Sao Tome and Principe

Airports

2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

10 major transport aircraft

Highways

300 km (two-thirds are paved); roads on Principe are mostly unpaved and in need of repair

Ports

Sao Tome, Santo Antonio

Telecommunications

minimal system; broadcast stations - 1 AM, 2 FM, no TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Branches

Army, Navy, National Police

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 30,188; 15,918 fit for military service

Agriculture

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

Budget

revenues $10.2 million; expenditures $36.8 million, including capital expenditures of $22.5 million (1989)

Currency

dobra (plural - dobras); 1 dobra (Db) = 100 centimos

Economic aid

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

Electricity

5,000 kW capacity; 10 million kWh produced, 80 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

dobras (Db) per US$1 - 260.0 (November 1991), 122.48 (December 1988), 72.827 (1987), 36.993 (1986)

Exports

$4.4 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: cocoa 85%, copra, coffee, palm oil partners: FRG, GDR, Netherlands, China

External debt

$147 million (1990 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $46.0 million, per capita $400; real growth rate 1.5% (1989)

Imports

$21.3 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: machinery and electrical equipment 54%, food products 23%, other 23% partners: Portugal, GDR, Angola, China

Industrial production

growth rate 7.1% (1986)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

36% (1989)

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.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

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

Coastline

209 km

Comparative area

slightly less than 5.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Disputes

none

Environment

deforestation; soil erosion

Land area

960 km2

Land boundaries

none

Land use

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

Maritime claims

(measured from claimed archipelagic baselines) Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

fish

Note

located south of Nigeria and west of Gabon near the Equator in the North Atlantic Ocean

Terrain

volcanic, mountainous

Total area

960 km2

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Sao Tome

Constitution

5 November 1975, approved 15 December 1982

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Joaquim Rafael BRANCO; Chancery (temporary) at 801 Second Avenue, Suite 603, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 697-4211 US: Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands

Elections

President: 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 National People's Assembly: 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 8.3%; seats - (55 total) PCD-GR 33, MLSTP 21, CODO 1; note - this was the first multiparty election in Sao Tome and Principe

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

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

Leaders

Chief of State: President Miguel TROVOADA (since 4 April 1991) Head of Government: Prime Minister Noberto COSTA ALEGRE (since 16 May 1992)

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)

Long-form name

Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe

Member of

ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

Independence Day, 12 July (1975)

Political parties and leaders

Party for Democratic Convergence-Reflection Group (PCD-GR), Prime Minister 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

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Type

republic

Birth rate

38 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

8 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

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)

Infant mortality rate

58 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

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)

Languages

Portuguese (official)

Life expectancy at birth

64 years male, 68 years female (1992)

Literacy

57% (male 73%, female 42%) age 15 and over can read and write (1981)

Nationality

noun - Sao Tomean(s); adjective - Sao Tomean

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

NA

Population

132,338 (July 1992), growth rate 2.9% (1992)

Religions

Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist

Total fertility rate

5.2 children born/woman (1992)