al 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
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%
Environment:
deforestation; soil erosion
Note:
located south of Nigeria and west of Gabon near the Equator in the North
Atlantic Ocean

:Sao Tome and Principe People

Population:
132,338 (July 1992), growth rate 2.9% (1992)
Birth rate:
38 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
8 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
58 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
64 years male, 68 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
5.2 children born/woman (1992)
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)
Religions:
Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist
Languages:
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

:Sao Tome and Principe 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:
Indep