Sao Tome and Principe: Background & Geography

Introduction Sao Tome and Principe
Background:
 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.
Geography Sao Tome and Principe
Location:
 Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon
Geographic coordinates:
 1 00 N, 7 00 E
Map references:
 Africa
Area:
 total: 1,001 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 1,001 sq km
Area - comparative:
 more than five times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
 0 km
Coastline:
 209 km
Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
 measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:
 tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
Terrain:
 volcanic, mountainous
Elevation extremes:
 lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m
Natural resources:
 fish, hydropower
Land use:
 arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 41%
other: 57% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
 100 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
 NA
Environment - current issues:
 deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion
Environment - international agreements:
 party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: 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

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