SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE edit
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| (See reference map VII) |
LAND edit
964 km2 (Sao Tome, 855 km2 and Principe, 109 km2; including small islets of Pedras Tinhosas)
WATER edit
Limits of territorial waters: 12 nm (economic, including fishing, 200 nm)
Coastline: estimated 209 km
PEOPLE edit
Population: 85,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.1%
Nationality: noun—Sao Tomean(s): adjective—Sao Tomean
Ethnic divisions: native Sao Tomeans, migrant Cape Verdians, Portuguese
Religion: Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh Day Adventist
Language: Portuguese official
Literacy: estimated at 5%-10%
Labor force: most of population engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing; some unemployment, but labor shortages on plantations and for skilled work
GOVERNMENT edit
Official name: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
Type: republic established when independence received from Portugal in July 1975; constitution adopted December 1975
Capital: Sao Tome
Legal system: based on Portuguese law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 July
Branches: da Costa heads the government assisted by a cabinet of ministers; elected National Popular Assembly
Government leader: President Manuel Pinto DA COSTA
Suffrage: universal for age 18 and over
Elections: da Costa reelected May 1980 by Popular Assembly; Assembly elections held March-April 1980
Political parties and leaders: Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe (MLSTP), Secretary General Manuel Pinto da Costa
Communists: no Communist party, probably a few Communist sympathizers
Member of: AFDB, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICCO, IDA, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UPU, WHO, WMO
ECONOMY edit
GNP: $40 million (1978); per capita income $490 (1978)
Agriculture: cash crops—cocoa, copra, coconut, coffee, palm oil, bananas
Fishing: catch, 1,500 metric tons (1979 est.)
Major industries: food processing on small scale, timber
Electric power: 3,000 kW capacity (1980); 10 million kWh produced (1980), 120 kWh per capita
Exports: $26.6 million (f.o.b., 1979); mainly cocoa (90%), copra (7%), coffee, palm oil
Imports: $15.5 million (f.o.b., 1979); food products, machinery and electrical equipment, fuels
Major trade partners: main partner, Netherlands; followed by Portugal, US, and West Germany
Aid: economic commitments—Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF (1970-79), $579 million; US (FY77-80), $0.6 million
Budget: (1979 est.) revenues $15.7 million, current expenditures $10.4 million, capital expenditures $9.1 million
Monetary conversion rate: 38.6 escudos=US$1 (1981)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS edit
Ports: 1 major (Sao Tome), 1 minor
Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft
Airfields: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: minimal system; 900 telephones (1.0 per 100 popl.); 1 AM, 1 FM, and no TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite ground station