Sao Tome and Principe Geography:
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:
Area:
total:
1,001 sq km
land:
1,001 sq km
water:
0 sq km
Area - comparative:
More than five times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
total: 0 km
border countries: NA
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: 6.25%
permanent crops: 48.96%
other: 44.79%
(2001)
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 (not ratified)
Geography - Note:
The smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous |
