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 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 two failed coup attempts in 1995 and 2003. The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea promises to attract increased attention to the small island nation.

Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon
1 00 N, 7 00 E
Africa
total: 1,001 sq km ; land: 1,001 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
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m ; highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m
fish, hydropower
arable land: 8.33% ; permanent crops: 48.96% ; other: 42.71% (2005)
100 sq km (2003)


NA
deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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 fairly mountainous
199,579 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 47.3% (male 47,796/female 46,589) ; 15-64 years: 49% (male 47,386/female 50,412) ; 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 3,383/female 4,013) (2007 est.)
total: 16.2 years ; male: 15.7 years ; female: 16.8 years (2007 est.)
3.13% (2007 est.)
39.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
6.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
-2.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.026 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.843 male(s)/female ; total population: 0.976 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 40.54 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 42.42 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 38.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 67.64 years ; male: 66.03 years ; female: 69.3 years (2007 est.)
5.53 children born/woman (2007 est.)
NA
NA
NA
noun: Sao Tomean(s) ; adjective: Sao Tomean
mestico, angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese)
Catholic 70.3%, Evangelical 3.4%, New Apostolic 2%, Adventist 1.8%, other 3.1%, none 19.4% (2001 census)
Portuguese (official)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write ; total population: 84.9% ; male: 92.2% ; female: 77.9% (2001 census)
degree of risk: high ; food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever ; vectorborne disease: malaria (2007)

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
republic
name: Sao Tome ; geographic coordinates: 0 12 N, 6 39 E ; time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome ; note: Principe has had self government since 29 April 1995

12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
Independence Day, 12 July (1975)
approved March 1990, effective 10 September 1990
based on Portuguese legal system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Fradique DE MENEZES (since 3 September 2001) ; head of government: Prime Minister Tome Soares da VERA CRUZ (since 21 April 2006) ; cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister ; elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 30 July 2006 (next to be held July 2011); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president ; election results: Fradique DE MENEZES elected president; percent of vote - Fradique DE MENEZES 60%, Patrice TROVOADA 38.5%
unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) ; elections: last held on 26 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2010) ; election results: percent of vote by party - MDFM-PCD 37.2%, MLSTP 28.9%, ADI 20.0%, NR 4.7%, others 9.2%; seats by party - MDFM-PCD 23, MLSTP 19, ADI 12, NR 1
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly)
Force for Change Democratic Movement or MDFM [Tome Soares da VERA CRUZ]; Independent Democratic Action or ADI [[Patrice TROVOADA]; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Rafael BRANCO]; New Way Movement or NR; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Delfim NEVES]; Ue-Kedadji coalition; other small parties
NA
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ITU, ITUC, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
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; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
chief of mission: First Secretary Domingos Augusto FERREIRA ; chancery: 400 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022 ; telephone: [1] (212) 317-0580 ; FAX: [1] (212) 935-7348 ; consulate(s): Atlanta
the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands





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 has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of food. Over the years, it has had difficulty servicing its external debt and has relied heavily on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Sao Tome benefited from $200 million in debt relief in December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program, which helped bring down the country's $300 million debt burden. In August 2005, Sao Tome signed on to a new 3-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program worth $4.3 million. Considerable potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The government also has attempted to reduce price controls and subsidies. Sao Tome is optimistic about the development of petroleum resources in its territorial waters in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, which are being jointly developed in a 60-40 split with Nigeria. The first production licenses were sold in 2004, though a dispute over licensing with Nigeria delayed Sao Tome's receipt of more than $20 million in signing bonuses for almost a year. Real GDP growth exceeded 6% in 2007, as a result of increases in public expenditures and oil-related capital investment.
$278 million (2006 est.)
$99 million (2007 est.)
6.5% (2007 est.)
$1,200 (2003 est.)
agriculture: 14.8% ; industry: 14.2% ; services: 71% (2007 est.)
35,050 (1991)
note: population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing; shortages of skilled workers
NA%
54% (2004 est.)
lowest 10%: NA% ; highest 10%: NA%

17% (2007 est.)
43.7% of GDP (2007 est.)
revenues: $74.11 million ; expenditures: $57.71 million (2007 est.)

cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish
light construction, textiles, soap, beer, fish processing, timber
8.5% (2007 est.)
18 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 41.2% ; hydro: 58.8% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
16.74 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
650 bbl/day (2005 est.)
0 bbl/day (2004)
634.4 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
-$58 million (2007 est.)
$4 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
cocoa 80%, copra, coffee, palm oil
Netherlands 47.9%, Belgium 19%, Portugal 9.3% (2006)
$73 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Portugal 48.8%, France 19.7%, Belgium 5.1%, US 5.1% (2006)

$36 million (31 December 2007 est.)
$318 million (2002)


$NA
dobra (STD)
STD
dobras per US dollar - 13,700 (2007), 12,050 (2006), 9,900.4 (2005), 9,902.3 (2004), 9,347.6 (2003)
calendar year
$31.9 million in December 2000 under the HIPC program (2005)
7,100 (2005)
12,000 (2005)
general assessment: adequate facilities ; domestic: minimal system ; international: country code - 239; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2001)
38,000 (1997)
2 (2001)
23,000 (1997)
.st
996 (2007)
1 (2002)
23,000 (2005)

2 (2007)
total: 2 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)




total: 320 km ; paved: 218 km ; unpaved: 102 km (1999)

total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 20,455 GRT/27,871 DWT ; by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 6 ; foreign-owned: 2 (Egypt 1, Greece 1) (2007)
Sao Tome

Armed Forces of Sao Tome and Principe (FASTP): Army, Coast Guard of Sao Tome e Principe (Guarda Costeira de Sao Tome e Principe, GCSTP), Presidential Guard (2007)
18 years of age (est.) (2004)
males age 18-49: 33,438 ; females age 18-49: 35,279 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 25,950 ; females age 18-49: 28,660 (2005 est.)

0.8% (2006)
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 staff (2005)
none



