CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Sao Tome and Principe


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!| Background:
 * Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. Although independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. Though the first free elections were held in 1991, the political environment has been one of continued instability with frequent changes in leadership and coup attempts in 1995 and 2003. The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea is likely to have a significant impact on the country's economy.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 0 sq km land: 1,001 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 48.96% other: 44.79% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon
 * 1 00 N, 7 00 E
 * Africa
 * total: 1,001 sq km
 * more than five times the size of Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 209 km
 * measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
 * tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
 * volcanic, mountainous
 * lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
 * fish, hydropower
 * arable land: 6.25%
 * 100 sq km (1998 est.)
 * NA
 * deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
 * the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 48.4% (male 42,469; female 45,456) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 3,275; female 3,847) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 15.5 years female: 16.7 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 42.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 46.57 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 65.11 years female: 68.21 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Major infectious diseases: overall degree of risk: high (2004) !| Nationality: adjective: Sao Tomean !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 79.3% male: 85% female: 62% (1991 est.)
 * 181,565 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 47.7% (male 43,810; female 42,708)
 * total: 16.1 years
 * 3.18% (2004 est.)
 * 41.36 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 6.89 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * -2.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
 * total: 44.58 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 66.63 years
 * 5.8 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * typhoid fever, malaria
 * noun: Sao Tomean(s)
 * 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)
 * Christian 80% (Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist)
 * Portuguese (official)
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Sao Tome and Principe local short form: Sao Tome e Principe local long form: Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: note: Principe has had self-government since 29 April 1995 !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: election results: Fradique DE MENEZES elected president in Sao Tome's third multiparty presidential election; percent of vote - NA% elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 July 2001 (next to be held NA July 2006); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president head of government: Prime Minister Damiao Vaz DE ALMEIDA (since 17 September 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister !| Legislative branch: elections: last held 3 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - MLSTP 39.6%, Force for Change Democratic Movement 39.4%, Ue-Kedadji coalition 16.2%; seats by party - MLSTP 24, Force for Change Democratic Movement 23, Ue-Kedadji coalition 8 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: !| Diplomatic representation from the US: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
 * republic
 * Sao Tome
 * 2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome
 * 12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
 * Independence Day, 12 July (1975)
 * approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990
 * based on Portuguese legal system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: President Fradique DE MENEZES (since 3 September 2001)
 * unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
 * Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly)
 * Democratic Renovation Party [Armindo GRACA]; Force for Change Democratic Movement [leader NA]; Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Carlos NEVES]; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Manuel Pinto Da COSTA]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Aldo BANDEIRA]; Ue-Kedadji coalition [leader NA]; other small parties
 * NA
 * ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
 * 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 400 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022, telephone [1] (212) 317-0580
 * 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
 * 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
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 17.8% services: 62.6% (2003 est.) !| Investment (gross fixed): !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: note: shortages of skilled workers !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $42.04 million, including capital expenditures of $54 million (2003 est.) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Current account balance: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * This small poor island economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence 29 years ago. Cocoa production has substantially declined in recent years because of drought and mismanagement, but strengthening prices helped boost export earnings in 2003. Sao Tome has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of food. Over the years, it has been unable to service its external debt and has had to depend on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Sao Tome benefited from $200 million in debt relief in December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. Sao Tome's success in implementing structural reforms has been rewarded by international donors, who pledged increased assistance in 2001. 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. Sao Tome is optimistic about the development of petroleum resources in its territorial waters in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea; production could begin as early as 2004.
 * purchasing power parity - $214 million (2003 est.)
 * 5% (2003 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2003 est.)
 * agriculture: 19.6%
 * 51.6% of GDP (2003)
 * 54% NA (2004 est.)
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 9% (2003 est.)
 * NA
 * population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing
 * NA
 * revenues: $38.59 million
 * cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish
 * light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish processing; timber
 * NA
 * 17 million kWh (2001)
 * 15.81 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 700 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $-8 million (2003)
 * $6.479 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * cocoa 80%, copra, coffee, palm oil
 * Netherlands 41.7%, Canada 16.7%, Belgium 8.3%, Germany 8.3%, Philippines 8.3% (2003)
 * $30.03 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products
 * Portugal 51.6%, Germany 11.3%, Italy 6.5%, Belgium 4.8%, Netherlands 4.8% (2003)
 * $18 million (2003)
 * $318 million (2002)
 * $200 million in December 2000 under the HIPC program
 * dobra (STD)
 * STD
 * dobras per US dollar - 9,347.58 (2003), 9,088.32 (2002), 8,842.11 (2001), 7,978.17 (2000), 7,118.96 (1999)
 * calendar year
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: minimal system international: country code - 239; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 7,000 (2003)
 * 4,800 (2003)
 * general assessment: adequate facilities
 * AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002)
 * 38,000 (1997)
 * 2 (2002)
 * 23,000 (1997)
 * .st
 * 1,069 (2003)
 * 1 (2002)
 * 15,000 (2003)
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!| Highways: paved: 218 km unpaved: 102 km (1999 est.) !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: by type: bulk 2, cargo 14, chemical tanker 2, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: British Virgin Islands 1, Egypt 1, Greece 1, Lebanon 1, Portugal 1, Ukraine 2 (2004 est.) !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
 * total: 320 km
 * Santo Antonio, Sao Tome
 * total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 79,490 GRT/97,077 DWT
 * 2 (2003 est.)
 * total: 2
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!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 * Army, Coast Guard, Presidential Guard, National Guard
 * 18 years of age (est.) (2004)
 * males age 15-49: 38,347 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 20,188 (2004 est.)
 * $500,000 (2003)
 * 0.8% (2003)
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