Location Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon

Geographic coordinates 1 00 N, 7 00 E

Map references Africa

Area
total: 1,001 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 1,001 sq km

Area - comparative more than five times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries 0 km

Coastline 209 km

Maritime claims measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

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

Terrain volcanic, mountainous

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m

Natural resources fish, hydropower

Land use
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 41%
other: 57% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 100 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards NA

Environment - current issues deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion

Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous

NOTE: The information regarding Sao Tome and Principe on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sao Tome and Principe Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sao Tome and Principe Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.