_#_Climate: tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
_#_Terrain: volcanic, mountainous
_#_Natural resources: fish
_#_Land use: arable land 1%; permanent crops 20%; meadows and
pastures 1%; forest and woodland 75%; other 3%
_#_Environment: deforestation; soil erosion
_#_Note: located south of Nigeria and west of Gabon near the Equator
in the North Atlantic Ocean
_*_People
_#_Population: 128,499 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 68 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 5.3 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Sao Tomean(s); adjective--Sao Tomean
_#_Ethnic divisions: mestico, angolares (descendents of Angolan
slaves), forros (descendents of freed slaves), servicais (contract
laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of
servicais born on the islands), and Europeans (primarily Portuguese)
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day
Adventist
_#_Language: Portuguese (official)
_#_Literacy: 57% (male 73%, female 42%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1981)
_#_Labor force: 21,096 (1981); most of population engaged in
subsistence agriculture and fishing; labor shortages on plantations and
of skilled workers; 56% of population of working age (1983)
_#_Organized labor: NA
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Sao Tome
_#_Administrative divisions: 2 districts (concelhos,
singular--concelho); Principe, Sao Tome
_#_Independence: 12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
_#_Constitution: 5 November 1975, approved 15 December 1982
_#_Legal system: based on Portuguese law system and customary law; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 12 July (1975)
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral People's National Assembly
(Assembleia Popular Nacional)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President Miguel TROVOADA (since 4 April 1991);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Daniel Lima Dos Santos DAIO
(since 21 January 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Party for Democratic Convergence-Reflection Group (PCD-GR),
Prime Minister Daniel Lima Dos Santos DAIO, secretary general;
Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe (MLSTP),
Carlos da GRACIA;
Christian Democratic Front (FDC), Alphonse Dos SANTOS;
Democratic Opposition Coalition (CODO), leader NA; other small parties
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President--last held 3 March 1991 (next to be held March
1996);
results--Miguel TROVOADA was elected without opposition in Sao Tome's
first multiparty presidential election;
National People's Assembly--last held 20 January 1991 (next to be
held January 1996);
results--PCD-GR 54.4%, MLSTP 30.5%, CODO 5.2%, FDC 1.5%, other 8.3%;
seats--(55 total) PCD-GR 33, MLSTP 21, CODO 1; note--this was the first
National Assembly multiparty election in Sao Tome
_#_Member of: ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD,
ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Joaquim Rafael BRANCO;
Chancery (temporary) at 801 Second Avenue, Suite 1504, New York, NY
10017; telephone (212) 697-4211;
US--Ambassador Keith L. WAUCHOPE in Gabon is accredited to Sao
Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the
islands
_#_Flag: 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
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The economy has remained dependent on cocoa since the
country gained independence nearly 15 years ago. Since then, however,
cocoa production has gradually deteriorated because of drought and
mismanagement, so that by 1987 output had fallen to less than 50% of
its former levels. As a result, a shortage of cocoa for export has
created a serious balance-of-payments problem. Production of less
important crops, such as coffee, copra, and palm kernels, has
also declined. The value of imports generally exceeds that of
exports by a ratio of 4 to 1. The emphasis on cocoa production at
the expense of other food crops has meant that Sao Tome has to import
90% of food needs. It also has to import all fuels and most manufactured
goods. Over the years, Sao Tome has been unable to service its external
debt, which amounts to roughly 80% of export earnings. Considerable
potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the
government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The
government also implemented a Five-Year Plan covering 1986-90 to
restructure the economy and reschedule external debt service payments in
cooperation with the International Development Association and Western
lenders.
_#_GDP: $46.0 million, per capita $380; real growth rate 1.5% (1989)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 36% (1989 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $10.2 million; expenditures $36.8 million,
including capital expenditures of $22.5 million (1989)
_#_Exports: $5.9 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--cocoa 85%, copra, coffee, palm oil;
partners--FRG, GDR, Netherlands, China
_#_Imports: $26.8 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--machinery and electrical equipment 54%, food
products 23%, other 23%;
partners--Portugal, GDR, Angola, China
_#_External debt: $110 million (1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 7.1% (1986)
_#_Electricity: 5,000 kW capacity; 12 million kWh produced,
100 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: light construction, shirts, soap, beer, fisheries,
shrimp processing
_#_Agriculture: dominant sector of economy, primary source of exports;
cash crops--cocoa (85%), coconuts, palm kernels, coffee; food
products--bananas, papaya, beans, poultry, fish; not self-sufficient in
food grain and meat
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $8
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $59 million
_#_Currency: dobra (plural--dobras); 1 dobra (Db) = 100 centimos
_#_Exchange rates: dobras (Db) per US$1--122.48 (December 1988),
72.827 (1987), 36.993 (1986), 41.195 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 300 km (two-thirds are paved); roads on Principe are
mostly unpaved and in need of repair
_#_Ports: Sao Tome, Santo Antonio
_#_Civil air: 8 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways
1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: minimal system; 2,200 telephones; stations--1
AM, 2 FM, no TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, National Police
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 28,984; 15,287 fit for military
service
_#_Defense expenditures: $NA, 1.6% of GDP (1980)
_%_
_@_Saudi Arabia
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 2,149,690 km2; land area: 2,149,690 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than one-fourth the size of US
_#_Land boundaries: 4,410 km total; Iraq 488 km, Iraq-Saudi Arabia
Neutral Zone 198 km, Jordan 742 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar
40 km, UAE 586 km, Yemen 1,458 km
_#_Coastline: 2,510 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 18 nm;
Continental shelf: not specific;