Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/208.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 9.0 KB | 339 lines

@node Geography (Sao Tome and Principe)
@section Geography (Sao Tome and Principe)

@display

Location:
  Western Africa, in the Atlantic Ocean, 340 km off the coast of Gabon
  straddling the equator
Map references:
  Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  960 km2
 land area:
  960 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly less than 5.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
  0 km
Coastline:
  209 km
Maritime claims:
  measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
 exclusive economic zone:
  200 nm
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  none
Climate:
  tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
Terrain:
  volcanic, mountainous
Natural resources:
  fish
Land use:
 arable land:
  1%
 permanent crops:
  20%
 meadows and pastures:
  1%
 forest and woodland:
  75%
 other:   3%
Irrigated land:
  NA km2
Environment:
  deforestation; soil erosion



@end display

@node People (Sao Tome and Principe)
@section People (Sao Tome and Principe)

@display

Population:
  133,225 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  2.63% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  35.39 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  9.06 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  64.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  63.02 years
 male:
  61.19 years
 female:
  64.9 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  4.6 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Sao Tomean(s)
 adjective:
  Sao Tomean
Ethnic divisions:
  mestico, angolares (descendents of Angolan slaves), forros (descendents of
  freed slaves), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and
  Cape Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), Europeans
  (primarily Portuguese)
Religions:
  Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist
Languages:
  Portuguese (official)
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1981)
 total population:
  57%
 male:
  73%
 female:
  42%
Labor force:
  21,096 (1981); most of population engaged in subsistence agriculture and
  fishing; labor shortages on plantations and of skilled workers; 56% of
  population of working age (1983)



@end display

@node Government (Sao Tome and Principe)
@section Government (Sao Tome and Principe)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
 conventional short form:
  Sao Tome and Principe
 local long form:
  Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe
 local short form:
  Sao Tome e Principe
Digraph:
  TP
Type:
  republic
Capital:
  Sao Tome
Administrative divisions:
  2 districts (concelhos, singular - concelho); Principe, Sao Tome
Independence:
  12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
Constitution:
  5 November 1975, approved 15 December 1982
Legal system:
  based on Portuguese law system and customary law; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
  Independence Day, 12 July (1975)
Political parties and leaders:
  Party for Democratic Convergence-Reflection Group (PCD-GR), Daniel Lima Dos
  Santos DAIO, secretary general; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and
  Principe (MLSTP), Carlos da GRACA; Christian Democratic Front (FDC),
  Alphonse Dos SANTOS; Democratic Opposition Coalition (CODO), leader NA;
  other small parties
Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal
Elections:
 President:
  last held 3 March 1991 (next to be held NA March 1996); results - Miguel
  TROVOADA was elected without opposition in Sao Tome's first multiparty
  presidential election
 National People's Assembly:
  last held 20 January 1991 (next to be held NA January 1996); results -
  PCD-GR 54.4%, MLSTP 30.5%, CODO 5.2%, FDC 1.5%, other 8.4%; seats - (55
  total) PCD-GR 33, MLSTP 21, CODO 1; note - this was the first multiparty
  election in Sao Tome and Principe
Executive branch:
  president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
  unicameral National People's Assembly (Assembleia Popular Nacional)
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court
Leaders:
 Chief of State:
  President Miguel TROVOADA (since 4 April 1991)
 Head of Government:
  Prime Minister Noberto Jose D'Alva COSTA ALEGRE (since 16 May 1992)
Member of:
  ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  INTERPOL, IOM (observer), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO



@end display

@node Government (Sao Tome and Principe 2. usage)
@section Government (Sao Tome and Principe 2. usage)

@display

Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Joaquim Rafael BRANCO
 chancery:
  (temporary) 801 Second Avenue, Suite 603, New York, NY 10017
 telephone:
  [phone]
US diplomatic representation:
  ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident
  basis and makes periodic visits to the islands
Flag:
  three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double width), and green with
  two black five-pointed stars placed side by side in the center of the yellow
  band and a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; uses the popular
  pan-African colors of Ethiopia



@end display

@node Economy (Sao Tome and Principe)
@section Economy (Sao Tome and Principe)

@display

Overview:
  The economy has remained dependent on cocoa since the country gained
  independence nearly 15 years ago. Since then, however, cocoa production has
  gradually deteriorated because of drought and mismanagement, so that by 1987
  output had fallen to less than 50% of its former levels. As a result, a
  shortage of cocoa for export has created a serious balance-of-payments
  problem. Production of less important crops, such as coffee, copra, and palm
  kernels, has also declined. The value of imports generally exceeds that of
  exports by a ratio of 4:1. The emphasis on cocoa production at the expense
  of other food crops has meant that Sao Tome has to import 90% of food needs.
  It also has to import all fuels and most manufactured goods. Over the years,
  Sao Tome has been unable to service its external debt, which amounts to
  roughly 80% of export earnings. Considerable potential exists for
  development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to
  expand facilities in recent years. The government also implemented a
  Five-Year Plan covering 1986-90 to restructure the economy and reschedule
  external debt service payments in cooperation with the International
  Development Association and Western lenders.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $41.4 million (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  1.5% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $315 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  27% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  NA%
Budget:
  revenues $10.2 million; expenditures $36.8 million, including capital
  expenditures of $22.5 million (1989)
Exports:
  $5.5 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
 commodities:
  cocoa 85%, copra, coffee, palm oil
 partners:
  Germany, Netherlands, China
Imports:
  $24.5 million (f.o.b., 1991)
 commodities:
  machinery and electrical equipment 54%, food products 23%, other 23%
 partners:
  Portugal, Germany, Angola, China
External debt:
  $163.6 million (1992)
Industrial production:
  growth rate 7.1% (1986)
Electricity:
  5,000 kW capacity; 10 million kWh produced, 80 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
  light construction, shirts, soap, beer, fisheries, shrimp processing
Agriculture:
  dominant sector of economy, primary source of exports; cash crops - cocoa
  (85%), coconuts, palm kernels, coffee; food products - bananas, papaya,
  beans, poultry, fish; not self-sufficient in food grain and meat
Economic aid:
  US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $8 million; Western (non-US)
  countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $89 million



@end display

@node Economy (Sao Tome and Principe 2. usage)
@section Economy (Sao Tome and Principe 2. usage)

@display

Currency:
  1 dobra (Db) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates:
  dobras (Db) per US$1 - 230 (1992), 260.0 (November 1991), 122.48 (December
  1988), 72.827 (1987), 36.993 (1986)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year



@end display

@node Communications (Sao Tome and Principe)
@section Communications (Sao Tome and Principe)

@display

Highways:
  300 km (two-thirds are paved); roads on Principe are mostly unpaved and in
  need of repair
Ports:
  Sao Tome, Santo Antonio
Merchant marine:
  1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,096 GRT/1,105 DWT
Airports:
 total:
  2
 usable:
  2
 with permanent-surface runways :
  2
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  2
Telecommunications:
  minimal system; broadcast stations - 1 AM, 2 FM, no TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean
  INTELSAT earth station



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Sao Tome and Principe)
@section Defense Forces (Sao Tome and Principe)

@display

Branches:
  Army, Navy, National Police
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 31,326; fit for military service 16,507 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP



@end display