Sao Tome and Principe Geography - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Central Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, just north of the Equator, west of Gabon

Geographic coordinates

1 00 N, 7 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 964 sq km

land: 964 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

more than five times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

total: 0 km

Coastline

209 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

measured from claimed archipelagic baselines

Climate

tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)

Terrain

volcanic, mountainous

Elevation

highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Natural resources

fish, hydropower

Land use

agricultural land: 50.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 9.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 40.6% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 1% (2018 est.)

forest: 28.1% (2018 est.)

other: 21.2% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

100 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

2.18 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

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 as shown in this population distribution map

Natural hazards

flooding

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban

Geography - note

the second-smallest African country (after the Seychelles); the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are mountainous

NOTE: The information regarding Sao Tome and Principe on this page is re-published from the 2021 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 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sao Tome and Principe 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.