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Sao Tome and Principe:
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Other pages in this profile of Sao Tome and Principe:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
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Background |
Definition 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. While independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The country held its first free elections in 1991, but frequent internal wrangling between the various political parties precipitated repeated changes in leadership and two failed coup attempts in 1995 and 2003. The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea promises to attract increased attention to the small island nation. |
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Location |
Definition Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon |
Geographic coordinates |
Definition 1 00 N, 7 00 E |
Map references |
Definition Africa |
Area |
Definition - World rank and map total: 1,001 sq km land: 1,001 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative |
Definition more than five times the size of Washington, DC |
Land boundaries |
Definition 0 km |
Coastline |
Definition 209 km |
Maritime claims |
Definition measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Climate |
Definition tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May) |
Terrain |
Definition volcanic, mountainous |
Elevation extremes |
Definition lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m |
Natural resources |
Definition fish, hydropower |
Land use |
Definition - World rank and map arable land: 8.33% permanent crops: 48.96% other: 42.71% (2005) |
Irrigated land |
Definition 100 sq km (2003) |
Natural hazards |
Definition NA |
Environment - current issues |
Definition deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion |
Environment - international agreements |
Definition party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Geography - note |
Definition the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are mountainous |
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Copyright 2008 World Sites Atlas (sitesatlas.com) |