Trinidad and Tobago: Compensation of employees (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Trinidad and Tobago's compensation of employees (current LCU) rose 1.9% on 2018 (from 16.67 billion to 16.98 billion).

Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1977 to 2018), the average change was +10.2% and a typical year strayed about 9.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 29.4% in 1977 and the biggest yearly fall was 3% in 2017. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2019 the straight-line trend is upward, about 735.2 million a year. A straight line explains 84% of the movement over 9 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

What this measures

Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an enterprise to an employee in return for work done by the latter during the accounting period. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

All 23 values

Compensation of employees (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 13.07 trillion (2024)
• Bahamas, The — 843.34 million (2024)
• Barbados — 807.1 million (2016)
• Belize — 530.42 million (2017)
• Brazil — 240.78 billion (2024)
• Chile — 15.2 trillion (2024)
• Colombia — 59.35 trillion (2024)
• Costa Rica — 5.09 trillion (2024)
• Dominican Republic — 453.52 billion (2024)
• Ecuador — 10.1 billion (2022)

More public sector data for Trinidad and Tobago

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 229.9 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 1.56 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.94% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 5,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.77% (2020)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 2.54% (2025)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 7.21 billion (2019)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 18.74% (2019)
• Revenue, excluding grants (current LCU) — 38.48 billion (2019)

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Questions people ask

What is Trinidad and Tobago's compensation of employees (current LCU)?

16.98 billion in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1976?

It is up 3,599% from 459 million in 1976 (8.76% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 16.99 billion in 2016 and the lowest 459 million in 1976.

Is the latest change in compensation of employees (current LCU) unusual for Trinidad and Tobago?

In 2019, Trinidad and Tobago's compensation of employees (current LCU) rose 1.9% on 2018 (from 16.67 billion to 16.98 billion). Across the 18 yearly changes before that (1977 to 2018), the average change was +10.2% and a typical year strayed about 9.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.COMP.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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