Match 210 DB Rec# - 7,662 Dataset-WOFACT
Title :Sao Tome and Principe
Text :
Sao Tome and Principe
Geography
Location:
Western Africa, island in the Atlantic Ocean, straddling the equator, west
of Gabon
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total area:
960 sq km
land area:
960 sq km
comparative area:
slightly less than 5.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
209 km
Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
none
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%
Irrigated land:
NA sq 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
People
Population:
140,423 (July 1995 est.)
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.)
Population growth rate:
2.62% (1995 est.)
Birth rate:
34.94 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate:
8.7 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
62.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
63.65 years
male:
61.76 years
female:
65.59 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.44 children born/woman (1995 est.)
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), Europeans
(primarily Portuguese)
Religions:
Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist
Languages:
Portuguese (official)
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1991)
total population:
73%
male:
85%
female:
62%
Labor force:
most of population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing;
labor shortages on plantations and of skilled workers
Government
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
Digraph:
TP
Type:
republic
Capital:
Sao Tome
Administrative divisions:
2 districts (concelhos, singular - concelho); Principe, Sao Tome
Independence:
12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 12 July (1975)
Constitution:
approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990
Legal system:
based on Portuguese law system and customary law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
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
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
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
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
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
Government
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
US diplomatic representation:
ambassador to 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:
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.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power parity - $133 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
NA%
National product per capita:
$1,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
27% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues:
$10.2 million
expenditures:
$36.8 million, including capital expenditures of $22.5 million (1989 est.)
Exports:
$5.5 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities:
cocoa 78%, copra, coffee, palm oil (1992)
partners:
Netherlands, Germany, China, Portugal
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
External debt:
$237 million (1993)
Industrial production:
growth rate 1% (1991); accounts for 7% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
5,000 kW
production:
17 million kWh
consumption per capita:
105 kWh (1993)
Industries:
light construction, shirts, soap, beer, fisheries, shrimp processing
Economy
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
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
Currency:
1 dobra (Db) = 100 centimos
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)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Transportation
Railroads:
0 km
Highways:
total:
300 km
paved:
200 km
unpaved:
100 km
note:
roads on Principe are mostly unpaved and in need of repair
Ports:
Santo Antonio, Sao Tome
Merchant marine:
total:
1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,096 GRT/1,105 DWT
Airports:
2
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m:
1
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
1
Communications
Telephone system:
NA; minimal system
local:
NA
intercity:
NA
international:
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Radio:
broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0
radios:
NA
Television:
broadcast stations:
0
televisions:
NA
Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, National Police
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 33,789; males fit for military service 17,752 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures:
$NA, NA% of GDP
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This publication is also available online from the CIA (http://www.odci.gov/cia) as 1995 World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/index.html).
The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995
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