Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with African plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. While independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The country held its first free elections in 1991, but frequent internal wrangling between the various political parties precipitated repeated changes in leadership and four failed, non-violent coup attempts in 1995, 1998, 2003, and 2009. In 2012, three opposition parties combined in a no confidence vote to bring down the majority government of former Prime Minister Patrice TROVOADA, but in 2014, legislative elections returned him to the office. New oil discoveries in the Gulf of Guinea may attract increased attention to the small island nation.
Central Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, just north of the Equator, west of Gabon
1 00 N, 7 00 E
Africa
total: 964 sq km
land: 964 sq km
water: 0 sq km
more than five times the size of Washington, DC
0 km
209 km
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
volcanic, mountainous
mean elevation: NA
elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m
fish, hydropower
agricultural land: 50.7%
arable land 9.1%; permanent crops 40.6%; permanent pasture 1%
forest: 28.1%
other: 21.2% (2011 est.)
100 sq km (2012)
NA
deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are mountainous
mestico, angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cabo Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese), Asians (mostly Chinese)
197,541 (July 2016 est.)
noun: Sao Tomean(s)
adjective: Sao Tomean
Portuguese 98.4% (official), Forro 36.2%, Cabo Verdian 8.5%, French 6.8%, Angolar 6.6%, English 4.9%, Lunguie 1%, other (including sign language) 2.4%
note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2012 est.)
Catholic 55.7%, Adventist 4.1%, Assembly of God 3.4%, New Apostolic 2.9%, Mana 2.3%, Universal Kingdom of God 2%, Jehovah's Witness 1.2%, other 6.2%, none 21.2%, unspecified 1% (2012 est.)
Sao Tome and Principe’s youthful age structure – more than 60% of the population is under the age of 25 – and high fertility rate ensure future population growth. Although Sao Tome has a net negative international migration rate, emigration is not a sufficient safety valve to reduce already high levels of unemployment and poverty. While literacy and primary school attendance have improved in recent years, Sao Tome still struggles to improve its educational quality and to increase its secondary school completion rate. Despite some improvements in education and access to healthcare, Sao Tome and Principe has much to do to decrease its high poverty rate, create jobs, and increase its economic growth.
The population of Sao Tome and Principe descends primarily from the islands’ colonial Portuguese settlers, who first arrived in the late 15th century, and the much larger number of African slaves brought in for sugar production and the slave trade. For about 100 years after the abolition of slavery in 1876, the population was further shaped by the widespread use of imported unskilled contract laborers from Portugal’s other African colonies, who worked on coffee and cocoa plantations. In the first decades after abolition, most workers were brought from Angola under a system similar to slavery. While Angolan laborers were technically free, they were forced or coerced into long contracts that were automatically renewed and extended to their children. Other contract workers from Mozambique and famine-stricken Cape Verde first arrived in the early 20th century under short-term contracts and had the option of repatriation, although some chose to remain in Sao Tome and Principe.
Today’s Sao Tomean population consists of mesticos (creole descendants of the European immigrants and African slaves that first inhabited the islands), forros (descendants of freed African slaves), angolares (descendants of runaway African slaves that formed a community in the south of Sao Tome Island and today are fishermen), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (locally born children of contract laborers), and lesser numbers of Europeans and Asians.
total dependency ratio: 84.2%
youth dependency ratio: 78.5%
elderly dependency ratio: 5.7%
potential support ratio: 17.6% (2015 est.)
0-14 years: 42.47% (male 42,660/female 41,234)
15-24 years: 20.33% (male 20,358/female 19,808)
25-54 years: 30.66% (male 29,728/female 30,829)
55-64 years: 3.7% (male 3,342/female 3,959)
65 years and over: 2.85% (male 2,506/female 3,117) (2016 est.)
total: 18.2 years
male: 17.8 years
female: 18.6 years (2016 est.)
1.78% (2016 est.)
33.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
7 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
-8.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
urban population: 65.1% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 3.58% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
SAO TOME (capital) 71,000 (2014)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.84 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
total number: 3,235
percentage: 8% (2006 est.)
156 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
total: 46.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 48.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 44.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
total population: 64.9 years
male: 63.6 years
female: 66.3 years (2016 est.)
4.4 children born/woman (2016 est.)
38.4% (2008/09)
8.4% of GDP (2014)
2.9 beds/1,000 population (2011)
improved:
urban: 98.9% of population
rural: 93.6% of population
total: 97.1% of population
unimproved:
urban: 1.1% of population
rural: 6.4% of population
total: 2.9% of population (2015 est.)
improved:
urban: 40.8% of population
rural: 23.3% of population
total: 34.7% of population
unimproved:
urban: 59.2% of population
rural: 76.7% of population
total: 65.3% of population (2015 est.)
0.78% (2014 est.)
1,000 (2014 est.)
100 (2014 est.)
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2016)
10.6% (2014)
8.8% (2014)
3.9% of GDP (2014)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.9%
male: 81.8%
female: 68.4% (2015 est.)
total: 13 years
male: 13 years
female: 13 years (2015)
19.4
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2008/09 est.)
conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
conventional short form: Sao Tome and Principe
local long form: Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe
local short form: Sao Tome e Principe
etymology: Sao Tome was named after Saint THOMAS the Apostle by the Portuguese who discovered the island on 21 December 1470 (or 1471), the saint's feast day; Principe is a shortening of the original Portuguese name of "Ilha do Principe" (Isle of the Prince) referring to the Prince of Portugal to whom duties on the island's sugar crop were paid
semi-presidential republic
name: Sao Tome
geographic coordinates: 0 20 N, 6 44 E
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome
12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
Independence Day, 12 July (1975)
approved 5 November 1975; revised several times, last in 2006 (2016)
mixed legal system of civil law base on the Portuguese model and customary law
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Sao Tome and Principe
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Evaristo CARVALHO (since 3 September 2016)
head of government: Prime Minister Patrice Emery TROVOADA (since 29 November 2014)
cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 July 2016 and second round held on 7 August 2016 (next to be held in July 2021); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president
election results: Evaristo CARVALHO elected president; percent of vote - Evaristo CARVALHO (ADI) 49.8%, Manuel Pinto DA COSTA (independent) 24.8%, Maria DAS NEVES (MLSTP/PSD) 24.1%; note - first round results for CARVALHO were revised downward from just over 50%, prompting the 7 August runoff; however, on 1 August DA COSTA withdrew from the runoff, citing voting irregularities
description: unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 12 October 2014 (next expected in October 2018)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ADI 33, MLSTP-PSD 16, PCD-GR 5, other 1
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal Justica (consists of 5 judges); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 5 judges, 3 of whom are from the Supreme Court)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the National Assembly; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court judges nominated by the president of the republic and elected by the National Assembly for 5-year terms
subordinate courts: Court of First Instance; Audit Court
Democratic Movement of Forces for Change or MDFM [Fradigue Bandeira Melo DE MENEZES]
Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Patrice TROVOADA]
Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Aurelio MARTINS]
Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Leonel Mario D'ALVA]
other small parties
Association of Sao Tome and Principe NGOs or FONG
other: the media
ACP, AfDB, AOSIS, AU, CD, CEMAC, CPLP, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Filomeno Azevedo Agostinho das NEVES (since 3 December 2013)
chancery: 675 Third Avenue, Suite 1807, New York, NY 10017
telephone: [1] (212) 651-8116
FAX: [1] (212) 651-8117
the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the US Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands
three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double width), and green with two black five-pointed stars placed side by side in the center of the yellow band and a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; green stands for the country's rich vegetation, red recalls the struggle for independence, and yellow represents cocoa, one of the country's main agricultural products; the two stars symbolize the two main islands
note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia
palm tree; national colors: green, yellow, red, black
name: "Independencia total" (Total Independence)
lyrics/music: Alda Neves DA GRACA do Espirito Santo/Manuel dos Santos Barreto de Sousa e ALMEIDA
note: adopted 1975
This small, poor island economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence in 1975. Cocoa production has substantially declined in recent years because of drought and mismanagement. Sao Tome and Principe has to import fuels, most manufa
Over the years, Sao Tome and Principe has had difficulty servicing its external debt and has relied heavily on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. It benefited from $200 million in debt relief in December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries
Considerable potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. Potential also exists for the development of petroleum resources in Sao Tome and Principe's territorial waters in
$694 million (2016 est.)
$667.3 million (2015 est.)
$641.6 million (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
$351 million (2015 est.)
4% (2016 est.)
4% (2015 est.)
4.5% (2014 est.)
$3,300 (2016 est.)
$3,300 (2015 est.)
$3,200 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
19.5% of GDP (2016 est.)
16% of GDP (2015 est.)
3.7% of GDP (2014 est.)
household consumption: 85.2%
government consumption: 14.9%
investment in fixed capital: 48.5%
investment in inventories: 0.5%
exports of goods and services: 9.6%
imports of goods and services: -58.7% (2016 est.)
agriculture: 22.4%
industry: 10.3%
services: 67.4% (2016 est.)
cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish
light construction, textiles, soap, beer, fish processing, timber
4.5% (2016 est.)
70,620 (2016 est.)
note: population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing; shortages of skilled workers
13.5% (2014 est.)
13.7% (2013 est.)
66.2% (2009 est.)
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
revenues: $108.6 million
expenditures: $127 million (2016 est.)
30.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
-5.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
89.5% of GDP (2016 est.)
81.8% of GDP (2015 est.)
calendar year
5.1% (2016 est.)
5.3% (2015 est.)
16% (31 December 2009)
28% (31 December 2008)
15% (31 December 2016 est.)
15% (31 December 2015 est.)
$71.57 million (31 December 2016 est.)
$63.82 million (31 December 2015 est.)
$139.4 million (31 December 2016 est.)
$126.6 million (31 December 2015 est.)
$73.47 million (31 December 2016 est.)
$72.7 million (31 December 2015 est.)
$NA
-$44 million (2016 est.)
-$55 million (2015 est.)
$11 million (2016 est.)
$11.3 million (2015 est.)
cocoa 80%, copra, coffee, palm oil (2010 est.)
Netherlands 29.2%, Belgium 22.4%, Spain 15.5%, US 6.6%, Nigeria 5.1% (2015)
$116.8 million (2016 est.)
$118.9 million (2015 est.)
machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products
Portugal 65.2%, China 8.1%, Gabon 7.3% (2015)
$68.3 million (31 December 2016 est.)
$72.86 million (31 December 2015 est.)
$236.5 million (31 December 2016 est.)
$219 million (31 December 2015 est.)
dobras (STD) per US dollar -
22,624 (2016 est.)
22,091 (2015 est.)
22,091 (2014 est.)
18,466 (2013 est.)
19,068 (2012 est.)
population without electricity: 100,000
electrification - total population: 59%
electrification - urban areas: 70%
electrification - rural areas: 40% (2013)
70 million kWh (2014 est.)
65.1 million kWh (2014 est.)
0 kWh (2013)
0 kWh (2013 est.)
20,000 kW (2014 est.)
75% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
25% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
0 bbl (1 January 2010 es)
0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
1,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)
0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
1,001 bbl/day (2013 est.)
0 cu m (2013 est.)
0 cu m (2013 est.)
0 cu m (2013 est.)
0 cu m (2013 est.)
0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)
100,000 Mt (2013 est.)
total subscriptions: 7,000
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (July 2015 est.)
total: 132,000
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 68 (July 2015 est.)
general assessment: local telephone network of adequate quality with most lines connected to digital switches
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 70 telephones per 100 persons
international: country code - 239; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2015)
1 government-owned TV station; 1 government-owned radio station; 3 independent local radio stations authorized in 2005 with 2 operating at the end of 2006; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2007)
.st
total: 50,000
percent of population: 25.8% (July 2015 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 1
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 1
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 50,716
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0 mt-km (2015)
S9 (2016)
2 (2013)
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2013)
total: 320 km
paved: 218 km
unpaved: 102 km (2000)
total: 3
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 2
foreign-owned: 2 (China 1, Greece 1) (2010)
major seaport(s): Sao Tome
Armed Forces of Sao Tome and Principe (Forcas Armadas de Sao Tome e Principe, FASTP): Army, Coast Guard of Sao Tome e Principe (Guarda Costeira de Sao Tome e Principe, GCSTP; also called "Navy"), Presidential Guard, National Guard (2015)
18 is the legal minimum age for compulsory military service; 17 is the legal minimum age for voluntary service (2012)
Sao Tome and Principe's army is a tiny force with almost no resources at its disposal and would be wholly ineffective operating unilaterally; infantry equipment is considered simple to operate and maintain but may require refurbishment or replacement after 25 years in tropical climates; poor pay, working conditions, and alleged nepotism in the promotion of officers have been problems in the past, as reflected in the 1995 and 2003 coups; these issues are being addressed with foreign assistance aimed at improving the army and its focus on realistic security concerns; command is exercised from the president, through the Minister of Defense, to the Chief of the Armed Forces (infantry, technical issues) and the Chief of the General Staff (logistics, administration, finances) (2012)
none
