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São Tomé and Príncipe

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Information

Capital:
São Tomé
Government:
Unitary Semi-Presidential Republic
Current Head of Government:
Carlos Manuel Vila Nova
Economy:
  • Increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence in 1975.
  • Being an island country, São Tomé and Príncipe has to import fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of food, making it vulnerable to fluctuations in global commodity prices.
  • Potential exists for the development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years.
  • Maintaining control of inflation, fiscal discipline, and increasing flows of foreign direct investment into the oil sector, are the major economic problems facing the country.
Population:
213,948 (July 2021 est.)
Land Size:
1,001 sq km (386 sq miles)
Major Ethnic Groups:
  • 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)
Religions:
  • Catholicism: 70.3%
  • Evangelicalism: 3.4%
  • New Apostolic: 2.0%
  • Adventism: 1.8%
  • Other: 3.1%
  • None: 19.4%
Languages(s):
  • Portuguese (official)
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