São Tomé and Príncipe
OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
CAPITAL CITY: São Tomé
POPULATION: 194000 (2015)
AREA: 1000 km²
OFFICIAL/OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Portuguese, Creole Portuguese
RELIGION: Catholics 90%, others (especially Protestants) 10%
CURRENCY: dobra
CURRENCY CODE: STD
ENGLISH NAME: Sao Tome and Principe
INDEPENDENCE: 1975
POPULATION COMPOSITION: black and mixed 97%, white 3%
GDP PER CAPITA INH.: $ 1535 (2012)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 63 years, women 66 years (2015)
LIVING CONDITIONS INDEX, HDI: 0558
LIVING CONDITIONS INDEX, POSITION: 142
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .St
São Tomé and Príncipe, archipelago and independent republic of
the Gulf of Guinea off Central Africa. The islands were Portuguese until
1975; now the small country is one of the poorest and least known in the world,
but there is prospect of economic progress if the country's hitherto unused oil
reserves have the scope suggested by preliminary studies.
National Flag
The flag was officially introduced in 1975. It is created by the liberation
organization MLSTP and contains the Pan-African colors, green, yellow and
red. The stars represent the two islands of the state and show that the country
is part of black Africa. The red triangle symbolizes the blood of martyrs
sacrificed in the struggle for independence. The green color stands for the
islands' vegetation, the yellow for the cocoa.
Geography
The country consists of the two main islands and several small islands, some
of which are inhabited. They are all of volcanic origin, and especially in São
Tomé there are many extinct volcanoes; highest is Pico de São Tomé (2024 m). The
islands are near the equator and have tropical climates almost without seasons.
The rainfall is abundant (7000 mm) on the south-west slopes, where most of it is
covered by dense, impassable rainforest, while decreasing to 1000 mm on the
northeast coasts.
By the end of the Portuguese colonial era, the economy was almost entirely
based on cocoa plantations. With independence in 1975, the owners returned to
Portugal and the plantations were nationalized. At the same time, the protected
market in the mother country was lost and production fell dramatically. In 1985,
much was privatized; some plantations were leased to foreign companies and
others were leased for small-scale farming and conversion to food production.
Cocoa production rose somewhat, but low cocoa prices in the world market quickly
took the air out of growth. Coffee and coffee exports have also been
characterized by uncertain prices. Food production on small farms is still
carried out as sweatin many places and cannot meet the needs of the country.
Imports are thus far greater than exports, and measured per share. per capita,
São Tomé and Príncipe have the world's second largest foreign debt. In 2000, the
state of the state was considerably relieved of its debt burden and in 2006
further debt relief was envisaged.
- Countryaah:
Do you know how many people there are in Sao Tome and
Principe? Check this site to see population pyramid and resident density
about this country.
The islands have large forest resources, but they are not exploited. Fishing
is limited to local coastal fishing, while fishing licenses in the marine
territory are sold to EU countries.
In 2000, the country entered into an agreement with Nigeria on joint
exploration for oil in the projected oil-rich marine area between the countries.
Nigeria accounts for 60% of expenditure and receives 60% of any revenue. The
first production licenses were sold to international companies in 2004. The
increased activity in connection with oil investments is the main reason for the
high growth rates of recent years.
According to
AllCityPopulation.com,
over 95% of the population lives on São Tomé and especially in the
metropolitan area. Most are descendants of slaves and contract workers who came
from other Portuguese colonies, as well as of mixed marriages between them and
Portuguese. The Roman Catholic Church holds a dominant position. The school
system did not have high priority for the colonial power, and up to 2/3
are still illiterate.
São Tomé and Príncipe are very beautiful islands with good sandy beaches and
should be able to attract tourists. Even the uneven rainforests with many rare
and endemic species could be an attraction, but tourism is limited by high
transport costs and lack of facilities.
Language
Official language is Portuguese, but the majority of the population speak
Portuguese-based Creole languages, called dialects; most are Santomensic, the
other Cape Verde, Angolar or Príncipe Creole.
History
The islands of São Tomé and Príncipe were uninhabited, as they were
approximately 1470 was discovered by Portuguese sailors; around 1500 they were
colonized by Portugal. With the use of slaves imported from West Africa, the
colony became the world's largest sugar producer until it was outcompeted by
Brazil around 1600. Subsequently, the main income came from the transatlantic
slave trade, with the islands serving as a gathering place and intermediate
station for Portuguese slave traders. In the 1800's. gave coffee production new
economic progress; At the end of the century, cocoa cultivation was used and
before World War I was the largest producer in the world.
São Tomé and Príncipe became an overseas province in 1951. After the Carnival
Revolution in Portugal, they gained independence in 1975 with Manuel Pinto da
Costaas first president. In 1991, the country's first democratic elections were
held; when Costa's party, the MLSTP-PSD (Movimiento Libertaçao de São Tomé e
Príncipe-Partido Social Democrático), lost power and Miguel Trovoada (b. 1937)
became president. The MLSTP-PSD won the parliamentary elections in 1994 and
1998, thus regaining government power; Trovoada was re-elected president in
1996. At the 2001 presidential election, Fradique de Menezes (b. 1942), who is
associated with the reform-oriented party MDFM-PCD, won. However, political
instability remains; Among other things, Menezes was briefly deposed during a
military coup in 2003. He continued in the presidential post until 2011, when
the office was taken over by the country's first president Manuel Pinto da
Costa.
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