Sao Tome and Principe

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telephone system

NA; minimal system local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Television

broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA

Branches

Army, Navy, National Police

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP SAUDI ARABIA

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 33,789; males fit for military service 17,752 (1995 est.)

Agriculture

accounts for 25% of GDP; dominant sector of economy, primary source of exports; cash crops - cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, coffee; food products - bananas, papaya, beans, poultry, fish; not self-sufficient in food grain and meat

Budget

revenues: $10.2 million expenditures: $36.8 million, including capital expenditures of $22.5 million (1989 est.)

Currency

1 dobra (Db) = 100 centimos

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $8 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $89 million

Electricity

capacity: 5,000 kW production: 17 million kWh consumption per capita: 105 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

dobras (Db) per US$1 - 129.59 (1 July 1993), 230 (1992), 260.0 (November 1991), 122.48 (December 1988), 72.827 (1987)

Exports

$5.5 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: cocoa 78%, copra, coffee, palm oil (1992) partners: Netherlands, Germany, China, Portugal

External debt

$237 million (1993)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Imports

$31.5 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: machinery and electrical equipment 44%, food products 18%, petroleum 11% (1992) partners: Portugal, Japan, Spain, France, Angola

Industrial production

growth rate 1% (1991); accounts for 7% of GDP

Industries

light construction, shirts, soap, beer, fisheries, shrimp processing

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

27% (1992 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $133 million (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$1,000 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

NA%

Overview

This small poor island economy has remained dependent on cocoa since independence 20 years ago. Since then, however, cocoa production has gradually declined because of drought and mismanagement, so that by 1987 annual output had fallen from 10,000 tons to 3,900 tons. 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 4:1 or more. 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 and has had to depend on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. 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 and to encourage market-based mechanisms, e. g., to facilitate the distribution of imported food. Annual GDP growth is estimated in the 3%-4% range for 1994-96.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total area: 960 sq km land area: 960 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 5.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Climate

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

Coastline

209 km

Environment

current issues: deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land: 1% permanent crops: 20% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 75% other: 3%

Location

Western Africa, island in the Atlantic Ocean, straddling the equator, west of Gabon

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

measured from claimed archipelagic baselines exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

fish

Terrain

volcanic, mountainous

Administrative divisions

2 districts (concelhos, singular - concelho); Principe, Sao Tome

Capital

Sao Tome

Constitution

approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990

Digraph

TP

Diplomatic representation in US

Sao Tome and Principe has no embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN, headed by First Secretary Domingos AUGUSTO Ferreira, located at 122 East 42nd Street, Suite 1604, New York, NY 10168, telephone [1] (212) 697-4211

Executive branch

chief of state: President Miguel TROVOADA (since 4 April 1991); election last held 3 March 1991 (next to be held NA March 1996); results - Miguel TROVOADA was elected without opposition in Sao Tome's first multiparty presidential election head of government: Prime Minister Carlos da GRACA (since 25 October 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister

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

Independence

12 July 1975 (from Portugal)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Legal system

based on Portuguese law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral National People's Assembly: (Assembleia Popular Nacional) parliament dissolved by President TROVOADA in July 1994; early elections held 2 October 1994; results - MLSTP 27%, PCD-GR 25.5%, ADI 25.5%; seats - (55 total) MLSTP 27, PCD-GR 14, ADI 14

Member of

ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Names

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 12 July (1975)

Political parties and leaders

Party for Democratic Convergence-Reflection Group (PCD-GR), Daniel Lima Dos Santos DAIO, secretary general; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe (MLSTP), Carlos da GRACA; Christian Democratic Front (FDC), Alphonse Dos SANTOS; Democratic Opposition Coalition (CODO), leader NA; Independent Democratic Action (ADI), Gabriel COSTA; other small parties

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands

Age structure

0-14 years: 40% (female 27,995; male 28,452) 15-64 years: 55% (female 38,846; male 38,619) 65 years and over: 5% (female 3,615; male 2,896) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate

34.94 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

8.7 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

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), Europeans (primarily Portuguese)

Infant mortality rate

62.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force

most of population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing; labor shortages on plantations and of skilled workers

Languages

Portuguese (official)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 63.65 years male: 61.76 years female: 65.59 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1991) total population: 73% male: 85% female: 62%

Nationality

noun: Sao Tomean(s) adjective: Sao Tomean

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

140,423 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

2.62% (1995 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist

Total fertility rate

4.44 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Airports

total: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1

Highways

total: 300 km paved: 200 km unpaved: 100 km note: roads on Principe are mostly unpaved and in need of repair

Merchant marine

total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,096 GRT/1,105 DWT

Ports

Santo Antonio, Sao Tome

Railroads

0 km