COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH REPORT Trinidad and Tobago

The report finds that while Trinidad and Tobago's GDP grew between 1995 and 2020, its real comprehensive wealth per capita has declined by 36% since the 2008 global recession. This divergence is attributed to an over-reliance on fossil fuel assets, which have seen a nearly 98% loss in value over the study period. The analysis highlights a 'Dutch Disease' effect, where investment in the petroleum sector has crowded out agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Human capital, the largest component of wealth, also declined by 29% from its 2008 peak. The report recommends that the government integrate comprehensive wealth measures into official policy-making to diversify the economy and ensure long-term sustainability.

• Real comprehensive wealth per capita in Trinidad and Tobago has followed an unsustainable trend, growing by only 0.6% annually from 1995 to 2020, with a steady decline of 3.6% annually between 2008 and 2020.
• There is a significant divergence between GDP and comprehensive wealth; real GDP per capita grew by 3% annually from 1995 to 2020, while real comprehensive wealth per capita fell 36% below its 2008 value by 2020.
• Market natural capital, primarily driven by fossil fuel assets, experienced a nearly 98% loss in value between 1995 and 2020, with the asset value estimated at nearly zero (TTD 1,743) by 2020.
• The country exhibits signs of 'Dutch Disease,' where the boom in the oil sector led to a 75% decline in real per capita produced capital in the agriculture sector between 1995 and 2020.
• Human capital, the largest component of total wealth, peaked in 2008 and subsequently declined by 29% to TTD 646,509 in 2020.
• Investment in the education sector is heavily dependent on oil revenues; real transfers to education increased by 116% between 1998 and 2007 but fell 58% below its 2010 peak by 2020.
• Trinidad and Tobago transitioned from a debtor to a lender nation in 2008, largely due to the creation of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) in March 2007, which reached a value of USD 5.7 billion by 2020.
• Non-market natural capital is declining, with total forest area decreasing by 4.7% from 2,394 km2 in 1995 to 2,281 km2 in 2020, and evidence showing the country is becoming warmer and drier.
• Social capital analysis indicates high scores for free and fair elections, cleavage/conflict management, and democratic institution performance, but the country lags in civil society traditions and has seen a decline in trust.

APA

Bernard, G. S., Johnson, S., Armorgan, S., Pritchard, L., Zoundi, Z., Bizikova, L., & Smith, R. (2024). COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH REPORT Trinidad and Tobago. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/comprehensive-wealth-trinidad-and-tobago.pdf

Chicago

Bernard, Godfrey St., Shari Johnson, Semone Armorgan, Lavaughn Pritchard, Zakaria Zoundi, Livia Bizikova, and Robert Smith. COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH REPORT Trinidad and Tobago. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/comprehensive-wealth-trinidad-and-tobago.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bernard |first1=Godfrey St. |last2=Johnson |first2=Shari |last3=Armorgan |first3=Semone |last4=Pritchard |first4=Lavaughn |last5=Zoundi |first5=Zakaria |last6=Bizikova |first6=Livia |last7=Smith |first7=Robert |title=COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH REPORT Trinidad and Tobago |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/comprehensive-wealth-trinidad-and-tobago.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bernard2024comprehensive, author = {Bernard, Godfrey St. and Johnson, Shari and Armorgan, Semone and Pritchard, Lavaughn and Zoundi, Zakaria and Bizikova, Livia and Smith, Robert}, title = {{COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH REPORT Trinidad and Tobago}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-05/comprehensive-wealth-trinidad-and-tobago.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }