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SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE

@Sao Tome And Principe:Geography

 Location: Western Africa, island in the Atlantic Ocean, straddling the
 equator, west of Gabon

 Map references: Africa
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SAO TOME & PRINCIPE - MAJOR CITIES 
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                                        Latitude,      Internat'l     Time   
                        Population      Longitude      Phone Code     Zone   
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
SAO TOME                    35,000     0.12N,  6.43E     239-         GMT    
Santo Antonio                1,000     1.37N,  7.27E     239-         GMT    
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 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

@Sao Tome And Principe: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

@Sao Tome And Principe: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

 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

 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

@Sao Tome And Principe: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:
 total: 2
 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1

@Sao Tome And Principe: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

@Sao Tome And Principe: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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