I INTRODUCTION  
São Tomé and Príncipe, republic, located off the western coast of Africa, in the Gulf of Guinea (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean). The republic comprises the islands of São Tomé, Príncipe, and several small islets. It covers an area of 1,001 sq km (386 sq mi).

II LAND AND POPULATION  

The islands are volcanic in origin, with mountainous interiors and fertile soils. The highest point is Pico de São Tomé (2,024 m/6,640 ft) on São Tomé. Lowlands flank the northeastern and southwestern coasts of the islands. The climate is tropical with virtually no seasonal temperature variations. The average annual temperature is 25° C (77° F) in the lowlands and about 18° C (65° F) in the highlands. The average annual rainfall varies greatly with elevation, from 5,100 mm (about 200 in) on the southwestern mountain slopes to 1,020 mm (about 40 in) in the northeastern lowlands. A dry season lasts from June to September.

The total population of São Tomé and Príncipe was estimated at 150,123 in 1998. The capital and principal port is São Tomé (population, 1990 estimate, 50,000), located on the northeastern coast of São Tomé island. The population, descendants of peoples who came to the islands beginning in the late 1400s, is composed of six identifiable groups: mestiço, or mixed-blood; angolares, descendants of Angolan slaves; forros, descendants of freed slaves; serviçais, contract laborers from nearby African countries; tongas, children of serviçais born on the islands; and Europeans, mostly from Portugal. Portuguese is the official language, but 90 percent of the people speak Fang, a Bantu language. Most of the people are Christian; 83 percent are Roman Catholic.

III ECONOMY AND GOVERNMENT  
The economy of São Tomé and Príncipe is dependent on plantation agriculture, particularly cacao production. The major plantations were nationalized after independence in 1975. In 1997 the gross domestic product, which measures the total value of goods and services produced in the country, was $43.6 million, or $320 per inhabitant. The leading agricultural products are cacao, coconuts, copra, melons, and bananas. Cacao accounted for 60 percent of export earnings in the early 1990s. Because agriculture is dominated by export crops, 90 percent of the country’s food must be imported. The unit of currency is the dobra (4,553 dobra equal U.S.$1; 1997 average).

Under the 1982 constitution, as amended, the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe (MLSTP) was the country’s sole legal political party. A new constitution approved by referendum in August 1990 abolished the monopoly of the MLSTP and authorized multiparty elections for the president and the 55-member legislature.

In 1994 the legislature approved a bill granting autonomy to Príncipe. Príncipe assumed this status after holding elections in March 1995 for a five-member regional government and a seven-member regional assembly. The government of Príncipe is under the authority of a minister appointed by the president of the republic of São Tomé and Príncipe.

IV HISTORY  The islands were probably uninhabited when first visited by Portuguese navigators in the early 1470s. From 1485 the Portuguese settled convicts and exiled Jews on the islands and developed a thriving slave trade and sugar-growing economy. Cacao was introduced in 1822, and by 1900 São Tomé and Príncipe was a leading world producer. In 1951, São Tomé and Príncipe became an overseas province of Portugal. On July 12, 1975, the country attained independence under MLSTP rule.