50 Fun Facts About Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome and Principe lies in which body of water off Central Africa?

The two islands sit roughly 250 and 225 km off Gabon and about 150 km apart.

Sao Tome and Principe is Africa's second-smallest and second-least populous state after which country?

Its population was about 201,800 in 2018 across roughly a thousand square kilometres.

The islands were uninhabited until Portuguese explorers arrived on what date in 1470?

Joao de Santarem and Pero Escobar landed on St Thomas's Day, hence the name; Principe was first called Santo Antao.

Principe took its royal-sounding name in 1502 because of what?

Its original name was Santo Antao, after Saint Anthony, on whose day it was reached in 1472.

Sao Tome's early settlers included about 2,000 of what, deported by the Portuguese crown?

Sephardic Jewish children aged eight and under were taken from Iberia to work the sugar plantations after the 1493 settlement.

Which crop drove Sao Tome's 16th-century boom after a water-powered mill was introduced in 1515?

By 1506 the island reportedly had more cane fields than Madeira; the mills ran on enslaved African labour.

The greatest slave revolt on Sao Tome, in July 1595, was led by whom?

He recruited 5,000 slaves and destroyed 60 of the island's 85 sugar mills before the militia beat them after three weeks; he was executed.

By 1905 Sao Tome had become the world's largest producer of what?

Coffee and cocoa were introduced in the early 19th century; cocoa still makes up about half of exports.

The plantation estates whose managers wielded near-total power over African workers were called what?

Lisbon abolished slavery in 1876 but forced 'contract' labour continued, exposed by Scientific American in 1897.

Which physicist observed the May 1919 solar eclipse from Principe to test general relativity?

His photographs of bent starlight, taken near the Sundy plantation, made Einstein world-famous.

The 1953 killing of hundreds of native forros by the colonial administration is remembered as what?

Forros feared being forced into contract labour; the anniversary on 3 February is officially observed.

Sao Tome and Principe became independent on 12 July of which year?

The Carnation Revolution had toppled the dictatorship in Lisbon the previous year; the MLSTP negotiated the handover in Algiers.

Who was the country's first president, and also the designer of its flag?

He led the MLSTP; the flag is nearly identical to the party's, with two black stars for the two islands.

How many black stars appear on the yellow band of the flag?

Green, yellow and red are the Pan-African colours; the red hoist triangle recalls the struggle for independence.

Sao Tome and Principe was among the first African countries to do what in 1990?

The 1991 elections were free and non-violent; exiled ex-premier Miguel Trovoada came home to win the presidency.

What is the highest point in the country?

It rises 2,024 metres; Principe's summit reaches 948 metres.

Pico Cao Grande, the needle-like landmark of southern Sao Tome, is what kind of formation?

The 'Great Dog Peak' rises over 300 metres above the surrounding forest to a summit 663 metres above sea level.

The equator passes through which islet just south of Sao Tome?

Visitors can straddle the line at a marker; the main island lies about 40 km north of it.

The islands sit on which volcanic chain, shared with Bioko, Annobon and a famous mainland peak?

Both islands formed about 30 million years ago in the Oligocene from deep-water eruptions.

Sao Tome and Principe is home to the world's smallest species of which bird?

It also has the world's largest sunbird and giant begonias; endemic mammals are limited to a shrew and some bats.

In 2025 UNESCO extended a biosphere reserve to make Sao Tome and Principe the first country to be what?

Principe had been a biosphere reserve since 2012, including its islets and the Tinhosas.

What is the currency of Sao Tome and Principe?

Introduced in 1977 to replace the escudo, it was redenominated in 2018 and is pegged to the euro at 24.5 to one.

Since 2010 the national currency has been pegged to which currency?

A 2009 deal with the former colonial power fixed the rate.

Which creole language is spoken by more than a third of Sao Tomeans alongside Portuguese?

Portuguese is spoken by over 98 percent; Angolar (6.6 percent) and Principense (1 percent) are the smaller creoles.

The Angolares of Sao Tome are said to descend from Angolan slaves who survived what in 1540?

They now make their living from fishing; the forros are descendants of slaves freed at abolition.

What is the capital and largest city of the country?

Sitting on Ana Chaves Bay, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities, with a 16th-century cathedral and the 1566 Fort Sao Sebastiao.

Fort Sao Sebastiao in the capital, built in 1566, was converted to house what?

The city's cathedral dates from the 16th century too but was largely rebuilt in the 19th.

Principe has been an autonomous region since 1995, coterminous with which district?

Sao Tome island has six districts; the two provinces created in 1977 were abolished under the 1990 constitution.

Sao Tome and Principe's National Assembly has how many members?

They serve four-year terms and meet twice a year; the president is limited to two consecutive five-year terms.

In 2001 the country agreed to explore for oil jointly with which neighbour in a shared development zone?

The zone was split into nine blocks; ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil and Dangote won the first in 2004.

Which US broadcaster runs a relay station at Pinheira on Sao Tome?

The agreement dates from 1992; the US has had relations with the islands since 1975.

Which country is the largest investor in Sao Tome and Principe and patrols its coast against pirates?

The NRP Zaire and patrol boats are stationed there; Angola is the main supplier of oil and gas.

Roughly what share of Sao Tome and Principe's exports in 2018 was cocoa beans?

Electrical machines made up another fifth; the Netherlands, Portugal and Poland were the main buyers.

What share of people aged 15 and over were literate as of 2018, among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa?

Portuguese-language literature from the islands is regarded as some of the richest in Lusophone Africa.

Which musical dance-drama of Sao Tome tells a dramatic story on stage?

Ussua and socope are the island's rhythms and dexa is Principe's beat; danco-Congo also mixes music, dance and theatre.

Which writer is considered one of the country's most influential literary figures?

Alda Espirito Santo, Manuela Margarido and Olinda Beja are among the other notable poets.

The Portuguese first settlement of Sao Tome in 1493 was led by whom?

He received the land as a royal grant; Principe was settled in 1500 on similar terms.

What was Sao Tome's main role in the Atlantic economy by the mid-17th century, after sugar declined?

Competition from the Americas killed the sugar trade; the islands had been slave depots for Elmina since 1515.

Sao Tome and Principe recognised which government in 2016, switching its diplomatic ties?

Taiwan had been a donor; Chinese investment in roads and ports followed but has since stalled.

Which region of the highland cloud forests can receive up to 7,000 mm of rain a year?

The northern lowlands get as little as 800 mm; the rainy season runs October to May.

In July 2003 the army seized power for one week complaining about what?

President de Menezes was restored under a negotiated accord; another coup attempt in 2009 ended in pardons.

Which Lusophone bloc counts Sao Tome and Principe as a founding member?

The Lusophone commonwealth spans four continents; the country also belongs to the African Union.

The islands are an important nesting site for which marine turtle?

Beyond turtles, the islands' native mammals are few, limited largely to an endemic shrew and several bat species.

The islands are home to the world's largest species of which bird family?

The giant sunbird shares the islands with the rare São Tomé fiscal and several giant species of Begonia.

Which April 1974 event in Portugal sped the islands toward independence?

The new Portuguese regime met the MLSTP in Algiers that November to agree the transfer of sovereignty.

How high is Pico de Sao Tome, the country's tallest peak?

Príncipe's highest point, Pico de Príncipe, reaches only 948 metres, less than half the height.

In which nearby country did the independence movement MLSTP establish its base?

The movement formed in the late 1950s as other African nations pressed for independence, and built momentum through the 1960s.

Which former prime minister returned from exile to win the 1991 presidential election?

He ran as an independent after five years abroad and was re-elected in the country's second multiparty vote in 1996.

Roughly how many people lived on Principe in 2018, out of a national total near 202,000?

The island is about 30 km long and 6 km wide, and the whole country adds roughly 4,000 people a year through natural increase.

Which two Portuguese navigators were the first Europeans to land on the islands in 1470?

They judged the uninhabited islands a good base for trading with the African mainland; settlement followed in 1493.