São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. The country’s closest neighbours are Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, on the coast of Africa. It consists of two main islands—São Tomé and Príncipe and several rocky islets, including Rôlas, south of the São Tomé island, and Caroço, Pedras, and Tinhosas, south of Príncipe.

Government and society

Under the constitution of 1990 (since amended), the president, who is head of state, is directly elected to a five-year term and is limited to two successive terms. The prime minister serves as the head of government. The legislature is unicameral, with a 55-seat National Assembly. Sao Tome and Principe is a member of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), which is the focus of an increasing number of regional security initiatives.

The results of the October 7, 2018 elections reinforced the notion of Sao Tome and Principe being a model of democratic alternation in Central Africa. The Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe – Social Democrat Party (MLSTP-PSD) now leads the government, thanks to a post-election agreement with the coalition PCD-MDFM-UDD which gives them a majority in parliament.

[h5p id=”152″]

The National Assembly is comprised of 55 seats, of which 25 are currently held by the Independent Democratic Action Party (ADI), 23 by the MLSTP-PSD, five by the coalition PCD-MDFM-UDD and two by the Sao Tome and Principe Independent Citizen Movement (MCISTP).

Geography

Sao Tome & Principe were both uninhabited prior to colonization by the Portuguese. The country was taken over by the Portuguese crown in 1522 and 1573, respectively. Eventually, sugar lost its commercial importance, but in the early 19th century, two new cash crops, coffee and cocoa, were introduced, and by 1908 São Tomé had become the world’s largest producer of cocoa.Since then, much of the landscape has remained unchanged or, where former plantations once stood, reclaimed by the rainforests.

[h5p id=”154″]

The two islands of Sao Tome and Principe hover just above the equator, 250km off the coast of Gabon.
Its name is Portuguese for “Saint Thomas”.São Tomé has six districts and Príncipe, self-governing since April 29, 1995, has one. The islands of Sao Tome and Principe measure 50km long by 32 km wide and 30 km long by 6 km wide respectively.

[h5p id=”168″]

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.Until independence in 1975, São Tomé and Príncipe had few ties abroad except those that passed through Portugal.Although democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s, and the first free elections were held in 1991.

[h5p id=”160″]

Following independence, the new government sought to expand its diplomatic relationships.A common language, tradition, and colonial experience have led to close collaboration between São Tomé and other ex-Portuguese colonies in Africa, particularly Angola.

[h5p id=”157″]

Sao Tome and Principe is home to a population of around 204,454 individuals.The population is mostly urban, with nearly 56% living in urban areas, and more than 40% in th e national capital region.  The mestico, forros (descendants of freed slaves), servicals, and tongas (contract laborers from African countries and their descendants), Europeans, Asians, and others comprise the population of the nation. Portuguese is the official language and is spoken by 98.4% of the population. Cabo Verdian, French, Forro, Angolar, and English are the other major languages. Christianity is the religion of the majority in the nation.

Santomean Cuisine

The Santomean cuisine exhibits influences of African and Portuguese cuisines. The country imports much of its food since local produce is not sufficient to meet the need of the residents. The arable land is only about 8.33% of the total land area. Some food crops like taro, beans, papaya, bananas, and maize are grown in the country. Fish and other seafood are, however, available in plenty. Poultry is also raised.

[h5p id=”153″]

Staple foods of the Santomean cuisine include seafood, cooked banana, maize, beans, and fish. A number of tropical fruits are also consumed. Hot spices are used to prepare most dishes. Interestingly, coffee is used as a seasoning while cooking some Santomean dishes. Sweet corn and coconut are used to prepare Arroz doce, a traditional breakfast food. A common meal is grilled fish served with cassava, breadfruit, or rice. Another traditional dish is the Calulu. It consists of smoked fish, prawns, okra, eggplant, tomato, and is flavored with a variety of spices. A boiled pork dish flavored with tomato, onion, garlic, spinach, and spices, is also eaten. Chocolate mousse, Canjica (a sweet porridge containing canjica, egg, cinnamon, sugar, and water), aranha, etc., are some popular desserts.

[h5p id=”162″]

Coconut water, coffee, and tea are the most widely consumed non-alcoholic beverages. Rum, aquardente, palm wine, Ponche (a cocktail), and some alcoholic drinks imported from Portugal are very popular.

Tourism

[h5p id=”159″]

Like no other islands in the Atlantic Ocean, Sao Tome seems to embody a kind of lush tropical paradise usually associated with the south pacific. Large resorts have been built on the beaches of São Tomé and Príncipe.The atmosphere here is palpably luxury and it is an intoxicating blend of sunlight, sea, air and fantastically abundant vegetation.

[h5p id=”156″]

The tourism sector has great potential to be a way of diversifying the country’s economy. The sector has expanded with some foreign investment, but development has been hindered by such obstacles as the presence of tropical diseases (notably malaria), the lengthy wet season, and the expense of traveling to the country.

Economy

Decades of colonial stagnation were followed by economic disruption after independence in 1975. Under the tutelage of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank since the mid-1980s, Sao Tome and Principe has tried to restore a functioning economy by devaluing its currency, reducing the budget deficit, privatizing formerly nationalized companies, attracting foreign investment, and removing price subsidies and controls. Despite all efforts and considerable inflows of foreign funds, however, the results of the imposed reforms did not match the original targets. During that time corruption became rampant, and mass poverty increased tremendously. In the late 1990s, IMF measures helped the country’s economy improve considerably, as did the advent of petroleum concessions sales, which continued into the 21st century.

Sao Tome and Principe’s economy has historically been dependent on agriculture, and much of the total agricultural area of the two islands belongs to the state. Until 1993 this land was divided into 15 large plantation enterprises, but, by the end of the decade, most of the former plantations were dissolved and their land distributed to smallholders and medium-sized enterprises on a usufruct basis as part of attempted agricultural reform. High levels of unemployment coexist with a critical labour shortage on the former plantations, where wages and working conditions are poor.

São Tomé and Príncipe’s payments infrastructure is underdeveloped, lacking the capacity to process safely and efficiently interbank payments, or retail payments, and to process international retail transactions. As a result, interbank payments, as well as retail payments are difficult and costly and the use of cash is widespread.

[h5p id=”161″]

Macroeconomic performance and outlook Real GDP grew by an estimated 4.0% in 2019 on the back of improvements in agriculture, construction, and services. The service sector explained about 70% of the growth in 2016-18, with strong performance in wholesale and retail trade and in restaurants and hotels, which benefited from growing tourism following reforms such as the e-Visa in 2018.

[h5p id=”164″]

Sao Tome and Principe economic growth for 2018 was $0.42B, a 12.6% increase from 2017. Sao Tome and Principe economic growth for 2017 was $0.38B, a 7.91% increase from 2016. Sao Tome and Principe economic growth for 2016 was $0.35B, a 9.2% increase from 2015. Sao Tome and Principe economic growth for 2015 was $0.32B, a 8.79% decline from 2014.

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Sao Tome and Principe was last recorded at 1297.40 US dollars in 2018. The GDP per Capita in Sao Tome and Principe is equivalent to 10 percent of the world’s average. GDP per capita in Sao Tome and Principe averaged 1062.49 USD from 2000 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 1297.40 USD in 2018 and a record low of 844.20 USD in 2001, according to
Trading economics.

[h5p id=”158″]

Sao Tome and Principe’s economy has historically been dependent on agriculture, and much of the total agricultural area of the two islands belongs to the state. Until 1993 this land was divided into 15 large plantation enterprises, but, by the end of the decade, most of the former plantations were dissolved and their land distributed to smallholders and medium-sized enterprises on a usufruct basis as part of attempted agricultural reform. High levels of unemployment coexist with a critical labour shortage on the former plantations, where wages and working conditions are poor.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

São Tomé is endowed with excellent conditions for tropical agriculture. The growing season is long, the volcanic soils are fertile, and there is no lack of water. Consequently, the economy remains dependent on plantation agriculture, especially cacao (grown for its seeds, cocoa beans). About two-fifths of the total land area is under cultivation, with cacao trees covering a little less than two-thirds of the cultivated land; coconut palms cover most of the remainder. Large areas of plantation land have been poorly maintained since independence; they are harvested from time to time but not otherwise tended. The country has never been self-sufficient in staple foodstuffs, and a combination of local eating habits, the legacy of the plantation economy, and foreign food aid has undermined the production of food crops for the local market.

[h5p id=”165″]

Fine stands of timber remain in the mountains, but the difficulty of removing logs from the steep terrain and the pressing need for effective conservation limit long-term prospects. The country’s small size prevents farmers from keeping large herds of livestock, but conditions for poultry raising are quite favourable.

Fishing resources are limited by the narrow continental shelf. The domestic demand for fish exceeds supply by the local artisan fishermen, and trawlers from European Union countries pay small license fees for the right to fish in the country’s national waters. The deep-sea tuna resources of the Gulf of Guinea and shellfish in coastal waters represent the best hopes for fishery exports.

Climate

[h5p id=”167″]

The climate is basically maritime and tropical, but, because of the rough topography, there is a wide range of microclimates. The prevailing moist southwesterly winds are intercepted by the mountains, so annual rainfall exceeds 275 inches (7,000 mm) in the southwestern part of São Tomé island, while the far northeast receives less than 30 inches (760 mm). The dry season, called gravana, lasts from June to September in the northeast but is scarcely discernible in the wetter regions.

[h5p id=”166″]

In the coastal areas the mean annual temperature is high, in the low 80s F (upper 20s C); the average relative humidity is also high, about 80 percent. Average temperatures decline sharply with elevation, and night temperatures fall below 50 °F (10 °C) at about 2,300 feet (700 metres). Above 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) fine misty rain falls almost continuously and the nights are cold, although frost and snow are unknown.

Plant and animal life

[h5p id=”163″]

The original vegetation of the islands was luxuriant tropical rainforest, with a gradual transition from lowland forest to mist forest. Some of the islands’ area, mainly in the south and west, is still covered with rainforest. Much of this is secondary growth on abandoned plantation land. The flora and fauna include many rare and endemic species, reflecting the isolation and environmental diversity of the islands. Birds such as the ibis, shrike, and grosbeak can be found in Sao Tome and Principe. Many of the plants, birds, reptiles, and small mammals are threatened by pressure on the remaining rainforest.

People/Ethnic groups

The population consists mainly of Forros (from forro, Portuguese for “free man”), descendants of immigrant Europeans and African slaves. Another group, the Angolares, descended from runaway Angolan slaves who were shipwrecked on São Tomé about 1540. The Angolares remained apart in the isolated southern zone of São Tomé island until the late 19th century, but they later spread throughout the country and became largely assimilated. Cape Verdeans form the largest group of resident foreigners; many have adopted São Toméan nationality. Angolans and Mozambicans make up most of the rest of the African immigrant community. Like the Cape Verdeans, they are relatively well integrated with the other islanders, because of a shared Luso-African cultural background. There is a small European population—primarily Portuguese—in the country.

Languages

Standard Portuguese is the official language and is understood by virtually all islanders. In addition, three Portuguese-based creoles are spoken: Sãotomense, spoken by the Forros and having by far the largest number of speakers; Angolar, the language of the Angolares, spoken on the southern tip of São Tomé; and Principense, spoken by only a few hundred individuals on Príncipe.

The population is concentrated in the drier and flatter areas of both islands. Whereas a third of the inhabitants live in São Tomé city and its outskirts, only about 5 percent live on the island of Príncipe. Many people live in dispersed settlements known locally as lucháns. Houses made of wooden planks and raised above the ground are typical of the local building methods, although there are also many concrete structures in the Portuguese colonial style. Many people still live in barracklike accommodations on the plantations.

Resources and power

There are numerous sites for small hydroelectric schemes but no large rivers for major installations. The islands have no known mineral resources, but the country claims an area of the Gulf of Guinea that may have considerable deepwater hydrocarbon reserves; in the late 1990s and early 2000s this potential attracted foreign investors who purchased exploration concessions. In 2001 Sao Tome and Principe and Nigeria reached an agreement to oversee the exploration and development of potential oil fields in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ), an area of overlapping maritime boundaries about 125 miles (200 km) from the Nigerian coast. The agreement was renegotiated in 2003, after which oil companies began bidding for the right to develop sections within the JDZ. The first exploratory drilling in the JDZ began in 2006.