq mi); area of Tobago, 300 sq km (116 sq mi); total area of the country, 5130 sq km (1981 sq mi).

Trinidad is traversed roughly from east to west by three ranges of hills. The highest point, El Cerro del Aripo, is 940 m (3085 ft) above sea level. The island has only one natural harbor, at Chaguanas on the western coast, but the entire Gulf of Paria provides safe anchorage. The northern coast is rocky, the southern coast is steep, and the eastern coast is exposed to heavy surf. In the southwestern part of Trinidad is the famous 42-hectare (104-acre) Pitch Lake, which yields large quantities of asphalt. The island of Tobago is of volcanic origin and is, in actuality, a single mountain mass that reaches an elevation of about 550 m (about 1800 ft) above sea level at its summit.

The population (1995 estimate) of Trinidad and Tobago was 1,271,000. The capital and chief city is Port-of-Spain (population, 1990 census, 58,400). Other major cities are San Fernando (30,100) and Arima (29,700). The people of the islands are chiefly West Indians of African descent (41 percent) and East Indians (40 percent). Other groups include people of Chinese, West European, and Middle Eastern descent. English is the principal language spoken, although Spanish, Hindi, and a French patois are also used. About three-fifths of the people are Christians, with Roman Catholics constituting the largest single group (30 percent). Anglicans form another substantial community (11 percent), and Hindus (25 percent) and Muslims (6 percent) make up the major non-Christian bodies.

Education in the country is free, and attendance at school is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 12. In the late 1980s more than 274,000 pupils annually attended primary and secondary schools, most of which are maintained or aided by the government. Higher education is provided by teacher-training colleges, technical institutes, and the University of the West Indies, which has faculties in the arts, social sciences, natural sciences, education, agriculture, medicine, and engineering on the Trinidad-Tobago Campus (1960) in Saint Augustine, Trinidad.

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