Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago: steady but modest growth, 1980–2025

A major Caribbean oil and natural-gas producer and LNG exporter, Trinidad and Tobago has one of the highest per-capita incomes in the Caribbean but remains closely tied to hydrocarbon-price cycles. Between 1980 and 2025, Trinidad and Tobago's GDP per capita grew from $5,559 to $18,967 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 2.8% — steady but modest growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 2.2% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 5.6 points, reflecting considerable volatility and periodic crises. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 2.6% to 0.8% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 42.6% to 59.2% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 66.5 to 73.6 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 4.3% to 23.8%, while the urban population share grew from 52.3% to 54.0%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 8.13 to 19.58 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) narrowed from 42.6 to 40.2; the poverty headcount ratio increased from 0.6% to 3.2%.