]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon ^# 1 00 N, 7 00 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 1,001 sq km `" 1,001 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& more than five times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 209 km ^) measured from claimed archipelagic baselines `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm ^* tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May) ^+ volcanic, mountainous ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m ^- fish, hydropower ^. `' 6.25% `( 48.96% `) 44.79% (2001) ^/ 100 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 NA ^1 deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution `L none of the selected agreements ^2 the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous 
]# ^3 187,410 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 47.6% (male 45,145/female 44,007) `+ 48.6% (male 43,996/female 47,011) `, 3.9% (male 3,333/female 3,918) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 16.12 years `- 15.53 years `. 16.71 years (2005 est.) ^6 3.16% (2005 est.) ^7 40.8 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 6.68 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -2.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.03 male(s)/female `0 1.03 male(s)/female `+ 0.94 male(s)/female `, 0.85 male(s)/female `1 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 43.11 deaths/1,000 live births `- 45.06 deaths/1,000 live births `. 41.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 66.99 years `- 65.43 years `. 68.59 years (2005 est.) ^= 5.71 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA __ degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria (2004) ^A `2 Sao Tomean(s) `3 Sao Tomean ^B 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) ^C Catholic 70.3%, Evangelical 3.4%, New Apostolic 2%, Adventist 1.8%, other 3.1%, none 19.4% (2001 census) ^D Portuguese (official) ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 79.3% `- 85% `. 62% (1991 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe `5 Sao Tome and Principe `V Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe `W Sao Tome e Principe ^H republic ^I Sao Tome ^J 2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome note: Principe has had self-government since 29 April 1995 ^K 12 July 1975 (from Portugal) ^L Independence Day, 12 July (1975) ^M approved March 1990, effective 10 September 1990 ^N based on Portuguese legal system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Fradique DE MENEZES (since 3 September 2001) `7 Prime Minister Maria do Carmo SILVEIRA (since 7 June 2005); Damiao Vaz DE ALMEIDA resigned 2 June 2005 `8 Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister `9 president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 July 2001 (next to be held July 2006); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president `: Fradique DE MENEZES elected president in Sao Tome's third multiparty presidential election; percent of vote - NA% ^Q unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) `9 last held 3 March 2002 (next to be held March 2006) `: percent of vote by party - MLSTP 39.6%, Force for Change Democratic Movement 39.4%, Ue-Kedadji coalition 16.2%; seats by party - MLSTP 24, Force for Change Democratic Movement 23, Ue-Kedadji coalition 8 ^R Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly) ^S Democratic Renovation Party [Armindo GRACA]; Force for Change Democratic Movement [leader NA]; Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Carlos NEVES]; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Manuel Pinto Da COSTA]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Aldo BANDEIRA]; Ue-Kedadji coalition [leader NA]; other small parties ^T NA ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) ^V Sao Tome and Principe does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN, headed by First Secretary Domingos Augusto FERREIRA, located at 400 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022, telephone [1] (212) 317-0580 ^W the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands ^X 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 
]% ^Y This small poor island economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence in 1975. Cocoa production has substantially declined in recent years because of drought and mismanagement, but strengthening prices helped boost export earnings in 2003. Sao Tome has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of food. Over the years, it has had difficulty servicing its external debt and has relied heavily on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Sao Tome benefited from $200 million in debt relief in December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program, but lacking a formal poverty reduction program with the IMF, it has not benefited from subsequent HIPC debt reductions. Sao Tome's external debt stands at over $300 million. Considerable potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The government also has attempted to reduce price controls and subsidies. Sao Tome is optimistic about the development of petroleum resources in its territorial waters in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea. The first production license was sold to a consortium led by US-based oil firms. Much of the 2005 budget is dependent upon the sale of additional production licenses. ^Z $214 million (2003 est.) ^[ 6% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2003 est.) ^] `; 16.5% `< 15.4% `= 68.1% (2004 est.) ^^ NA ^_ population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing note: shortages of skilled workers ^` NA ^a 54% (2004 est.) _! `> NA `? NA _" 14% (2004 est.) _P 31.5% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $27.94 million `A $43.91 million, including capital expenditures of $54 million (2004 est.) _$ cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish _% light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish processing; timber _& NA _' 17 million kWh (2002) _( 15.81 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 700 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _X $-31.5 million (2004 est.) _/ $6.7 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 cocoa 80%, copra, coffee, palm oil _1 Netherlands 35.9%, China 12.3%, Belgium 7.4%, Germany 6.3%, Poland 5.1%, France 4.8%, Thailand 4.1% (2004) _2 $41 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products _4 Portugal 52.3%, Germany 9.5%, US 6%, Netherlands 4.8%, South Africa 4.3%, Belgium 4.1% (2004) _Y $29.78 million (2004 est.) _5 $318 million (2002) _6 $200 million in December 2000 under the HIPC program _7 dobra (STD) _8 dobras per US dollar - 9,900.4 (2004), 9,347.6 (2003), 9,088.3 (2002), 8,842.1 (2001), 7,978.2 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 7,000 (2003) _; 4,800 (2003) _< `B adequate facilities `C minimal system `D country code - 239; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _= AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002) _> 2 (2002) _? .st _@ 1,069 (2003) _A 15,000 (2003) 
]' _B `! 320 km `E 218 km `F 102 km (1999 est.) _C Sao Tome _K `! 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 79,490 GRT/97,077 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 11, chemical tanker 2 `S 2 (Egypt 1, Greece 1) (2005) _D 2 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `^ 1 `_ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Armed Forces of Sao Tome and Principe (FASTP): Army, Coast Guard, Presidential Guard (2004) _M 18 years of age (est.) (2004) _] males age 18-49: 33,438 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 25,950 (2005 est.) _N $700,000 (2004) _O 0.8% (2004) _G Sao Tome and Principe's army is a tiny force with almost no resouces at its disposal and would be wholly ineffective operating unilaterally; infantry equipment is considered simple to operate and maintain but may require refurbishment or replacement after 25 years in tropical climates; poor pay and conditions have been a problem in the past, as has alleged nepotism in the promotion of officers, as reflected in the 1995 and 2003 coups; these issues are being addressed with foreign assistance as intial steps towards the improvement of the army and its focus on realistic security concerns; command is excersized from the president, through the Minister of Defense, to the Chief of the Armed Forces staff (2005) 
]) _H none 