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. Although independence was achieved in
1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The
first free elections were held in 1991.
Government type: republic
Capital: Sao Tome
Currency: 1 dobra (STD) = 100 centimos
Geography of Sao Tome
Location: Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator,
west of Gabon
Geographic coordinates: 1 00 N, 7 00 E
Area:
total: 1,001 sq km
land: 1,001 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Land boundaries: 0 km
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
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m
Natural resources: fish, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 36%
permanent pastures: 1%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 61% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 100 sq km (1993 est.)
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: the smallest country in Africa; the two main
islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly
mountainous.
People of Sao Tome
Of Sao Tome and Principe's total population, about 131,000 live on Sao
Tome and 6,000 on Principe. All are descended from various ethnic groups
that have migrated to the islands since 1485. Six groups are identifiable:
- Mestico, or mixed-blood, descendants of African slaves brought to
the islands during the early years of settlement from Benin, Gabon,
Congo, and Angola (these people also are known as filhos da terra
or "sons of the land";
- Angolares, reputedly descendants of Angolan slaves who
survived a 1540 shipwreck and now earn their livelihood fishing;
- Forros, descendants of freed slaves when slavery was
abolished;
- Servicais, contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and
Cape Verde, living temporarily on the islands;
- Tongas, children of servicais born on the islands; and
- Europeans, primarily Portuguese.
In the 1970s, there were two significant population movements--the exodus
of most of the 4,000 Portuguese residents and the influx of several
hundred Sao Tomean refugees from Angola. The islanders have been absorbed
largely into a common Luso-African culture. Almost all belong to the Roman
Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, or Seventh-day Adventist Churches, which
in turn retain close ties with churches in Portugal.
Population: 187,410 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 47.7%
15-64 years: 48.28%
65 years and over: 4.02%
Population growth rate: 3.18%
Birth rate: 42.74 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 7.54 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: -3.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: 48.96 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.59 years
male: 64.15 years
female: 67.07 years
Total fertility rate: 6.02 children born/woman
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 Cape Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on
the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese)
Religions: Christian 80% (Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day
Adventist)
Languages: Portuguese (official)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 73%
male: 85%
female: 62% (1991 est.)
SOURCES: The World Factbook, U.S. Department of State |