Libya (2006) | Sao Tome and Principe (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions | 2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome
note: Principe has had self-government since 29 April 1995 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.6% (male 1,012,748/female 969,978)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 1,891,643/female 1,778,621) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 121,566/female 126,198) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
47.7% (male 39,857; female 38,859) 15-64 years: 48.28% (male 38,430; female 41,246) 65 years and over: 4.02% (male 3,034; female 3,608) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle | cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish |
Airports | 141 (2006) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 60
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 81
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 18 (2006) |
- |
Area | total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
1,001 sq km land: 1,001 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Alaska | more than five times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks from the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not reliquish their hold until 1943 when defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI began to espouse his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appeared to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. During the 1990s, QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004 several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by compensating the families of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings. | 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. Although independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The first free elections were held in 1991. |
Birth rate | 26.49 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 42.74 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $25.34 billion
expenditures: $15.47 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$58 million expenditures: $114 million, including capital expenditures of $54 million (1993 est.) |
Capital | name: Tripoli
geographic coordinates: 32 54 N, 13 11 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Sao Tome |
Climate | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior | tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May) |
Coastline | 1,770 km | 209 km |
Constitution | 11 December 1969; amended 2 March 1977 | approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
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 |
Currency | - | dobra (STD) |
Death rate | 3.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.267 billion (2005 est.) | $268 million (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad Interim Gregory L. BERRY
embassy: Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Souq At-Tlat Al-Qadim, Tripoli mailing address: US Embassy, 8850 Tripoli Place, Washington, DC 20521-8850 telephone: [218] 21-335-1848 |
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ali AUJALI
chancery: 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 944-9601 FAX: [1] (202) 944-9060 |
Sao Tome and Principe does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN, headed by First Secretary Domingos Augusto FERREIRA, located at 122 East 42nd Street, Suite 1604, New York, NY 10168, telephone [1] (212) 317-0533 |
Disputes - international | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $4.4 million (2002) | $200 million in December 2000 under the HIPC program |
Economy - overview | The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute about 95% of export earnings, about one-quarter of GDP, and 60% of public sector wages. Substantial revenues from the energy sector coupled with a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan officials in the past four years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction in December 2003. Almost all US unilateral sanctions against Libya were removed in April 2004, helping Libya attract more foreign direct investment, mostly in the energy sector. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. | This small poor island economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence 25 years ago. However, cocoa production has substantially declined because of drought and mismanagement. The resulting shortage of cocoa for export has created a persistent balance-of-payments problem. Sao Tome has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a significant amount of food. Over the years, it has been unable to service its external debt and has had to depend 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. 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, but economic growth has remained sluggish. Sao Tome is also optimistic that significant petroleum discoveries are forthcoming in its territorial waters in the oil-rich waters of the Gulf of Guinea. Corruption scandals continue to weaken the economy. At the same time, progress in the economic reform program has attracted international financial institutions' support, and GDP growth will likely rise to at least 4% in 2001-02. |
Electricity - consumption | 13.39 billion kWh (2003) | 15.8 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 14.4 billion kWh (2003) | 17 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
41.18% hydro: 58.82% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m |
Environment - current issues | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities | deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians | 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 | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.3084 (2005), 1.305 (2004), 1.2929 (2003), 1.2707 (2002), 0.6051 (2001) | dobras per US dollar - 2390.04 (December 2000), 7,119.0 (1999), 6,883.2 (1998), 4,552.5 (1997), 2,203.2 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister) al-Baghdadi Ali al-MAHMUDI (since 5 March 2006) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA |
chief of state:
President Miguel TROVOADA (since 4 April 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Guilherma Posser da COSTA (since 30 December 1998) 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; election last held 30 June and 21 July 1996 (next to be held NA July 2001); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president election results: Miguel TROVOADA reelected president in Sao Tome's second multiparty presidential election; percent of vote - Miguel TROVOADA 52.74%, Manuel Pinto da COSTA 47.26% |
Exports | 1.34 million bbl/day NA bbl/day | $3.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas | cocoa 90%, copra, coffee, palm oil |
Exports - partners | Italy 37.9%, Germany 15.2%, Spain 8.7%, Turkey 6.3%, France 6.2%, US 5.2% (2005) | Netherlands 18%, Germany 9%, Portugal 9% (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) | 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 | - | purchasing power parity - $178 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7.6%
industry: 49.9% services: 42.5% (2005 est.) |
agriculture:
23% industry: 19% services: 58% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.4% (2005 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 17 00 E | 1 00 N, 7 00 E |
Geography - note | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert | - |
Heliports | 2 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | total:
320 km paved: 218 km unpaved: 102 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | 0 bbl/day NA bbl/day | $40 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, semi-finished goods, food, consumer products | machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Italy 21.5%, Germany 10.4%, Tunisia 5.6%, Turkey 4.9%, UK 4.9%, France 4.8%, South Korea 4.7%, China 4.6% (2005) | Portugal 42%, US 20%, South Africa 6% (1998) |
Independence | 24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship) | 12 July 1975 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement | light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish processing; timber |
Infant mortality rate | total: 23.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
48.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.4% (2005 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 4,700 sq km (2003) | 100 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 1.64 million (2005 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 17%
industry: 23% services: 59% (2004 est.) |
population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing
note: shortages of skilled workers |
Land boundaries | total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2005) |
arable land:
2% permanent crops: 36% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 0% other: 61% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities | Portuguese (official) |
Legal system | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Portuguese legal system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) | unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 8 November 1998 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - MLSTP-PSD 56%, PCD 14.5%, ADI 29%; seats by party - MLSTP-PSD 31, ADI 16, PCD 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.69 years
male: 74.46 years female: 79.02 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
65.59 years male: 64.15 years female: 67.07 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 73% male: 85% female: 62% (1991 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia | Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 18 ships (1000 GRT or over) 86,034 GRT/89,820 DWT
by type: cargo 10, liquefied gas 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Kuwait 1, Norway 1, Turkey 2) (2006) |
total:
39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 130,843 GRT/149,048 DWT ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 21, chemical tanker 1, container 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 5, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Armed Peoples on Duty (APOD, Army), Libyan Arab Navy, Libyan Arab Air Force (LAAF) (2006) | Army, Navy, Security Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.3 billion (FY99) | $1 million (FY94) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.9% (FY99) | 1.5% (FY94) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
34,205 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
18,043 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) | Independence Day, 12 July (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
noun:
Sao Tomean(s) adjective: Sao Tomean |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum | fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -3.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 882 km; gas 3,481 km; oil 6,916 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Carlos NEVES]; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Manuel Pinto Da COSTA]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Aldo BANDEIRA]; Democratic Renovation Party [Armindo GRACA]; other small parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists, primarily based in London, but has little influence | NA |
Population | 5,900,754
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2006 est.) |
165,034 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.3% (2006 est.) | 3.18% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Santo Antonio, Sao Tome |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) | AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 38,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km
note: Libya is working on seven lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track; it hopes to have trains running by 2008 (2005) |
0 km |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 97% | Christian 80% (Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 218; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
general assessment:
adequate facilities domestic: minimal system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 750,000 (2003) | 3,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 234,800 (2004) | 6,942 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions | volcanic, mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 3.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 6.02 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | none |