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 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.

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 N, 7 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 964 km²
Land: 964 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 185
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)

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

Population
Distribution: Sao Tome, the capital city, has roughly a quarter of the nation's population; Santo Antonio is the largest town on Principe; the northern areas of both islands have the highest population densities: 204,454 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 184
Growth rate: 1.66% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 62
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:

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: 41.2% (male 42,825 /female 41,403)
15-24 years: 21.01% (male 21,767 /female 21,188)
25-54 years: 31.03% (male 31,218 /female 32,229)
55-64 years: 3.93% (male 3,708 /female 4,332)
65 years and over: 2.83% (male 2,545 /female 3,239) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 86.7 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 81.1 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 5.6 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 17.8 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 18.7 years (2018 est.)
Male: 18.3 years
Female: 19.1 years
Rank: 207

Population growth rate: 1.66% (2018 est.)
Rank: 62

Birth rate: 31.5 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 32

Death rate: 6.7 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 138

Net migration rate: -8.2 migrant(s)/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 213

Population distribution: Sao Tome, the capital city, has roughly a quarter of the nation's population; Santo Antonio is the largest town on Principe; the northern areas of both islands have the highest population densities

Urbanization
Urban population: 73.6% 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

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: 0.86 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth:

Infant mortality rate
Total: 44.1 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 46 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 42.1 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 41

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 65.7 years (2018 est.)
Male: 64.3 years
Female: 67.1 years
Rank: 179

Total fertility rate: 4.11 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 31

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 40.6% (2014)

Drinking water source
Urban: 1.1% of population
Rural: 6.4% of population
Total: 2.9% of population (2015 est.)

Current health expenditure: 6% (2016)

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

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 59.2% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 76.7% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 65.3% of population (2015 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2018)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 58
People living with hivaids: 1100 (2018)
People living with hivaids rank: 142
Deaths note: <100 (2018)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high (2016)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever (2016)
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever (2016)
Water contact diseases: schistosomiasis (2016)

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

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 8.8% (2014)
Rank: 68

Education expenditures: 4.9% of GDP (2017)
Rank: 68

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 74.9%
Male: 81.8%
Female: 68.4% (2015)

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

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*

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 (2017)

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 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:

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

Economy overview: The economy of São Tomé and Príncipe is small, based mainly on agricultural production, and, since independence in 1975, increasingly dependent on the export of cocoa beans. Cocoa production has substantially declined in recent years because of drought and mismanagement. Sao Tome depends heavily on imports of food, fuels, most manufactured goods, and consumer goods, and changes in commodity prices affect the country’s inflation rate. Maintaining control of inflation, fiscal discipline, and increasing flows of foreign direct investment into the nascent oil sector are major economic problems facing the country. In recent years the government has attempted to reduce price controls and subsidies. In 2017, several business-related laws were enacted that aim to improve the business climate.São Tomé and Príncipe has had difficulty servicing its external debt and has relied heavily on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. 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. In 2016, Sao Tome and Portugal signed a five-year cooperation agreement worth approximately $64 million, some of which will be provided as loans. In 2017, China and São Tomé signed a mutual cooperation agreement in areas such as infrastructure, health, and agriculture worth approximately $146 million over five years.Considerable potential exists for development of tourism, and the government has taken steps to expand tourist facilities in recent years. Potential also exists for the development of petroleum resources in São Tomé and Príncipe's territorial waters in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, some of which are being jointly developed in a 60-40 split with Nigeria, but production is at least several years off.Volatile aid and investment inflows have limited growth, and poverty remains high. Restricteded capacity at the main port increases the periodic risk of shortages of consumer goods. Contract enforcement in the country’s judicial system is difficult. The IMF in late 2016 expressed concern about vulnerabilities in the country’s banking sector, although the country plans some austerity measures in line with IMF recommendations under their three year extended credit facility. Deforestation, coastal erosion, poor waste management, and misuse of natural resources also are challenging issues.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 208

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 83

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 191

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: 186
By occupation agriculture: 26.1%
By occupation industry: 21.4%
By occupation services: 52.5% (2014 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 163

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

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 129

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

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 182

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 11

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 15

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 189

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 194

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 188

Market value of publicly traded shares: NA

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: 185

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 130

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 117

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 68% (2017)
Access electrification urban areas: 87% (2017)
Access electrification rural areas: 22% (2017)
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: 205
Generation sources fossil fuels: 88% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 60
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

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

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products production rank: 198
Products consumption: 1000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 206
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 199
Products imports: 1027 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 202

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: 204

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 5,569
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 205
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 173,646
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 86 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 185

Telephone system
General assessment: local telephone network of adequate quality with most lines connected to digital switches; mobile cellular superior choice to landland; dial-up quality low; broadband expensive (2018)
Domestic: fixed-line 3 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity 86 telephones per 100 persons (2018)
International: country code - 239; landing points for the Ultramar GE and ACE submarine cables from South Africa to over 20 West African countries and Europe; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)

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: 50,000
Users percent of population: 25.8% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 193

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 1479
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2017 est.)
Rank: 187

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 (2015)

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)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 1 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 50,716 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: S9 (2016)

Airports: 2 (2013)
Rank: 207
With paved runways total: 2 (2017)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2017)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2017)

Merchant marine
Total: 15
By type: general cargo 12, other 3 (2018)
Rank: 145

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Sao Tome

Disputes international: none