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- <text id=93CT1400>
- <title>
- Trinidad & Tobago--Economy
- </title>
- <article><source>CIA Factbook</source><hdr>The World Factbook 1993: Trinidad and Tobago
- Economy</hdr><body>
- <p>Overview: Trinidad and Tobago's petroleum-based economy has
- begun to emerge from a lengthy depression in the last few years.
- The economy fell sharply through most of the 1980s, largely
- because of the decline in oil prices. This sector accounts for
- 80% of export earnings and almost 20% of GDP. The government, in
- response to the oil revenue loss, pursued a series of austerity
- measures that pushed the unemployment rate as high as 22% in
- 1988. The economy showed signs of recovery in 1990 and 1991,
- however, helped along by rising oil prices. Agriculture employs
- only about 11% of the labor force and produces about 3% of GDP.
- Since this sector is small, it has been unable to absorb the
- large numbers of the unemployed. The government currently seeks
- to diversify its export base.
- </p>
- <p>National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $5 billion
- (1991)
- </p>
- <p>National product real growth rate: 2.6% (1991)
- </p>
- <p>National product per capita: $3,800 (1991)
- </p>
- <p>Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.8% (1991)
- </p>
- <p>Unemployment rate: 18.5% (1991)
- </p>
- <p>Budget: revenues $1.6 billion; expenditures $1.6 billion,
- including capital expenditures of $158 million (1993 est.)
- </p>
- <list>
- <l>Exports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991)</l>
- <l> commodities: includes reexports - petroleum and petroleum
- products 82%, steel products 9%, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa,
- coffee, citrus (1988)</l>
- <l> partners: US 49%, CARICOM 12%</l>
- <l>Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1991)</l>
- <l> commodities: raw materials and intermediate goods 48%,
- capital goods 29%, consumer goods 23% (1991)</l>
- <l> partners: US 39%, Venezuela 14%, UK 7%, CARICOM 5%
- (1991)</l>
- </list>
- <p>External debt: $2.4 billion (1991)
- </p>
- <p>Industrial production: growth rate 2.3%, excluding oil
- refining (1986); accounts for 40% of GDP, including petroleum
- </p>
- <p>Electricity: 1,176,000 kW capacity; 3,480 million kWh
- produced, 2,680 kWh per capita (1992)
- </p>
- <p>Industries: petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing,
- cement, beverage, cotton textiles
- </p>
- <p>Agriculture: accounts for 3% of GDP; highly subsidized sector;
- major crops - cocoa, sugarcane; sugarcane acreage is being
- shifted into rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry sector
- most important source of animal protein; must import large share
- of food needs
- </p>
- <p>Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs
- destined for the US
- </p>
- <p>Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $373
- million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
- commitments (1970-89), $518 million
- </p>
- <p>Currency: 1 Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TT$)=100 cents
- </p>
- <p>Exchange rates: Trinidad and Tobago dollars (TT$) per US$1 -
- 4.2500 (fixed rate since 1989)
- </p>
- <p>Fiscal year: calendar year
- </p></body></article></text>
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