In 2002, Sao Tome and Principe was a small, tropical island country located in the Gulf of Guinea off the western coast of Central Africa. The population of Sao Tome and Principe in 2002 was around 150 thousand people and Portuguese was the official language. According to computerannals, the capital city of Sao Tome was home to many government buildings, as well as popular tourist attractions such as Pico de Sao Tome, Roca Belo Monte and Praia Banana.

The economy of Sao Tome and Principe in 2002 was largely based on services, industry and agriculture. Services accounted for around 50% of GDP; they included activities such as banking, finance and tourism. Industry accounted for around 30% of GDP; it included activities such as manufacturing and construction. Agriculture played an important role; it accounted for around 10% of GDP and included crops such as cocoa, coffee and palm oil. Tourism had begun to develop as well; visitors were drawn to Sao Tome’s stunning beaches, vibrant culture and unique architecture.

Yearbook 2002

São Tomé and Príncipe. According to Countryaah website, national day of São Tomé and Príncipe is every July 12. The March elections gave a parliamentary deadlock. The Socialist Former Liberation Movement MLSTP/PSD received 24 seats, President Fradique de Meneze’s alliance MDFM/PCD 23 and Ue-Kedadji, with close ties to former President Miguel Trovoada, received 8 seats. After several weeks of negotiations, diplomat Gabriel Costa was appointed prime minister. As agreed, he incorporated all three party groups into the government.

However, the cooperation was sparkling from the start, and in September the president dismissed the government after a fierce dispute between Costa and the defense minister. The new Prime Minister was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry Maria das Neves de Sousa, who formed a ministry with a similar composition to the previous one.

São Tomé and Príncipe Country Overview

Visa
Finnish citizens do not need a visa when traveling to São Tomé and Príncipe for less than 15 days.

Visa fees and policies are subject to change without notice depending on local authorities.

• According to ABBREVIATIONFINDER.ORG, STP stands for Sao Tome and Principe.

Travel Seasons
The best time to travel is from June to September, when the air temperature stays close to 25 degrees and rainfall is low.

Currency: The currency of the country is São Tomé and Príncipe’s Dobra. The cards are not accepted in many places, so you should bring euros in cash.

Tips You
should give a tip 5% of the invoice price.

Electrical current
The electrical current of the islands is 220 V (50Hz). An adapter is not required for Finnish devices.

Time difference
The time difference between the islands and Finland is -2 hours in winter and -3 hours in summer.

Mobile phones
Check with your network operator for the coverage of your mobile phone. The area code for the islands is +239.

Food & beverage
Seafood, beans, corn and bananas are the basic ingredients of São Tomé and Príncipe’s food culture. Tropical fruits such as pineapple and avocado are also popular. A lot of spices and coffee beans are used in the food. For breakfast, it is common to enjoy the leftovers or omelettes of the previous evening.

History

The two islands were reached by the Portuguese in the second half of the 15th century. and used as a base for the slave trade between Angola and Brazil; then followed the events of the other African colonies of Portugal. In 1951 São Tomé and Príncipe  became an overseas province; a Liberation Committee set up in 1960, was transformed in 1972 into the Liberation Movement of São Tomé and Príncipe (MLSTP). Favored by the end of the dictatorship in Portugal, independence was proclaimed in 1975 and a presidential constitution came into force, which sanctioned the leading role of the MLSTP, a single Marxist-inspired party. M. Pinto was appointed to the presidency of the Republicfrom the coast. ● Beginning in the mid-1980s, worsening economic conditions led the government to move closer to Western countries in the hope of obtaining economic aid, and in 1990 a multi-party Constitution was adopted. The next decade saw the country engaged in the difficult search for political stability: government crisis, an attempted coup d’état, tensions between the various institutional bodies, in particular a complicated and bitter conflict between the President of the Republic and the government, marked his path. The situation of conflict between the president (expressed in 1991, 1997 and 2001 by the centrist coalition) and the government (majority relative to the MLSTP in 1994, 1998 and 2002) continued until 2006, when both the President of the Republic F. de Menezes both the government were expressions of the centrist coalition. The economist M. Pinto da Costa took over in the presidential elections of August 2011 in Menezes.

In 2012, three opposition parties joined in a vote of no confidence to overthrow the ruling majority of P. Trovoada of the Independent Democratic Action (ADI) party; in December the new government took office, led by G. Arcanjo Ferreira Da Costa of the MLSTP, who was again replaced by Troboada following the political elections of October 2014 in which ADI received the absolute majority of the votes (3 out of 55 seats in the National Assembly, compared to 16 awarded by the MLSTP and 5 to the liberal-conservatives of the Democratic Convergence Party, PCD), reconfirmed in office after the consultations of October 2018 which, while confirming the ADI as before political strength of the country, they recorded the loss of 8 seats,

At the presidential elections held in July 2016, former premier E. Carvalho affirmed himself, obtaining 49.8% of the votes against the 24.8% awarded by Pinto da Costa, being reconfirmed as the winner also in the second round held the following month, after the cancellation of the vote by the electoral commission, and taking over from da Costa. The consultations of July 2021 recorded in the first round the affirmation with over 39% of the votes of C. Vila Nova of the ADI party, followed by the former premier G. Posser da Costa (21% of the votes), who defeated at the runoff held in September, taking over from the outgoing president Carvalho.