Dialing code +239
ISO 2 code ST
ISO 3 code STP
Capital Sao Tome
Main Language Portuguese
Currency Dobra (STD)
GDP $276.6 million 198th
Population 175,808 188th

Geography

Continent Africa
Location Western Africa islands in the Gulf of Guinea straddling the Equator west of Gabon
Land 1,001 km2 187th
Terrain Volcanic mountainous
Climate Tropical; hot humid; one rainy season (October to May)
Natural Hazards Volcanic mountainous
Note: The smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are mountainous

Neighbouring Countries

History

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. While independence was achieved in 1975 democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The country held its first free elections in 1991 but frequent internal wrangling between the various political party's precipitated repeated changes in leadership and two failed coup attempts in 1995 and 2003. The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea promises to attract increased attention to the small island nation.
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Demographics

Life Expectancy 68.32 years 136th
Median Age 16.4 years 203rd
Birth Rate 38.54 births/1,000 population 20th
Death Rate 5.8 births/1,000 population 155th
Sex Ratio 0.82 male(s)/female 76th
Literacy 84.9% 135th
Population

175808

Transportation

Roadways 320 km 190th
Railways None km
Airports 2 193rd
Waterways None km
Heliports None
Airports paved 1 117th

Economy

Currency Dobra (STD)
GDP $276.6 million 198th
GDP per capita (PPP) $1300 182nd