SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 960 km2; land area: 960 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than 5.5 times the size of
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 209 km
Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines);
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
Terrain: volcanic, mountainous
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land 1%; permanent crops 20%; meadows and
pastures 1%; forest and woodland 75%; other 3%
Environment: deforestation; soil erosion
Note: located south of Nigeria and west of Gabon near the Equator
in the North Atlantic Ocean
PEOPLE
Population: 128,499 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)
Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 68 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 5.3 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Sao Tomean(s); adjective--Sao Tomean
Ethnic divisions: mestico, angolares (descendents of Angolan
slaves), forros (descendents of freed slaves), servicais (contract
laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of
servicais born on the islands), and Europeans (primarily Portuguese)
Religion: Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day
Adventist
Language: Portuguese (official)
Literacy: 57% (male 73%, female 42%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1981)
Labor force: 21,096 (1981); most of population engaged in
subsistence agriculture and fishing; labor shortages on plantations and
of skilled workers; 56% of population of working age (1983)
Organized labor: NA
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
Type: republic
Capital: Sao Tome
Administrative divisions: 2 districts (concelhos,
singular--concelho); Principe, Sao Tome
Independence: 12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
Constitution: 5 November 1975, approved 15 December 1982
Legal system: based on Portuguese law system and customary law; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 July (1975)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral People's National Assembly
(Assembleia Popular Nacional)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Miguel TROVOADA (since 4 April 1991);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Daniel Lima Dos Santos DAIO
(since 21 January 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
Party for Democratic Convergence-Reflection Group (PCD-GR),
Prime Minister Daniel Lima Dos Santos DAIO, secretary general;
Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe (MLSTP),
Carlos da GRACIA;
Christian Democratic Front (FDC), Alphonse Dos SANTOS;
Democratic Opposition Coalition (CODO), leader NA; other small parties
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held 3 March 1991 (next to be held March
1996);
results--Miguel TROVOADA was elected without opposition in Sao Tome's
first multiparty presidential election;
National People's Assembly--last held 20 January 1991 (next to be
held January 1996);
results--PCD-GR 54.4%, MLSTP 30.5%, CODO 5.2%, FDC 1.5%, other 8.3%;
seats--(55 total) PCD-GR 33, MLSTP 21, CODO 1; note--this was the first
National Assembly multiparty election in Sao Tome
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD,
ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Joaquim Rafael BRANCO;
Chancery (temporary) at 801 Second Avenue, Suite 1504, New York, NY
10017; telephone (212) 697-4211;
US--Ambassador Keith L. WAUCHOPE in Gabon is accredited to Sao
Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the
islands
Flag: 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
ECONOMY
Overview: The economy has remained dependent on cocoa since the
country gained independence nearly 15 years ago. Since then, however,
cocoa production has gradually deteriorated because of drought and
mismanagement, so that by 1987 output had fallen to less than 50% of
its former levels. As a result, a shortage of cocoa for export has
created a serious balance-of-payments problem. Production of less
important crops, such as coffee, copra, and palm kernels, has
also declined. The value of imports generally exceeds that of
exports by a ratio of 4 to 1. The emphasis on cocoa production at
the expense of other food crops has meant that Sao Tome has to import
90% of food needs. It also has to import all fuels and most manufactured
goods. Over the years, Sao Tome has been unable to service its external
debt, which amounts to roughly 80% of export earnings. Considerable
potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the
government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The
government also implemented a Five-Year Plan covering 1986-90 to
restructure the economy and reschedule external debt service payments in
cooperation with the International Development Association and Western
lenders.
GDP: $46.0 million, per capita $400; real growth rate 1.5% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 36% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $10.2 million; expenditures $36.8 million,
including capital expenditures of $22.5 million (1989)
Exports: $5.9 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--cocoa 85%, copra, coffee, palm oil;
partners--FRG, GDR, Netherlands, China
Imports: $26.8 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--machinery and electrical equipment 54%, food
products 23%, other 23%;
partners--Portugal, GDR, Angola, China
External debt: $129 million (1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 7.1% (1986)
Electricity: 5,000 kW capacity; 12 million kWh produced,
100 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: light construction, shirts, soap, beer, fisheries,
shrimp processing
Agriculture: dominant sector of economy, primary source of exports;
cash crops--cocoa (85%), coconuts, palm kernels, coffee; food
products--bananas, papaya, beans, poultry, fish; not self-sufficient in
food grain and meat
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $8
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $59 million
Currency: dobra (plural--dobras); 1 dobra (Db) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates: dobras (Db) per US$1--122.48 (December 1988),
72.827 (1987), 36.993 (1986), 41.195 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: 300 km (two-thirds are paved); roads on Principe are
mostly unpaved and in need of repair
Ports: Sao Tome, Santo Antonio
Civil air: 8 major transport aircraft
Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: minimal system; 2,200 telephones; stations--1
AM, 2 FM, no TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, National Police
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 28,984; 15,287 fit for military
service
Defense expenditures: $NA, 1.6% of GDP (1980)