SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE

officially Democratic Republic of So Tom and Prncipe, Portuguese Repblica Democrtica de So Tom e Prncipe country of central Africa, located on the Equator in the Gulf of Guinea. It consists of two main islands (So Tom and Prncipe) and a number of islets. Their total area is 386 square miles (1,001 square km), of which So Tom comprises 332 square miles. The capital and largest town is So Tom. The population of the republic in 1990 was estimated to be 121,000. officially Democratic Republic of So Tom and Prncipe, Portuguese Repblica Democrtica de So Tom e Prncipe, country of central Africa, located on the Equator in the Gulf of Guinea. It consists of two main islands (So Tom and Prncipe) and a number of islets. The total area is 386 square miles (1,001 square kilometres), making it one of the smallest countries in the world. Of the total area, So Tom, which is oval in shape and about 30 miles (49 kilometres) long, comprises 332 square miles. The capital of the country, So Tom city, is situated in the northeastern part of the island. Prncipe lies about 90 miles to the northeast of its sister island. In addition to being much smaller, only about 10 miles long and 55 square miles in area, it has a more irregular coastline. The country's closest neighbours are Gabon and Equatorial Guinea on the Atlantic coast of central Africa. Additional reading Tony Hodges and Malyn Newitt, So Tom and Prncipe: From Plantation Colony to Microstate (1988), is the only general study of the country and is the basic book for practically all topics. Francisco Tenreiro, A Ilha de So Tom (1961), is the standard geographic text. Arthur Wallis Exell, Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of S. Tom (with Prncipe and Annobon) (1944), is useful for the flora. Luiz Ivens Ferraz, The Creole of So Tom (1979), analyzes the local language. Helder Lains e Silva, So Tom e Prncipe e a cultura do caf (1958); and Pablo B. Eyzaguirre, The Ecology of Swidden Agriculture and Agrarian History in So Tom, Cahiers d'tudes Africaines, 26(12):113129 (1986), discuss agricultural matters. Tony Hodges, So Tom and Prncipe: Combating Cocoa Colonialism, Africa Report, 13:6166 (1986), is a brief overview. Martin Schmer, So Tom und Prncipe: Ausbruch aus der Isolation (1987), provides a short general survey of foreign relations and economic policy since independence. William Gervase Clarence-Smith Administration and social conditions The political and judicial structures adopted at independence in 1975 were those of a single-party state, but the regime never formally proclaimed its adherence to Marxism-Leninism. Free elections for the legislative assembly and the presidency were established by the constitution of 1990. Close ties with eastern European countries have been replaced by warm relations with Portugal, France, and other Western countries. Angolan troops have been stationed in the country since 1978 to guarantee internal security. Educational and health levels are high by African standards. Some two-thirds of children receive basic education, and more than half the population is literate in Portuguese. Foreign aid workers make up for the shortage of teachers. There is no university, and most students go to Portugal for higher education. Life expectancy is more than 60 years. There are numerous clinics, although drug supplies are short, local doctors emigrate, malaria is endemic, and there are occasional epidemics of cholera. However, there are no signs of extreme destitution. Cultural life This small country has a homogeneous culture, profoundly marked by centuries of Portuguese colonialism, although the government has been keen to stress the country's African heritage. Language, family structure, and religion are basically Portuguese. Many African elements have been adopted in the cooking, customs, beliefs, and dress of the common people, and the poorer classes only speak creole. The single newspaper appears erratically, but the government-run radio station is active, and there have been experiments with a television station. William Gervase Clarence-Smith