Sao Tome and Principe




                                 Geography


Location:
     Western Africa, in the Atlantic Ocean, 340 km off the coast of Gabon
     straddling the equator
Map references:
     Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
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:
     136,780 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.63% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     35.2 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     8.88 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     63.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     63.33 years
male:
     61.48 years
female:
     65.24 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     4.52 children born/woman (1994 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 (1981)
total population:
     57%
male:
     73%
female:
     42%
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)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe




conventional short form:
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:
     new 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 Noberto Jose D'Alva COSTA ALEGRE (since 16 May 1992)
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) elections last held 20 January 1991
     (next to be held NA January 1996); results - PCD-GR 54.4%, MLSTP
     30.5%, CODO 5.2%, FDC 1.5%, other 8.4%; seats - (55 total) PCD-GR 33,
     MLSTP 21, CODO 1; note - this was the first multiparty election in Sao
     Tome and Principe
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; other small parties




Member of:
     ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF,
     IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOM (observer), ITU,
     LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
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 (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:
     The economy has remained dependent on cocoa since the country gained
     independence nearly 15 years ago. Since then, however, cocoa
     production has gradually deteriorated because of drought and
     mismanagement, so that by 1987 output had fallen to less than 50% of
     its former levels. 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. 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, which
     amounts to roughly 80% of export earnings. Considerable potential
     exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has
     taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The government also
     implemented a Five-Year Plan covering 1986-90 to restructure the
     economy and reschedule external debt service payments in cooperation
     with the International Development Association and Western lenders.
National product:
     GDP - exchange rate conversion - $50 million (1990)
National product real growth rate:
     1.5% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
     $450 (1990)
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:
     $5.4 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     cocoa 78%, copra, coffee, palm oil
partners:
     Netherlands, Germany, China, Portugal
Imports:
     $31.5 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     machinery and electrical equipment 44%, food products 18%, petroleum
     11%
partners:
     Portugal, Japan, Spain, France, Angola
External debt:
     $163.6 million (1992)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 1% (1991); accounts for 7% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     5,000 kW
production:
     10 million kWh
consumption per capita:
     80 kWh (1991)
Industries:
     light construction, shirts, soap, beer, fisheries, shrimp processing
Agriculture:
     accounts for 25% of GDP; dominant sector of economy, primary source of
     exports; cash crops - cocoa (85%), 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), 36.993 (1986)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


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




Ports:
     Sao Tome, Santo Antonio
Merchant marine:
     1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,096 GRT/1,105 DWT
Airports:
total:
     2
usable:
     2
with permanent-surface runways:
     2
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     0
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     2
Telecommunications:
     minimal system; broadcast stations - 1 AM, 2 FM, no TV; 1 Atlantic
     Ocean INTELSAT earth station


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army, Navy, National Police
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 32,560; fit for military service 17,136
Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GDP