Africa

Sao-Tome-Principe

Peer hard at the map of West Africa and you’ll find them, tiny specks of land, right next to the equator. Sao Tome & Principe. Tropical islands with a chequered history of slave trade and slave labour, of colony and colonisers, of revolutionaries and freedom movements, of military coups and elections.

Visitors to the islands swear by its cocoa, by its virgin beaches and crystal clear waters, steamy jungles and extinct volcanoes, by its Creole culture and Afro-Latin music – reasons enough to visit the islands once. And they say, once is never enough. So escape the crowds and experience the calm of these equatorial islands as the waters of the Atlantic Ocean gently washes their shores...More Information on Sao-tome-principe.

Full country name: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
Area: 964 sq km (376 sq mi)
Population: 130,000
Capital City: Sao Tome (pop 35,000)
People: Descendents of Angolan slaves and Europeans
Language: Portuguese
Religion: Roman Catholic
Government: Republic
Head of State: Fradique de Menezes

Also Read: A Short Background of Sao-tome-principe

History of Sao-tome-principe

The islands were first discovered by Portuguese navigators between 1469 and 1472. The first successful settlement of Sao Tome was established in 1493 by Alvaro Caminha, who received the land as a grant from the Portuguese crown. Principe was settled in 1500 under a similar arrangement. By the mid-1500s, with the help of slave labor, the Portuguese settlers had turned the islands into Africa’s foremost exporter of sugar. Sao Tome and Principe were taken over and administered by the Portuguese crown in 1522 and 1573, respectively...More on Sao-tome-principe's History.

Overview of Sao-tome-principe's Economy

GDP: US$164 million
GDP per capita: US$1100
Annual Growth: 2.5%
Inflation: 21%br> Major Industries: Fish processing, textiles, soap, beer, timber, cocoa
Major Trading Partners: Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, France, Belgium, Japan, Angola
Member of EU: No

Also Read: A short note on Economy of Sao-tome-principe

Political System of Sao-tome-principe

- Governmentof Sao-tome-principe
- Foreign relations of Sao-tome-principe
- Political Conditions of Sao-tome-principe

Climate, Vegetation and Fauna

In the hot, steamy environment of the equator, dense rainforests grew on both the islands until the arrival of the Portuguese who set about clearing vast tracts of forest to develop plantations of sugarcane and cocoa. Only a few of these virgin rainforest stands still remain.


Envoirnment: Both islands grew out of volcanoes, and they have central, volcanic highlands...more.

Education: Over 73% of the population of Sao Tome & Principe can read and write with the balance tilted in favour of the men as 85% of men are literate as compared to 62% for women.

Religion Of Sao-Tome:The majority of the islanders (83%) are Roman Catholic Christians.

Culture: Despite leaving so little in the way of infrastructure and bare necessities for survival...more.

People of Sao-tome-principe:Of Sao Tome and Principe’s total population, about 137,500 live on Sao Tome...more.


Facts for the Traveler

Visas: Single entry or business visas to Algeria for one month take 2-3 days to obtain from Algerian Embassies throughout the world. Three passport photos are required and a specified fee; the visa might be renewed in Algeria. A 3-month multiple entry visa could also be obtained and application must be accompanied by an invitation or reservation from a hotel. Visas are mandatory for all European nationals. Australian and New Zealand citizens can obtain visas from the Algerian Consulate in the UK while US and Canadian citizens must obtain visas from Algerian Embassies in their respective countries.
Health And Safety:Yellow fever vaccination and certification is mandatory and advisable, especially if you are travelling from endemic areas or plan to travel to the remote parts of the islands. Precautions and prophylactic treatment should be taken for diseases like cholera, malaria, typhoid, hepatitis A, B and E, rabies and schistosomiasis. All water should be regarded as being potentially contaminated and safety lies in drinking and brushing with bottled or treated water. Treat all cuts and scrapes immediately as they tend to fester in the warm tropical climate and ensure tetanus shots are up to date. Medical facilities are adequate with approximately 16 hospitals and clinics with trained personnel. Comprehensive health insurance is advised.Both the islands of Sao Tome and Principe are safe for travellers and except for the usual precautions while in a foreign county, none others need be observed. But as it is always better to be safe than sorry, be careful with your money, don’t flaunt your wealth or possessions and don’t travel alone to remoter parts of the islands.
Customs & Duties: While all import of alcoholic beverages is strictly banned, only a modest amount of tobacco/cigarettes/cigars and perfumes for personal use may be brought in without incurring duty.

Also Read: Money & Costs Transportation in Sao-tome-principe | Public holidays in Sao-tome-principe

When to Go

June to September are the cooler and drier months, relative to the amount of rainfall these equatorial islands receive, making it the best time to visit even though day temperature will be hover around 28° C.

Also Read: Getting Around in Sao-tome-principe | Getting There & Away

What to See in Sao-tome-principe

Other Tourist Attractions in Sao-tome-principe

more...

What to do in Sao-tome-principe

The diving and snorkelling are spectacular as the water is so clear, and deep sea game fishing is also taking off as a sport. On land, hiking through rainforest and birdwatching are the main events besides kicking back and relaxing under the palm trees.

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during a series of migrations. The southern part of the country was named Matabeleland after the Ndebele tribe who occupied the area in the early 1800’s under a loose confederation of Ndebele-speaking tribes headed by the Khumalo tribe under [...]
Countries in Africa Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Cote d’Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo Rwanda Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
Religion in Africa Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, with Christianity and Islam being the most widespread. Approximately 40% of all Africans are Christians and another 40% Muslims. Roughly 20% of Africans primarily follow indigenous African religions. A small number of Africans also have beliefs from the Judaic tradition, such as the Beta Israel [...]
Culture of Africa Africa has a number of overlapping cultures. The most conventional distinction is that between sub-Saharan Africa and the northern countries from Egypt to Morocco, who largely associate themselves with Arabic culture. In this comparison, the nations to the south of the Sahara are considered to consist of many cultural areas, in particular [...]
Demographics of Africa Africans may be grouped according to whether they live north or south of the Sahara Desert; these groups are called North Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans, respectively. Afro-Asiatic speaking peoples predominate in North Africa, while Sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by a number of disparate populations grouped according to their diverse languages–Niger-Congo predominantly in West [...]
Economy of Africa Africa is the world’s poorest inhabited continent: the United Nations’ Human Development Report 2003 (of 175 countries) found that positions 151 (Gambia) to 175 (Sierra Leone) were taken up entirely by African nations. It has had (and in some ways is still having) a shaky and uncertain transition from colonialism, with increases in corruption [...]
Politics in Africa Colonial Africa Colonialism had a destabilizing effect on what had been a number of ethnic groups that is still being felt in African politics. Prior to European influence, national borders were not much of a concern, with Africans generally following the practice of other areas of the world, such as the Arabian peninsula, where [...]
History of Africa Africa is home to the oldest inhabited territory on earth, with the human race originating from this continent. During the mid 20th century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago. The famous Leakey family, with ties to both Britain and Africa, discovered fossil [...]
Geography of Africa Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earth’s surface. It includes within its remarkably regular outline an area, of c. 30,360,288 km² (11,722,173 mi²), including the islands. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the [...]
Etymology of Africa The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra - “land of the Afri” (plural, or “Afer” singular) - for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day Tunisia. The Afri were a tribe - possibly Berber [...]

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Africa Travel Guide