Economy of Trinidad and Tobago
economy of the country
Trinidad and Tobago is a high-income economy, with a GDP per capita (at 2024$ PPP) of about $36000, which is slightly less than the Bahamas and Panama (both at about $41000) and significantly less than Canada (about $65000), Guyana (about $80000), and the US (about $86000). Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, the country's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals. The country's wealth is attributed to its large reserves and exploitation of oil and natural gas.
Trinidad and Tobago was ranked as having one of the poorest investment climates in the Caribbean (15th of 17 countries) in 2024. Its per capita GDP experienced rapid growth through the mid-2000s (grew by 7.1% per annum in the 10 years through 2006), but has since stagnated and then declined (shrank by 1.8% per annum in the 10 years through 2023). Growth through the mid-2000s was fueled by investments in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemicals. Additional petrochemical, aluminium, and plastics projects are in various stages of planning.
In 2023, Trinidad and Tobago was the 42nd largest producer of natural gas in the world (and the largest in the Caribbean); it was the 55th largest producer of oil in the world (and the 2nd largest in the Caribbean after Guyana). Its economy is heavily dependent on these resources. It also supplies manufactured goods, notably food and beverages, as well as cement to the Caribbean region.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Economy of Trinidad and Tobago” is economy of the country. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Economy, Trinidad and Tobago, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “economy of the country” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q387546. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2024, 2006 and 2023.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Economy of Trinidad and Tobago”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Economy of Trinidad and Tobago primary sources, Economy of Trinidad and Tobago archive and Economy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Economy of Trinidad and Tobago”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Economy of Trinidad and Tobago” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.