Population:
211,122
(July 2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
184
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Nationality:
noun:
Sao Tomean(s)
adjective:
Sao Tomean
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), Asians (mostly Chinese)
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%
(2012 est.)
note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census
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.)
Demographic profile:
Sao Tome and Principe’s youthful age structure – more than 60% of the population is under the age of 25 – and high fertility rate ensure future population growth. Although Sao Tome has a net negative international migration rate, emigration is not a sufficient safety valve to reduce already high levels of unemployment and poverty. While literacy and primary school attendance have improved in recent years, Sao Tome still struggles to improve its educational quality and to increase its secondary school completion rate. Despite some improvements in education and access to healthcare, Sao Tome and Principe has much to do to decrease its high poverty rate, create jobs, and increase its economic growth.
The population of Sao Tome and Principe descends primarily from the islands’ colonial Portuguese settlers, who first arrived in the late 15th century, and the much larger number of African slaves brought in for sugar production and the slave trade. For about 100 years after the abolition of slavery in 1876, the population was further shaped by the widespread use of imported unskilled contract laborers from Portugal’s other African colonies, who worked on coffee and cocoa plantations. In the first decades after abolition, most workers were brought from Angola under a system similar to slavery. While Angolan laborers were technically free, they were forced or coerced into long contracts that were automatically renewed and extended to their children. Other contract workers from Mozambique and famine-stricken Cape Verde first arrived in the early 20th century under short-term contracts and had the option of repatriation, although some chose to remain in Sao Tome and Principe.
Today’s Sao Tomean population consists of mesticos (creole descendants of the European immigrants and African slaves that first inhabited the islands), forros (descendants of freed African slaves), angolares (descendants of runaway African slaves that formed a community in the south of Sao Tome Island and today are fishermen), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (locally born children of contract laborers), and lesser numbers of Europeans and Asians.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.77%
(male 42,690/female 41,277)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 21.59%
(male 23,088/female 22,487)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 31.61%
(male 32,900/female 33,834)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 4.17%
(male 4,095/female 4,700)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 2.87%
(male 2,631/female 3,420)
(2020 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Sao Tome and Principe. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 86.7
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 81.1
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.6
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 17.8
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
Median age:
total: 19.3 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 18.9 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 19.7 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
205
Population growth rate:
1.58%
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
65
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
29.7 births/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
33
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
6.3 deaths/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
153
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
-7.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
213
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
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
Urbanization:
urban population: 73.6% of total population
(2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 3.33% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
Major urban areas - population:
80,000 SAO TOME (capital)
(2018)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 99.7 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]
Mother's mean age at first birth:
19.4 years
(2008/09 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
Maternal mortality rate:
130 deaths/100,000 live births
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
62
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 41.7 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 43.6 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 39.8 deaths/1,000 live births
(2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
36
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.3 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 64.9 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 67.8 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
187
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
Total fertility rate:
3.82 children born/woman
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
33
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
40.6%
(2014)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 98.9% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 93.6% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 97.1% of population
unimproved:
urban: 1.1% of population
rural: 6.4% of population
total: 2.9% of population
(2015 est.)
Current Health Expenditure:
6%
(2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]
Physicians density:
Hospital bed density:
2.9 beds/1,000 population
(2011)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 40.8% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 23.3% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 34.7% of population
(2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 59.2% of population
(2015 est.)
rural: 76.7% of population
(2015 est.)
total: 65.3% of population
(2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.7%
(2018)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
58
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1,100
(2018)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
142
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
<100
(2018)
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
high
(2016)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2016)
vectorborne diseases:
malaria and dengue fever
(2016)
water contact diseases:
schistosomiasis
(2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
12.4%
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
133
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
8.8%
(2014)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
68
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
Education expenditures:
4.9% of GDP
(2017)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
68
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.9%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 81.8%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 68.4%
(2015)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 12 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total country ranks ]
male: 12 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
female: 13 years
(2015)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - female country ranks ]
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 20.8%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male:
NA
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female:
NA
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
(2012 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
64
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Sao Tome and Principe on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sao Tome and Principe People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sao Tome and Principe People 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
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This page was last modified 27-Jan-20