Trinidad and Tobago

The world financial and economic crisis severely impacted Trinidad and Tobago, mainly through the collapse of oil and gas prices after the highs observed during the first seven months of 2008. In this context, GDP growth shrank to 3.5%, two percentage points lower than in 2007. On the economic policy side, the central government recorded a fiscal surplus of 6.5% in fiscal year 2007-08 (compared with 3.8% in fiscal year 2006-2007) owing to higher-than-expected revenue from the energy sector. Monetary policy continued to be based on the absorption of excess liquidity generated by expansionary fiscal spending. The nominal exchange rate remained fairly stable in the context of a quasi-fixed exchangerate regime, but the tendency towards a real currency appreciation continued. Meanwhile, headline inflation posted a rate of 14.5% at the end of 2008, driven by food inflation that reached a record high of 30.6%. The current account surplus increased from 24.6% of GDP in 2007 to 27.6% of GDP in 2008, mainly on account of the expansion of energy exports, whereas the capital and financial account deficit (including errors and omissions) remained at around 16.5% of GDP.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions