Sao Tome and Principe - Geography

Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational Issues

Sao Tome and Principe is located Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon. The climate is tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May). The terrain is volcanic, mountainous.

Location

This entry identifies the country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
Location : Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon

Geographic coordinates

This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on the locations provided in the Geographic Names Server (GNS), maintained by the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency on behalf of the US Board on Geographic Names.
Geographic coordinates : 1 00 N, 7 00 E

Map references

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Map references : Africa

Area

This entry includes three subfields. Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Water area is the sum of the surfaces of all inland water bodies, such as lakes, reservoirs, or rivers, as delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines.
Area - total : 1,001 sq km
Area - land : 1,001 sq km
Area - water : 0 sq km

Area - comparative

This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
Area - comparative : more than five times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

This entry contains the total length of all land boundaries and the individual lengths for each of the contiguous border countries. When available, official lengths published by national statistical agencies are used. Because surveying methods may differ, country border lengths reported by contiguous countries may differ.
Land boundaries : 0 km

Coastline

This entry gives the total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
Coastline : 209 km

Maritime claims

This entry includes the following claims, the definitions of which are excerpted from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which alone contains the full and definitive descriptions
Maritime claims - territorial sea : 12 nm
Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone : 200 nm

Climate

This entry includes a brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
Climate : tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)

Terrain

This entry contains a brief description of the topography.
Terrain : volcanic, mountainous

Elevation extremes

This entry includes both the highest point and the lowest point.
Elevation extremes - lowest point : Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Elevation extremes - highest point : Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m

Natural resources

This entry lists a country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
Natural resources : fish, hydropower

Land use

This entry contains the percentage shares of total land area for three different types of land use
Land use - arable land : 8.33%
Land use - permanent crops : 48.96%
Land use - other : 42.71% (2005)

Irrigated land

This entry gives the number of square kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
Irrigated land : 100 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards

This entry lists potential natural disasters.
Natural hazards : NA

Environment - current issues

This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry
Environment - current issues : deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion

Environment

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

Geography - note

This entry includes miscellaneous geographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
Geography - note : the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are mountainous

More Information about the country

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