Map of São Tomé and Príncipe | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Portugal discovered and colonized the uninhabited islands in the late 15th century, setting up a sugar-based economy that 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. President Evaristo CARVALHO, of the same political party as Prime Minister TROVOADA, was elected in September 2016, marking a rare instance in which the positions of president and prime minister are held by the same party. Prime Minister TROVOADA resigned at the end of 2018 and was replaced by Jorge BOM JESUS. New oil discoveries in the Gulf of Guinea may attract increased attention to the small island nation.


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Location: Central Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, just north of the Equator, west of Gabon

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 N, 7 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 964 km²
Land: 964 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 184
Comparative: more than five times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 209 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)

Terrain: volcanic, mountainous

Elevation
Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m

Natural resources: fish, hydropower

Land use
Agricultural land: 50.7% (2011 est.)
Forest: 28.1% (2011 est.)
Other: 21.2% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 100 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: flooding

Geography
Note: the second-smallest African country (after the Seychelles); the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are mountainous


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Population
Distribution rank: population distribution map: 211,122 (July 2020 est.)
Rank: 183
Growth rate: 1.58% (2020 est.)
Growth rate rank: 64
Below poverty line: 66.2% (2009 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Sao Tomean(s)
Adjective: Sao Tomean

Ethnic groups: 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)

Languages: 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% (2012 est.)
Note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census

Religions: 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.)

Demographic profile: 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.

Age structure
0-14 years: 39.77% (male 42,690/female 41,277)
15-24 years: 21.59% (male 23,088/female 22,487)
25-54 years: 31.61% (male 32,900/female 33,834)
55-64 years: 4.17% (male 4,095/female 4,700)
65 years and over: 2.87% (male 2,631/female 3,420) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 81
Youth dependency ratio: 75.6
Elderly dependency ratio: 5.4
Potential support ratio: 18.4 (2020 est.)

Median age
Total: 19.3 years
Male: 18.9 years
Female: 19.7 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 204

Population growth rate: 1.58% (2020 est.)
Rank: 64

Birth rate: 29.7 births/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 33

Death rate: 6.3 deaths/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 152

Net migration rate: -7.9 migrant(s)/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 212

Population distribution
Rank: population distribution map

Urbanization
Urban population: 74.4% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 3.33% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 80,000 SAO TOME (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation and illegal logging; soil erosion and exhaustion; inadequate sewage treatment in cities; biodiversity preservation
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
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: 0.97 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 19.4 years (2008/09 est.)
Note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 41.7 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 43.6 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 39.8 deaths/1000 live births (2020 est.)
Rank: 35

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 66.3 years
Male: 64.9 years
Female: 67.8 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 187

Total fertility rate: 3.82 children born/woman (2020 est.)
Rank: 33

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 40.6% (2014)

Drinking water source
Urban: 0% of population
Rural: 11.6% of population
Total: 3.2% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure: 6.2% (2017)

Physicians density: 0.05 physicians/1000 population (2017)

Hospital bed density: 2.9 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 45.6% of population
Rural: 64.7% of population
Total: 50.9% of population (2017 est.)

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2018)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 56
People living with hivaids: 1100 (2018)
People living with hivaids rank: 144
Deaths note: <100 (2018)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high (2020)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
Water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 12.4% (2016)
Rank: 133

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 8.8% (2014)
Rank: 69

Education expenditures: 5.1% of GDP (2018)
Rank: 56

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 92.8%
Male: 96.2%
Female: 89.5% (2018)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 12 years
Male: 12 years
Female: 13 years (2015)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
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 saints 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 islands sugar crop were paid

Government type: semi-presidential republic

Capital
Name: Sao Tome
Geographic coordinates: 0 20 N, 6 44 E
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time): etymology: named after Saint Thomas the Apostle

Administrative divisions: 6 districts (distritos, singular - distrito), 1 autonomous region* (regiao autonoma); Agua Grande, Cantagalo, Caue, Lemba, Lobata, Me-Zochi, Principe*

Dependent areas

Independence: 12 July 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 July (1975)

Constitution
History: approved 5 November 1975
Amendments: proposed by the National Assembly; passage requires two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; the Assembly can propose to the president of the republic that an amendment be submitted to a referendum; revised several times, last in 2006

Legal system: mixed legal system of civil law based on the Portuguese model and customary law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Evaristo CARVALHO (since 3 September 2016)
Head of government: Prime Minister Jorge Bom JESUS (since 3 December 2018)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: 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 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 2016 DA COSTA withdrew from the runoff, citing voting irregularities, and CARVALHO was declared the winner

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 7 October 2018 (next to be held in October 2022)
Election results: percent of vote by party - ADI 41.8%, MLSTP/PSD 40.3%, PCD-GR 9.5%, MCISTP 2.1%, other 6.3%; seats by party - ADI 25, MLSTP-PSD 23, PCD-MDFM-UDD 5, MCISTP 2; composition - men 45, women 10, percent of women 18.2%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: 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 and elected by the National Assembly for 5-year terms
Subordinate courts: Court of First Instance; Audit Court

Political parties and leaders: Force for Democratic Change Movement or MDFM [Fradique Bandeira Melo DE MENEZES]Independent Democratic Action or ADI [vacant]Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Aurelio MARTINS]Party for Democratic Convergence-Reflection Group or PCD-GR [Leonel Mario D'ALVA]other small parties

International organization participation: 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)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Filomeno Azevedo Agostinho das NEVES (since 3 December 2013)
In the us chancery: 675 Third Avenue, Suite 1807, New York, NY 10,017
In the us telephone: [1] (212) 651-8,116
In the us FAX: [1] (212) 651-8,117
From the us: the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the US Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe

Flag description: 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

National symbols: palm tree; national colors: green, yellow, red, black

National anthem
Name: Independencia total (Total Independence)
Lyricsmusic: Alda Neves DA GRACA do Espirito Santo/Manuel dos Santos Barreto de Sousa e ALMEIDA
Note: adopted 1975

National heritage


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Economy overview

Real gdp purchasing power parity
Real:
Real note: data are in 2010 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 76

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2010 dollars
Rank: 227

Gross national saving:
Rank: 107

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 81.4% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 17.6% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 33.4% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 7.9% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -40.4% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 11.8% (2017 est.)
Industry: 14.8% (2017 est.)
Services: 73.4% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish

Industries: light construction, textiles, soap, beer, fish processing, timber

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (2017 est.)
Rank: 57

Labor force: 72,600 (2017 est.)
Rank: 185
By occupation agriculture: 26.1%
By occupation industry: 21.4%
By occupation services: 52.5% (2014 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 167

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 66.2% (2009 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: 103 million (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 112.4 million (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -2.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 113

Taxes and other revenues: 26.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 114

Public debt:
Rank: 27

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 198

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:
Rank: 76

Exports:
Rank: 215
Partners: Guyana 43.7%, Germany 23.6%, Portugal 6%, Netherlands 5.5%, Poland 4.4% (2017)
Commodities: cocoa 68%, copra, coffee, palm oil (2010 est.)

Imports:
Rank: 213
Commodities: machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products
Partners: Portugal 54.7%, Angola 16.5%, China 5.6% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 185

Debt external:
Rank: 184

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 71% (2019)
Access electrification urban areas: 87% (2019)
Access electrification rural areas: 25% (2019)
Production: 66 million kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 203
Consumption: 61.38 million kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 203
Exports: 0 kWh (2016)
Exports rank: 193
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 195
Installed generating capacity: 18,100 kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 204
Generation sources fossil fuels: 88% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 59
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 177
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 11% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 115
Generation sources other renewable sources: 1% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 166

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 196
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 189
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 191
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2018)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 191

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products production rank: 198
Products consumption: 1000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 205
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 199
Products imports: 1027 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 201

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 193
Consumption: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 195
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 178
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 184
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 190

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 148,100 Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 203

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 4,614
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2.22 (2019 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 205
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 160,189
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 77.08 (2019 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 188

Telephone system

Broadcast media: 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

Internet
Country code: .st
Users total: 61,193
Users percent of population: 29.93% (July 2018 est.)
Users rank: 192

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 1557
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2018 est.)
Rank: 190


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces: 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 (2019)

Military service age and obligation: 18 is the legal minimum age for compulsory military service; 17 is the legal minimum age for voluntary service (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 1

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: S9 (2016)

Airports: 2 (2013)
Rank: 205
With paved runways total: 2 (2019)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 1300 km (2018)
Paved: 230 km (2018)
Unpaved: 1070 km (2018)
Rank: 177

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 15
By type: general cargo 11, other 4 (2019)
Rank: 148

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Sao Tome


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs