Katana VentraIP

São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe (/ˌsaʊ təˈmeɪ ... ˈprɪnsɪpə, -peɪ/ ⓘ SOW tə-MAY ... PRIN-sih-pə, -⁠pay;[9] Portuguese: São Tomé e Príncipe (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w tuˈmɛ i ˈpɾĩsɨpɨ]); English: "Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (Portuguese: República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, the western equatorial coast of Central Africa.

For the islands of the sovereign state, see São Tomé Island and Príncipe. For other uses, see São Tomé (disambiguation) and Principe (disambiguation).

Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
República Democrática de
São Tomé e Príncipe (Portuguese)

São Tomé
0°20′N 6°44′E / 0.333°N 6.733°E / 0.333; 6.733

Portuguese

  • São Toméan (Sao Tomean)[2]
  • Santomean

Unitary semi-presidential republic[3]

Carlos Vila Nova

Patrice Trovoada

National Assembly

12 July 1975

964[4] km2 (372 sq mi) (171st)

Negligible

220,372[5] (175th)

199.7/km2 (517.2/sq mi) (69th)

2023 estimate

Increase $962 million[6]

Increase $4,146[6]

2023 estimate

Increase $674 million[6]

Increase $2,904[6]

Negative increase 56.3[7]
high

Decrease 0.613[8]
medium (141st)

Dobra (STN)

UTC (GMT)

dd/mm/yyyy

right

+239

ST

.st

It consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, about 150 km (93.21 mi) apart and about 250 and 225 km (155 and 140 mi) off the northwestern coast of Gabon. With a population of 201,800 (2018 official estimate),[10] São Tomé and Príncipe is the second-smallest and second-least populous African sovereign state after Seychelles. It is also the smallest Romance-speaking country outside of Europe in terms of population and area.


The islands were uninhabited until their discovery in 1470 by Portuguese explorers João de Santarém and Pedro Escobar. Gradually colonized and settled throughout the 16th century, they collectively served as a vital commercial and trade centre for the Atlantic slave trade. The rich volcanic soil and proximity to the equator made São Tomé and Príncipe ideal for sugar cultivation, followed later by cash crops such as coffee and cocoa; the lucrative plantation economy was heavily dependent upon enslaved Africans. Cycles of social unrest and economic instability throughout the 19th and 20th centuries culminated in peaceful independence in 1975. São Tomé and Príncipe has since remained one of Africa's most stable and democratic countries. According to 2023 V-Dem Democracy indices São Tomé and Príncipe is ranked 56th electoral democracy worldwide and 5th electoral democracy in Africa.[11] São Tomé and Príncipe is a developing economy with a medium Human Development Index.


The people of São Tomé and Príncipe are predominantly of African and mestiço descent, with most practicing Christianity. The legacy of Portuguese rule is also visible in the country's culture, customs, and music, which fuse European and African influences. São Tomé and Príncipe is a founding member state of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

Água Grande

Cantagalo

Caué

Lembá

Lobata

Mé-Zóchi

or "mixed-blood", are descendants of Portuguese colonists and African slaves brought to the islands during the early years of settlement from Benin, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Angola (these people also are known as filhos da terra or "children of the land").

Luso-Africans

are reputedly descendants of Angolan slaves who survived a 1540 shipwreck and now earn their livelihood fishing.

Angolares

Forros are descendants of freed slaves when slavery was abolished.

Serviçais are contract laborers from Angola, , and Cape Verde, living temporarily on the islands.

Mozambique

Tongas are children of serviçais born on the islands.

primarily Portuguese

Europeans

Asians, mostly , including Macanese people of mixed Portuguese and Chinese descent from Macau

Chinese

Outline of São Tomé and Príncipe

List of São Tomé and Príncipe–related topics

(ed.) 2002. A history of postcolonial Lusophone Africa. London: C. Hurst. ISBN 1-85065-589-8 – Overview of the decolonization of Portugal's African colonies, and a chapter specifically about São Tomé and Príncipe's experience since the 1970s.

Chabal, Patrick

Eyzaguirre, Pablo B. "The independence of São Tomé e Príncipe and agrarian reform." Journal of Modern African Studies 27.4 (1989): 671–678.

Frynas, Jędrzej George, Geoffrey Wood, and Ricardo MS Soares de Oliveira. "Business and politics in São Tomé e Príncipe: from cocoa monoculture to petro‐state." African Affairs 102.406 (2003): 51–80.

online

Hodges, Tony, and Malyn Dudley Dunn Newitt. São Tomé and Príncipe: from plantation colony to microstate (Westview Press, 1988).

Keese, Alexander. "Forced labour in the 'Gorgulho Years': Understanding reform and repression in Rural São Tomé e Príncipe, 1945–1953." Itinerario 38.1 (2014): 103–124.

Tomás, Gil, et al. "The peopling of Sao Tome (Gulf of Guinea): origins of slave settlers and admixture with the Portuguese." Human biology 74.3 (2002): 397–411.

Weszkalnys, Gisa. "Hope & oil: expectations in São Tomé e Príncipe." Review of African Political Economy 35.117 (2008): 473–482.

online

from BBC News

Country Profile

. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.

São Tomé and Príncipe

at Curlie

São Tomé and Príncipe

Wikimedia Atlas of São Tomé and Príncipe

—Tourist information

São Tomé e Príncipe

from International Futures

Key Development Forecasts for São Tomé and Príncipe

Government


0°19′N 6°36′E / 0.317°N 6.600°E / 0.317; 6.600