Location:
Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon
Geographic coordinates:
1 00 N, 7 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 1,001 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 1,001 sq km
Area - comparative:
more than five times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
209 km
Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate:
tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
Terrain:
volcanic, mountainous
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m
Natural resources:
fish, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 41%
other: 57% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
100 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
NA
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous
NOTE: The information regarding Sao Tome and Principe on this page is re-published from the 2003 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Geography 2003 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sao Tome and Principe Geography 2003 should be addressed to the CIA.