Compare China (2008) - Sao Tome and Principe (2008)

Compare China (2008) z Sao Tome and Principe (2008)

	China (2008)	Sao Tome and Principe (2008)

Administrative divisions	23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural) provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang; (see note on Taiwan) autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang Uygur, Xizang (Tibet) municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau	2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome note: Principe has had self government since 29 April 1995
Age structure	0-14 years: 20.4% (male 143,527,634/female 126,607,344) 15-64 years: 71.7% (male 487,079,770/female 460,596,384) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 49,683,856/female 54,356,900) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 47.3% (male 47,796/female 46,589) 15-64 years: 49% (male 47,386/female 50,412) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 3,383/female 4,013) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish	cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish
Airports	467 (2007)	2 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 403 over 3,047 m: 58 2,438 to 3,047 m: 128 1,524 to 2,437 m: 130 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 67 (2007)	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 64 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 26 (2007)	-
Area	total: 9,596,960 sq km land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km	total: 1,001 sq km land: 1,001 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than the US	more than five times the size of Washington, DC
Background	For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.	Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. While independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The country held its first free elections in 1991, but frequent internal wrangling between the various political parties precipitated repeated changes in leadership and two failed coup attempts in 1995 and 2003. The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea promises to attract increased attention to the small island nation.
Birth rate	13.45 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	39.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $640.6 billion expenditures: $634.6 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $74.11 million expenditures: $57.71 million (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Beijing geographic coordinates: 39 55 N, 116 23 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: despite its size, all of China falls within one time zone	name: Sao Tome geographic coordinates: 0 12 N, 6 39 E time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north	tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
Coastline	14,500 km	209 km
Constitution	most recent promulgation 4 December 1982	approved March 1990, effective 10 September 1990
Country name	conventional long form: People's Republic of China conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhongguo abbreviation: PRC	conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe conventional short form: Sao Tome and Principe local long form: Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe local short form: Sao Tome e Principe
Death rate	7 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$363 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	$318 million (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr. embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-3178 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau, Shanghai, Shenyang	the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador ZHOU Wenzhong chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco	chief of mission: First Secretary Domingos Augusto FERREIRA chancery: 400 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022 telephone: [1] (212) 317-0580 FAX: [1] (212) 935-7348 consulate(s): Atlanta
Disputes - international	based on principles drafted in 2005, China and India continue discussions to resolve all aspects of their extensive boundary and territorial disputes together with a security and foreign policy dialogue to consolidate discussions related to the boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, and other matters; recent talks and confidence-building measures have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a boundary alignment to resolve substantial cartographic discrepancies, the largest of which lies in Bhutan's northwest; China asserts sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" eased tensions in the Spratly's but is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly's and in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord on marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; China and Taiwan continue to reject both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared equidistance line in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting; certain islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in dispute with North Korea; China seeks to stem illegal migration of North Koreans; China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance with their 2004 Agreement; in 2006, China and Tajikistan pledged to commence demarcation of the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002; demarcation of the China-Vietnam land boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004, implementation remains stalled; in 2004, international environmentalist and political pressure from Burma and Thailand prompted China to halt construction of 13 dams on the Salween River	none
Economic aid - recipient	$1.641 billion (FY07)	$31.9 million in December 2000 under the HIPC program (2005)
Economy - overview	China's economy during the last quarter century has changed from a centrally planned system that was largely closed to international trade to a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing private sector and is a major player in the global economy. Reforms started in the late 1970s with the phasing out of collectivized agriculture, and expanded to include the gradual liberalization of prices, fiscal decentralization, increased autonomy for state enterprises, the foundation of a diversified banking system, the development of stock markets, the rapid growth of the non-state sector, and the opening to foreign trade and investment. China has generally implemented reforms in a gradualist or piecemeal fashion, including the sale of minority shares in four of China's largest state banks to foreign investors and refinements in foreign exchange and bond markets in 2005. After keeping its currency tightly linked to the US dollar for years, China in July 2005 revalued its currency by 2.1% against the US dollar and moved to an exchange rate system that references a basket of currencies. Cumulative appreciation of the renminbi against the US dollar since the end of the dollar peg reached 15% in January 2008. The restructuring of the economy and resulting efficiency gains have contributed to a more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, China in 2007 stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US, although in per capita terms the country is still lower middle-income. Annual inflows of foreign direct investment in 2007 rose to $75 billion. By the end of 2007, more than 5,000 domestic Chinese enterprises had established direct investments in 172 countries and regions around the world. The Chinese government faces several economic development challenges: (a) to sustain adequate job growth for tens of millions of workers laid off from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to the work force; (b) to reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) to contain environmental damage and social strife related to the economy's rapid transformation. Economic development has been more rapid in coastal provinces than in the interior, and approximately 200 million rural laborers have relocated to urban areas to find work. One demographic consequence of the "one child" policy is that China is now one of the most rapidly aging countries in the world. Deterioration in the environment - notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table, especially in the north - is another long-term problem. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. In 2007 China intensified government efforts to improve environmental conditions, tying the evaluation of local officials to environmental targets, publishing a national climate change policy, and establishing a high level leading group on climate change, headed by Premier WEN Jiabao. The Chinese government seeks to add energy production capacity from sources other than coal and oil as its double-digit economic growth increases demand. Chinese energy officials in 2007 agreed to purchase five third generation nuclear reactors from Western companies. More power generating capacity came on line in 2006 as large scale investments - including the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River - were completed.	This small, poor island economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence in 1975. Cocoa production has substantially declined in recent years because of drought and mismanagement. Sao Tome has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of food. Over the years, it has had difficulty servicing its external debt and has relied heavily on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Sao Tome benefited from $200 million in debt relief in December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program, which helped bring down the country's $300 million debt burden. In August 2005, Sao Tome signed on to a new 3-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program worth $4.3 million. Considerable potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The government also has attempted to reduce price controls and subsidies. Sao Tome is optimistic about the development of petroleum resources in its territorial waters in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, which are being jointly developed in a 60-40 split with Nigeria. The first production licenses were sold in 2004, though a dispute over licensing with Nigeria delayed Sao Tome's receipt of more than $20 million in signing bonuses for almost a year. Real GDP growth exceeded 6% in 2007, as a result of increases in public expenditures and oil-related capital investment.
Electricity - consumption	2.859 trillion kWh (2006)	16.74 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	11.27 billion kWh (2006)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	5.39 billion kWh (2006)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	3.256 trillion kWh (2007)	18 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species	deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion
Environment - international agreements	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%	mestico, angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese)
Exchange rates	yuan per US dollar - 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.277 (2003)	dobras per US dollar - 13,700 (2007), 12,050 (2006), 9,900.4 (2005), 9,902.3 (2004), 9,347.6 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003); Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003) head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premier WU Yi (17 March 2003), Vice Premier ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and Vice Premier HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003) cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held in mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress election results: HU Jintao elected president by the 10th National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted against him, 4 abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the 10th National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant	chief of state: President Fradique DE MENEZES (since 3 September 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Patrice TROVOADA (since 14 February 2008) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 30 July 2006 (next to be held July 2011); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president election results: Fradique DE MENEZES elected president; percent of vote - Fradique DE MENEZES 60%, Patrice TROVOADA 38.5%
Exports	79,060 bbl/day (2007)	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	machinery, electrical products, data processing equipment, apparel, textile, steel, mobile phones	cocoa 80%, copra, coffee, palm oil
Exports - partners	US 21%, Hong Kong 16%, Japan 9.5%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4.2% (2006)	Netherlands 47.9%, Belgium 19%, Portugal 9.3% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner	three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double width), and green with two black five-pointed stars placed side by side in the center of the yellow band and a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 11.7% industry: 49.2% services: 39.1% note: industry includes construction (2007 est.)	agriculture: 14.8% industry: 14.2% services: 71% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	11.4% (official data) (2007 est.)	6.5% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	35 00 N, 105 00 E	1 00 N, 7 00 E
Geography - note	world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak	the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous
Heliports	35 (2007)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 34.9% (2004)	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors, despite new regulations on its large chemical industry	-
Imports	3.19 million bbl/day (2007)	634.4 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, oil and mineral fuels, plastics, LED screens, data processing equipment, optical and medical equipment, organic chemicals, steel, copper	machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products
Imports - partners	Japan 14.6%, South Korea 11.3%, Taiwan 10.9%, US 7.5%, Germany 4.8% (2006)	Portugal 48.8%, France 19.7%, Belgium 5.1%, US 5.1% (2006)
Independence	221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established)	12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
Industrial production growth rate	12.9% (2007 est.)	8.5% (2007 est.)
Industries	mining and ore processing, iron, steel, aluminum, and other metals, coal; machine building; armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizers; consumer products, including footwear, toys, and electronics; food processing; transportation equipment, including automobiles, rail cars and locomotives, ships, and aircraft; telecommunications equipment, commercial space launch vehicles, satellites	light construction, textiles, soap, beer, fish processing, timber
Infant mortality rate	total: 22.12 deaths/1,000 live births male: 20.01 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 40.54 deaths/1,000 live births male: 42.42 deaths/1,000 live births female: 38.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	4.7% (2007 est.)	17% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	ADB, AfDB, APEC, APT, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, EAS, FAO, G-24 (observer), G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ITU, ITUC, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	545,960 sq km (2003)	100 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local People's Courts (comprise higher, intermediate, and basic courts); Special People's Courts (primarily military, maritime, railway transportation, and forestry courts)	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly)
Labor force	803.3 million (2007 est.)	35,050 (1991)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 43% industry: 25% services: 32% (2006 est.)	note: population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing; shortages of skilled workers
Land boundaries	total: 22,117 km border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 14.86% permanent crops: 1.27% other: 83.87% (2005)	arable land: 8.33% permanent crops: 48.96% other: 42.71% (2005)
Languages	Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)	Portuguese (official)
Legal system	based on civil law system; derived from Soviet and continental civil code legal principles; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on Portuguese legal system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,987 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses, and People's Liberation Army to serve five-year terms) elections: last held December 2007-February 2008; date of next election - NA election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - 2,987	unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 26 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - MDFM-PCD 37.2%, MLSTP 28.9%, ADI 20.0%, NR 4.7%, others 9.2%; seats by party - MDFM-PCD 23, MLSTP 19, ADI 12, NR 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 72.88 years male: 71.13 years female: 74.82 years (2007 est.)	total population: 67.64 years male: 66.03 years female: 69.3 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.9% male: 95.1% female: 86.5% (2000 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.9% male: 92.2% female: 77.9% (2001 census)
Location	Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam	Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon
Map references	Asia	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin	measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 1,775 ships (1000 GRT or over) 22,219,786 GRT/33,819,636 DWT by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 415, cargo 689, carrier 3, chemical tanker 62, combination ore/oil 2, container 157, liquefied gas 35, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 84, petroleum tanker 250, refrigerated cargo 33, roll on/roll off 9, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 17 foreign-owned: 12 (Ecuador 1, Greece 1, Hong Kong 6, Japan 2, South Korea 1, Norway 1) registered in other countries: 1,366 (Bahamas 9, Bangladesh 1, Belize 107, Bermuda 10, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 166, Cyprus 10, France 5, Georgia 4, Germany 2, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 309, India 1, Indonesia 2, Liberia 32, Malaysia 1, Malta 13, Marshall Islands 3, Mongolia 3, Norway 47, Panama 473, Philippines 2, Sierra Leone 8, Singapore 19, St Vincent and The Grenadines 106, Thailand 1, Turkey 1, Tuvalu 25, unknown 33) (2007)	total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 20,455 GRT/27,871 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 6 foreign-owned: 2 (Egypt 1, Greece 1) (2007)
Military - note	-	Sao Tome and Principe's army is a tiny force with almost no resources at its disposal and would be wholly ineffective operating unilaterally; infantry equipment is considered simple to operate and maintain but may require refurbishment or replacement after 25 years in tropical climates; poor pay, working conditions, and alleged nepotism in the promotion of officers have been problems in the past, as reflected in the 1995 and 2003 coups; these issues are being addressed with foreign assistance aimed at improving the army and its focus on realistic security concerns; command is exercised from the president, through the Minister of Defense, to the Chief of the Armed Forces staff (2005)
Military branches	People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force (includes airborne forces), and Second Artillery Corps (strategic missile force); People's Armed Police (PAP); Reserve and Militia Forces (2006)	Armed Forces of Sao Tome and Principe (FASTP): Army, Coast Guard of Sao Tome e Principe (Guarda Costeira de Sao Tome e Principe, GCSTP), Presidential Guard (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	4.3% (2006)	0.8% (2006)
National holiday	Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)	Independence Day, 12 July (1975)
Nationality	noun: Chinese (singular and plural) adjective: Chinese	noun: Sao Tomean(s) adjective: Sao Tomean
Natural hazards	frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence	NA
Natural resources	coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)	fish, hydropower
Net migration rate	-0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-2.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 26,344 km; oil 17,240 km; refined products 6,106 km (2007)	-
Political parties and leaders	Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP	Force for Change Democratic Movement or MDFM [Tome Soares da VERA CRUZ]; Independent Democratic Action or ADI [[Patrice TROVOADA]; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Rafael BRANCO]; New Way Movement or NR; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Delfim NEVES]; Ue-Kedadji coalition; other small parties
Political pressure groups and leaders	no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party as subversive groups	NA
Population	1,321,851,888 (July 2007 est.)	199,579 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	8% note: 21.5 million rural population live below the official "absolute poverty" line (approximately $90 per year); and an additional 35.5 million rural population above that but below the official "low income" line (approximately $125 per year) (2006 est.)	54% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	0.606% (2007 est.)	3.13% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2001)
Railways	total: 75,438 km standard gauge: 75,438 km 1.435-m gauge (20,151 km electrified) (2005)	-
Religions	Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)	Catholic 70.3%, Evangelical 3.4%, New Apostolic 2%, Adventist 1.8%, other 3.1%, none 19.4% (2001 census)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.11 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.134 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.057 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.914 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.026 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.843 male(s)/female total population: 0.976 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns; China continues to develop its telecommunications infrastructure, and is partnering with foreign providers to expand its global reach; 3 of China's 6 major telecommunications operators are part of an international consortium which, in December 2006, signed an agreement with Verizon Business to build the first next-generation fiber optic submarine cable system directly linking the US mainland and China domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing rapidly; the number of internet users reached 162 million in 2007; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place international: country code - 86; a number of submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions) (2007)	general assessment: adequate facilities domestic: minimal system international: country code - 239; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	368 million (2006)	7,100 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	461.1 million (2006)	12,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations, and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)	2 (2001)
Terrain	mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east	volcanic, mountainous
Total fertility rate	1.75 children born/woman (2007 est.)	5.53 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	4% unemployment in urban areas; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2007 est.)	NA%
Waterways	124,000 km navigable (2006)	-

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