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Trinidad and Tobago

Population: 1,346,350 (est.)

Language(s): English

Capital: Port of Spain

Interesting Facts:

The Trinidad and Tobago dollar is the official currency of Trinidad and Tobago.
Many different religions are present in Trinidad and Tobago. The majority are following Christian denominations (65.7%). Other religious groups include Hindus (25.6%) and Muslims (6.6%)
Trinidad and Tobago is one of the wealthiest and most developed nations in the Caribbean and is listed in the top 40 of the 70 High Income countries in the world.
Although Trinidad and Tobago are two separate islands, they are treated as one single country.
Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago’s economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals, tourism is also important to the local economy.
The dry season is from November to May, but it is hottest between June and October. The climate in Tobago is pleasant most of the year and although May, June and July can be wet at times.
The denizens of Tobago are called Tobagonians and those hailing from Trinidad are called Trinidadians or Trinis. Together the people of Trinidad and Tobago are referred to as “Trinbagonians.”
The twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago have an airport, two daily newspapers, a television station and two major radio stations each.
The literacy rate of Trinidad & Tobago is higher than that of the U.S. Its literacy rate exceeds 98% as a result of education being free right from Kindergarten to University.
Cricket is the national sport of Trinidad & Tobago. However, football (soccer) ranks as the second most popular sport in the island.
Trinidad and Tobago is a multi-cultural democracy with people of African, Indian, Asian, French and Dutch ancestry.

Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Grenada to the northwest, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west.

The country covers an area 5,128 square kilometres (1,980 sq mi) and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands, comprising about 94% of the total area and 96% of the total population of the country. The nation lies outside the hurricane belt.

The island of Trinidad was a Spanish colony from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498 to the capitulation of the Spanish Governor, Don José Maria Chacón, on the arrival of a British fleet of 18 warships on 18 February 1797. During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands between Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonizers. Trinidad and Tobago was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. The country obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago’s economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals.

Trinidad and Tobago is known for its Carnival and is the birthplace of steelpan, calypso, soca, chutney and limbo.

Source: Wikipedia