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Communications

Airports [time series]

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

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Merchant marine [time series]

1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,096 GRT/1,105 DWT

Ports [time series]

Sao Tome, Santo Antonio

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

minimal system; broadcast 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, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 32,560; fit for military service 17,136

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

revenues: $10.2 million expenditures: $36.8 million, including capital expenditures of $22.5 million (1989 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

1 dobra (Db) = 100 centimos

Economic aid [time series]

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

Electricity [time series]

capacity: 5,000 kW production: 10 million kWh consumption per capita: 80 kWh (1991)

Exchange rates [time series]

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)

Exports [time series]

$5.4 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: cocoa 78%, copra, coffee, palm oil partners: Netherlands, Germany, China, Portugal

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$163.6 million (1992)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Imports [time series]

$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

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

growth rate 1% (1991); accounts for 7% of GDP

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

27% (1992 est.)

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

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $50 million (1990)

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$450 (1990)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

1.5% (1992 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 4:1. 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

Area [time series]

total area: 960 sq km land area: 960 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 5.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

209 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

none

Irrigated land [time series]

NA sq km

Land boundaries [time series]

0 km

Land use [time series]

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

Location [time series]

Western Africa, in the Atlantic Ocean, 340 km off the coast of Gabon straddling the equator

Map references [time series]

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims [time series]

measured from claimed archipelagic baselines exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

fish

Terrain [time series]

volcanic, mountainous

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Sao Tome

Constitution [time series]

new constitution approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990

Digraph [time series]

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

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

Executive branch [time series]

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

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

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

Country name (Names) [time series]

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

Legislative branch (National People's Assembly) [time series]

(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

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 12 July (1975)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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

Suffrage [time series]

18 years of age; universal

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands

People

Birth rate [time series]

35.2 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate [time series]

8.88 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

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), Europeans (primarily Portuguese)

Infant mortality rate [time series]

63.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

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 [time series]

Portuguese (official)

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 63.33 years male: 61.48 years female: 65.24 years (1994 est.)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

noun: Sao Tomean(s) adjective: Sao Tomean

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population [time series]

136,780 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

2.63% (1994 est.)

Religions [time series]

Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist

Total fertility rate [time series]

4.52 children born/woman (1994 est.)