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Geography, agriculture and the economy

Geography

The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe comprises two main inhabited islands and some small, uninhabited islands forming an archipelago in the Gulf of Guinea, off the west coast of Africa. The archipelago has a land area of 1,000 km². In 2007 the estimated population was 160,000 and the annual population growth rate was 1.8 per cent (World Bank). More than 44 per cent of the population is urban, and 60 per cent of the country’s people live within a 10-km radius of the capital, Sao Tome.

The climate is tropical. Sao Tome and Principe harbors one of Africa’s most important primary forest regions. The region is rich in fauna that may include undiscovered species. The two main islands are part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and their terrain is mountainous. Deforestation, erosion and soil degradation are concerns.

Agriculture

Arable land accounts for about 8 per cent of the territory. About 49,000 ha of land are cultivated. Smallholders farm about 40 per cent of the land, and the rest is in the hands of medium to large-scale enterprises. Artisanal fisheries provide about 90 per cent of annual production, and fishing licences for industrial fishing are an important source of foreign exchange. The licences allow fishing in waters outside a 200-mile radius of the islands.

The government has carried forward a country-wide land distribution programme, initiated in 1991, with the support of the World Bank’s Land Privatization Programme and the National Smallholders Support Programme funded by IFAD and other donors.

Economy

Along with other small countries in the developing world, Sao Tome and Principe shares the constraints of small internal markets, dependence on one or two exports, high rates of imports of goods that cannot be produced internally and vulnerability to external factors. Since independence in 1975, the economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa, but production of cocoa has declined as a result of drought and fluctuating prices on world markets. Because it is a small island country, Sao Tome and Principe has to import fuels, manufactured goods, consumer goods and food. International aid has played a crucial role in sustaining the economy.

The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea highlights the country’s potential for development of petroleum resources within its territorial waters. Partly because of oil-related capital investment and increases in public expenditures, GDP has grown to US$0.14 billion in 2007, showing an annual growth rate of 6 per cent. Gross national income per capita increased from US$760 in 2005 to US$870 in 2007. (World Bank)


Source: IFAD