Background: 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. In 2012 three opposition parties combined in a no confidence vote to bring down the majority government of former Prime Minister Patrice TROVOADA. The new government of Prime Minister Gabriel Arcanjo Ferreira DA COSTA is entirely composed of opposition party members with limited experience in governance. The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea promises to attract increased attention to the small island nation.

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 N 7 00 E

Area
Rank: 185
Comparative: more than five times the size of Washington DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 209 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines

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

Terrain: volcanic mountainous

Natural resources: fish hydropower

Irrigated land: 100 km² (2003)

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are mountainous

Population: 183,176 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 185
Growth rate: 1.996% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 54
Below poverty line: 66.2% (2009 est.)

Ethnic groups: 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)

Languages: Portuguese (official)

Religions: Catholic 70.3% Evangelical 3.4% New Apostolic 2% Adventist 1.8% other 3.1% none 19.4% (2001 census)

Population growth rate: 1.996% (2012 est.)
Rank: 54

Birth rate: 37.02 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 20

Death rate: 7.93 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 104

Net migration rate: -9.14 migrant(s)/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 208

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 42

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 175

Total fertility rate: 4.94 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 22

Physicians density: 0.49 physicians/1000 population (2004)

Hospital bed density: 3.2 beds/1000 population (2006)

Sanitation facility access:
Unimproved:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 13.1% (2009)
Rank: 59

Education expenditures: NA

Government type: republic

Administrative divisions: 2 provinces; Principe Sao Tome

Independence: 12 July 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day 12 July (1975)

Constitution: approved March 1990 effective 10 September 1990

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

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly); Constitutional Court (five judges appointed by the National Assembly for five year terms); Court of First Instance; Audit Court

Political parties and leaders: 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

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AOSIS AU CD 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) NAM OIF OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO Union Latina UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
From the us: 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

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

Economy overview: 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 manufactured goods consumer goods and a substantial amount of food making it vulnerable to fluctuations in global commodity prices. Over the years it has had difficulty servicing its external debt and has relied heavily on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Sao Tome and Principe 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 the government signed on to a new 3-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program worth $4.3 million. In April 2011 the country completed a Threshold Country Program with The Millennium Challenge Corporation to help increase tax revenues reform customs and improve the business environment. 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. Potential exists for the development of petroleum resources in Sao Tome and Principe's territorial waters in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea which are being jointly developed in a 60-40 split with Nigeria but any actual production is at least several years off. The first production licenses were sold in 2004 though a dispute over licensing with Nigeria delayed the country's receipt of more than $20 million in signing bonuses for almost a year. Maintaining control of inflation fiscal discipline and increasing flows of foreign direct investment into the oil sector are the major economic problems facing the country.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 214

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 72

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 186

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

Industrial production growth rate: 7% (2010 est.)
Rank: 41

Labor force: 52,490 (2007)
Rank: 190

Unemployment rate: NA%

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

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -10.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 204

Taxes and other revenues: 42.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 41

Public debt: 74.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 32

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 14.3% (2011 est.)
Rank: 198

Central bank discount rate: 28% (31 December 2008)
Rank: 5

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 26.75% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 9

Stock of narrow money: $34.42 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 187

Stock of broad money: $82.39 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 190

Stock of domestic credit: $90.89 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 186

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance: -$77.6 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 68

Exports: $11.7 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 213
Commodities: cocoa 80% copra coffee palm oil
Partners: Netherlands 29.4% Belgium 27.5% US 8.7% Italy 4.9% Nigeria 4.8% (2011)

Imports: $114.4 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 210
Commodities: machinery and electrical equipment food products petroleum products
Partners: Portugal 63.8% US 6% Gabon 4.7% France 4% (2011)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $51.3 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 164

Debt external: $266 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 177

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 32 million kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 210
Consumption: 29.76 million kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 210
Exports: 0 kWh (2010)
Exports rank: 139
Imports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 141
Installed generating capacity: 14,000 kW (2009 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 198
Generation sources fossil fuels: 57.1% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 143
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 188
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 42.9% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 50
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 194

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 196
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 193
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 129
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 196

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products production rank: 200
Products consumption: 904 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 208
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products exports rank: 136
Products imports: 889 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products imports rank: 197

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 199
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 200
Exports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 65
Imports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 138
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 199

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 150,300 Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 199

Telephones
Main lines in use: 8,000 (2011)
Main lines in use rank: 204
Mobile cellular: 115,000 (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 189

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 (2007)

Internet
Country code: .st
Hosts: 1678 (2012)
Hosts rank: 165
Users: 26,700 (2009)
Users rank: 184

Military expenditures: 0.8% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 147

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.) (2004)

Airports: 2 (2012)
Rank: 198

Roadways
Rank: 202

Merchant marine
Rank: 138

Ports and terminals: Sao Tome

Disputes international: none