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Communications

Airports [time series]

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

Civil air [time series]

8 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Ports [time series]

Sao Tome, Santo Antonio

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

minimal system; 2,200 telephones; stations--1 AM, 2 FM, no TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, National Police

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$NA, 1.6% of GDP (1980)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 28,984; 15,287 fit for military service

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $8 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $59 million

Electricity [time series]

5,000 kW capacity; 12 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates [time series]

dobras (Db) per US$1--122.48 (December 1988), 72.827 (1987), 36.993 (1986), 41.195 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$5.9 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--cocoa 85%, copra, coffee, palm oil; partners--FRG, GDR, Netherlands, China

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$110 million (1990 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$46.0 million, per capita $380; real growth rate 1.5% (1989)

Imports [time series]

$26.8 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--machinery and electrical equipment 54%, food products 23%, other 23%; partners--Portugal, GDR, Angola, China

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 7.1% (1986)

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

36% (1989 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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 to 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 [time series]

NA%

Geography

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

209 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly less than 5.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

deforestation; soil erosion

Land boundaries [time series]

none

Land use [time series]

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

Maritime claims [time series]

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

Natural resources [time series]

fish

Note [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

volcanic, mountainous

Area (Total area) [time series]

960 km2; land area: 960 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Sao Tome

Constitution [time series]

5 November 1975, approved 15 December 1982

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Joaquim Rafael BRANCO; Chancery (temporary) at 801 Second Avenue, Suite 1504, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 697-4211; US--Ambassador Keith L. WAUCHOPE in Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

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 [time series]

12 July 1975 (from Portugal)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court Chief of State--President Miguel TROVOADA (since 4 April 1991); Head of Government--Prime Minister Daniel Lima Dos Santos DAIO (since 21 January 1991) 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 GRACIA; Christian Democratic Front (FDC), Alphonse Dos SANTOS; Democratic Opposition Coalition (CODO), leader NA; other small parties

Legal system [time series]

based on Portuguese law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral People's National Assembly (Assembleia Popular Nacional)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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 [time series]

Independence Day, 12 July (1975)

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 President--last held 3 March 1991 (next to be held 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 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 National Assembly multiparty election in Sao Tome

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

38 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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 [time series]

60 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

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 (Language) [time series]

Portuguese (official)

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

64 years male, 68 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

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

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

Population [time series]

128,499 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist

Total fertility rate [time series]

5.3 children born/woman (1991)