São Tomé and Príncipe - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of São Tomé and Príncipe. The second-smallest African country (after the Seychelles); the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes, and both are mountainous. Mother's mean age at first birth is 19.4 years (2008/09 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 146 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of São Tomé and Príncipe
Location Central Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, just north of the Equator, west of Gabon
Geographic coordinates 1 00 N, 7 00 E
Map references Africa
Tarrain volcanic, mountainous
Natural Resources fish, hydropower
Natural Hazards flooding
Irrigated Land 100 sq km (2012)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 0 km
Border Countries
Coastline 209 km
Climate tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
Area
Total Area
Land Area 964 sq km
Water Area 0 sq km
comparative Area more than five times the size of Washington, D.C.
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Elevations
Highest point Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m
Lowest point Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 44.8% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 4.2% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 39.6% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 1% (2022 est.)
Forest 52.8% (2022 est.)
Other 2.4% (2022 est.)
Population Distribution

Sao Tome, the capital city, has roughly a quarter of the nation's population; Santo Antonio is the largest town on Principe; the northern areas of both islands have the highest population densities as shown in this population distribution map

People and Society

In São Tomé and Príncipe, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Mestico, Angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), Forros (descendants of freed slaves), Servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cabo Verde), Tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese), Asians (mostly Chinese)

Population
Pop growth rate 1.42% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 26.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 6 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 7.8% of GDP (2021)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 2.9 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Total fertility rate 3.31 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.63 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 49.7% (2019)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 51.9% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 5% of GDP (2020 est.)
Net Migration rate -6.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Sao Tomean | Sao Tomean(s)
Languages Portuguese 98.4% (official), Forro 36.2%, Cabo Verdian 8.5%, French 6.8%, Angolar 6.6%, English 4.9%, Lunguie 1%, other (including sign language) 2.4%; other Portuguese-based Creoles are also spoken (2012 est.)
Religions Catholic 55.7%, Adventist 4.1%, Assembly of God 3.4%, New Apostolic 2.9%, Mana 2.3%, Universal Kingdom of God 2%, Jehovah's Witness 1.2%, other 6.2%, none 21.2%, unspecified 1% (2012 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 36.4% (male 41,337/female 40,106)
15-64 years 60.3% (male 67,101/female 67,775)
65 years and over 3.2% (2024 est.) (male 3,115/female 4,127)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 77.9
Youth dependency ratio 71.2
Elderly dependency ratio 6.7
Potential support ratio 14.9 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 20.8 years (2024 est.)
Male 20.4 years
Female 21.2 years
Urbanization
Urban population 76.4% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 2.96% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 80,000 SAO TOME (capital) (2018).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.75 male(s)/female
Total population 1 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 42.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 46.1 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 39 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 67.7 years (2024 est.)
Male 66 years
Female 69.4 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 100% of population
Improved: rural rural: 94% of population
Improved: total total: 98.5% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 6% of population
Unimproved: total total: 1.5% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 57.1% of population
Improved: rural rural: 42.8% of population
Improved: total total: 53.4% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 42.9% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 57.2% of population
Unimproved: total total: 46.6% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 4.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.42 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 3.58 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 5.7% (2020 est.)
Male 10.1% (2020 est.)
Female 1.3% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 5.4%
Women married by age 18 28%
Men married by age 18 3.1% (2019 est.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about São Tomé and Príncipe

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São Tomé and Príncipe is found in Middle Africa