Sao Tome and Principe
islands are found in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, 250 km of
west coast of Gabon. Sao Tome is the largest island with over 120,000 people living in the
port and capital city, Sao Tome. Principe has about 10,000 people. Formerly a Portuguese
colony, Sao Tome and Principe got their independence in July 1975.
Cocoa is the leading export
followed by coffee, copra, palm kernels, cinnamon and pepper. However, cocoa production
has substantially declined because of drought and mismanagement. The resulting shortage of
cocoa for export has created a persistent balance-of-payments problem. Considerable
potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps
to expand facilities in recent years. Sao Tome is also optimistic that significant
petroleum discoveries are forthcoming in its territorial waters in the oil-rich waters of
the Gulf of Guinea. In the political scene, Sao Tome and Principe became a centrally
planned economy after independence, and the state only began to relax its economic
policies from mid-1980 onwards. In the first multi-part elections held in 1991, the
Marxist-led government was defeated by an alliance of opposition parties.
Sao Tome and Principe
has about 4,500 connected lines, giving a telephone density of 3.15 per hundred
people.
Back to Top
