Location:
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Geographic coordinates:
11 00 N, 61 00 W
Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 5,128 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 5,128 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 0 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 174
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Delaware
Land boundaries:
0 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]
Coastline:
362 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin
Climate:
tropical; rainy season (June to December)
Terrain:
mostly plains with some hills and low mountains
Elevation:
mean elevation:
[see also: Mean Elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, asphalt
Land use:
agricultural land: 10.6%
arable land 4.9%; permanent crops 4.3%; permanent pasture 1.4%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 44%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 45.4% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]
Irrigated land:
36 sq km (2003)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
Total renewable water resources:
3.84 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.23 cu km/yr (67%/25%/8%)
per capita: 177.9 cu m/yr (2005)
Natural hazards:
outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms
Environment - current issues:
water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt