Sao Tome and Principe People - 2023
SOURCE: 2023 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Population
220,372 (2023 est.)
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%; note - shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; other Portuguese-based Creoles are also spoken (2012 est.)
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 as of 2020 – 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: 37.21% (male 41,620/female 40,373)
15-64 years: 59.64% (male 65,356/female 66,078)
65 years and over: 3.15% (2023 est.) (male 2,986/female 3,959)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 77.9
youth dependency ratio: 71.2
elderly dependency ratio: 6.7
potential support ratio: 14.9 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 19.3 years
male: 18.9 years
female: 19.7 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate
1.45% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
27.43 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
6.07 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
-6.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 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
Urbanization
urban population: 76.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.96% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
80,000 SAO TOME (capital) (2018)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
19.4 years (2008/09 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29
Maternal mortality ratio
146 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 43.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 46.93 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 39.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 67.39 years
male: 65.74 years
female: 69.08 years (2023 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.44 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.69 (2023 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
49.7% (2019)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 94% of population
total: 98.5% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 6% of population
total: 1.5% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
4.9% of GDP (2020)
Physicians density
0.49 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
Hospital bed density
2.9 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 57.1% of population
rural: 42.8% of population
total: 53.4% of population
unimproved: urban: 42.9% of population
rural: 57.2% of population
total: 46.6% of population (2020 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
12.4% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 4.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0.42 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 3.58 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 5.7% (2020 est.)
male: 10.1% (2020 est.)
female: 1.3% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
5.4% (2019)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
51.9% (2023 est.)
Child marriage
women married by age 15: 5.4%
women married by age 18: 28%
men married by age 18: 3.1% (2019 est.)
Education expenditures
5% of GDP (2020 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.8%
male: 96.5%
female: 91.1% (2021)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 12 years
male: 12 years
female: 13 years (2015)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 22.9%
male: 18% NA
female: 34.3% (2021 est.) NA
NOTE: The information regarding Sao Tome and Principe on this page is re-published from the 2023 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 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sao Tome and Principe 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 06 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.