Trinidad/Tobago Dollar

Overview

The Trinidad/Tobago Dollar is the official currency of Trinidad and Tobago. It is indicated by a Dollar sign, or TT$ to distinguish it from other Dollar currencies. It is subdivided into 100 cents. Its predecessor currencies are the Trinidadian Dollar and the Tobagon Dollar.

Economy

• Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses and has one of the highest growth rates and per capita incomes in the Caribbean.
• Recent growth has been fueled by investments in liquefied natural gas (LNG), petrochemicals, and steel. Additional petrochemical, aluminum, and plastics projects are in various stages of planning.
• Trinidad and Tobago is the leading Caribbean producer of oil and gas, and its economy is heavily dependent upon these resources, but it also supplies manufactured goods, notably food and beverages, as well as cement, to the Caribbean region.
• Oil and gas account for about 40% of the GDP and 80% of exports, but only 5% of employment.
• The country is also a regional financial center, and tourism is a growing sector, although it is not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands.
• The economy benefits from a growing trade surplus.

History

• The history of currency in the British colony of Trinidad and Tobago closely follows that of the British Eastern Caribbean territories.
• Even though Queen Anne’s proclamation of 1704 brought the gold standard to the West Indies, silver pieces of eight continued to be a major portion of the circulating currency into the latter half of the 19th century.
• Britain adopted the gold standard in 1821 and an imperial order-in-council of 1838 resulted in Trinidad and Tobago formally adopting the British Pound currency.
• In 1949, the British West Indies Dollar was introduced into the region, and replaced the British Pound in Trinidad and Tobago.
• Trinidad and Tobago banknotes were first issued in 1964, replacing the British West Indies Dollar at par.