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CultureGrams can help you broaden your students' understanding of the world and its peoples. The World Edition includes 200+ country profiles, written for junior high students and older. CultureGrams also has a Kids Edition, Provinces Edition, and a States Edition, geared for upper elementary students. These editions include kid-friendly profiles of 70+ countries, all 50 states (including Washington, D.C.), and 13 Canadian provinces and territories.
CultureGrams goes beyond mere facts and figures to deliver an insider's perspective on daily life and culture, including the history, customs, and lifestyles of the world's people.
Country: Sao Tome and Principe
- Population: 152,742 (rank=186)
- Area, sq. mi.: 386 (rank=179)
- Area, sq. km.: 1,001
- Human Dev. Index rank: 126 of 177 countries
- Adjusted for women: N/A
- Real GDP per capita: $1,231
- Adult literacy rate: 85% (male); 62% (female)
- Infant mortality rate: 42 per 1,000 births
- Life expectancy: 66 (male); 69 (female)
Did You Know?
- Sao Tome and Principe is Africa's second smallest country (behind Seychelles).
- Portuguese is the official language, but three local Portuguese-based creoles are spoken as well.
- Sao Tomeans indicate that something is tasty by pulling the ear lobe down.
Population
Sao Tome and Principe's population of about 153,000 is growing by 2 percent annually. More than 95 percent of the population lives on the island of Sao Tome. The capital city, also called Sao Tome, has a population of around 45,000. The largest group is the Forros, native Creoles who are descendents of mixed unions between white settlers and freed African slaves. Other groups include the Angolares (descendants of runaway slaves), Tongas (descendants of African contract laborers born on the islands), and Europeans (primarily Portuguese). Since independence, the boundaries between these groups have been blurred by assimilation. But contract workers from Cape Verde have largely maintained their own identity. On Principe, the Cape Verdian community constitutes the majority of the population.
General Attitudes
Sao Tome and Principe is a tranquil society, where people tend to live in peace with God and the devil at the same time, as a local proverb says. This means that Sao Tomeans avoid criticizing people of prominence because they may need something from them in the future. However, anonymous pamphlets denouncing illegal practices or attacking individuals appear regularly. The slow pace of local life is best characterized by the popular creole phrase leve-leve, meaning "slow, slow." Also, many people adhere to the motto, "Do not do today what you can do tomorrow." White-collar jobs in the public sector are highly valued and greeting people by their academic and professional titles is appreciated.
Dating & Marriage
Marriage, visiting relationships (whereby a man visits but does not permanently reside with his other wife or wives), and common-law unions are all accepted relationships in Sao Tome and Principe. Among these three types, the latter is, by far, the most common. Only 3 percent of the population is formally married; marriage is limited mainly to the educated elite. Most men, whether married or not, have more than one wife or partner at the same time. Formal divorce is uncommon, even if a couple has ended their relationship.
Housing
Most Sao Tomeans, particularly those outside urban areas, live in single-family wooden houses on stilts, with two or more rooms and a roof of corrugated sheet metal. These houses have no tap water or toilets, and only a few have latrines. More than half of all dwellings have no electricity. The kitchen is typically built outside the house in a separate shack. Firewood is commonly used as cooking fuel. The exteriors of most homes are not painted, but the windows and stairs are frequently decorated with plants. In the capital and small towns, some people live in two- or three-storey brick apartment buildings or in brick houses.
Economy
Sao Tome and Principe's economy, the smallest in Africa, has remained dependent on cocoa since independence in 1975, but cocoa production has declined in recent years. Agriculture, fishing, and tourism have been considered as potential growth sectors, but results thus far have lagged far behind expectations. Sao Tome is also optimistic about the development of petroleum resources in its territorial waters in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea. These are being jointly developed with Nigeria, but the beginning of oil production is not expected before 2012. For the time being, the country relies heavily on foreign aid. In 2007, it was announced that more than 90 percent of Sao Tome and Principe's foreign debt would be forgiven. The country has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of food. More than half of the population lives in poverty, and most are engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing. The currency is the dobra (STD).
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