Sao Tome and Principe ( Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Pr) is a country in Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon. Sao Tome and Principe geographic coordinates 1 00 N, 7 00 E; area 1,001 sq km; area comparative more than five times the size of Washington, DC; land boundaries 0 km; coastline 209 km; maritime claims measured from claimed archipelagic baselines exclusive; climate tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May); terrain volcanic, mountainous; elevation extremes Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m; natural resources fish, hydropower; land use 44.79% (2001); irrigated land 100 sq km (1998 est.); natural hazards NA; environment current issues deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion; environment international agreements none of the selected agreements; geography note the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous;

introduction

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. government type republic; capital Sao Tome; administrative divisions 2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome Principe has had self-government since 29 April 1995; 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 legal system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; suffrage 18 years of age; universal;

people

Sao Tome and Principe population 187,410 (July 2005 est.); age structure 3.9% (male 3,333/female 3,918) (2005 est.); median age 16.71 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 3.16% (2005 est.); birth rate 40.8 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 6.68 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate -2.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.); sex ratio 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 45.06 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 68.59 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 5.71 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate NA; hiv people with aids NA; hiv deaths NA; major infectious diseases malaria (2004); nationality Sao Tomean; ethnic groups 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); religions Christian 80% (Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist); languages Portuguese (official); literacy 62% (1991 est.);

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