Sao Tome and Principe

Branches

Army, Navy, Security Police

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49: 34,986 males fit for military service: 18,343 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios

33,000 (1992 est.)

Telephone system

domestic: minimal system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones

2,200 (1986 est.)

Television broadcast stations

1 (1992 est.)

Televisions

NA Defense

Agriculture

cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papaya, beans; poultry; fish

Budget

revenues: $58 million expenditures: $114 million, including capital expenditures of $54 million (1993 est.)

Currency

1 dobra (Db) = 100 centimos

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $NA

Economic 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 3 to 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 has hovered around 1.5% since 1991.

Electricity

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

Exchange rates

dobras (Db) per US$1 - 1,610 (May 1995), 129.59 (1 July 1993), 230 (1992), 260.0 (November 1991), 122.48 (December 1988), 72.827 (1987)

Exports

$7.1 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: cocoa 85%-90%, copra, coffee, palm oil partners: Netherlands, Germany, China, Portugal

External debt

$250 million (1995 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $138 million (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture: 28% industry: 14% services: 58% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita

$1,000 (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate

1.5% (1994 est.)

Imports

$23.8 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum partners: France, Belgium, Japan, Angola, Italy, US

Industrial production growth rate

1% (1991)

Industries

light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish processing; timber

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

38% (1994 est.)

Labor force

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

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total area: 960 sq km land area: 960 sq km comparative area: more than five 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, Desertification

Geographic coordinates

1 00 N, 7 00 E

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 lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Sao Tome

Constitution

approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990

Data code

TP

Diplomatic representation in US

Sao Tome and Principe does not have an 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) was elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last held 3 March 1991 (next to be held 30 June 1996); results - Miguel TROVOADA was elected without opposition in Sao Tome's first multiparty presidential election head of government: Prime Minister Armindo UAZ de ALMEIDA (since 29 December 1995) was appointed by the president cabinet: Council of Ministers was 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)

International organization participation

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, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the National Peoples Assembly

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 (next to be held NA); results - MLSTP 27%, PCD-GR 25.5%, ADI 25.5%; seats - (55 total) MLSTP 27, PCD-GR 14, ADI 14

Name of country

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), Patrice TROVOADA; other small parties

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type of government

republic

US diplomatic representation

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 40% (male 29,103; female 28,633) 15-64 years: 55% (male 39,749; female 39,960) 65 years and over: 5% (male 2,973; female 3,710) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

34.39 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

8.55 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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)

Infant mortality rate

61.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

Portuguese (official)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 63.87 years male: 61.95 years female: 65.83 years (1996 est.)

Literacy

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

Nationality

noun: Sao Tomean(s) adjective: Sao Tomean

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

144,128 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

2.58% (1996 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.33 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Airports

total: 2 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)

Highways

total: 298 km paved: 198 km unpaved: 100 km (1987 est.) 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 (1995 est.)

Ports

Santo Antonio, Sao Tome

Railways

0 km