Sao Tome & Principe
Co-operation relations between Portugal and Sao Tome & Principe
General information
Official name: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome & Principe
Capital: São Tomé.
President: Evarísto do Espírito Santo Carvalho (took office in 3 September 2016).
Prime-Minister: Jorge Lopes Bom Jesus (since December 2018)
Independence Day: 12 July 1975
Districts: The São Tomé island is comprised of 6 districts: Água Grande, Cantagalo, Caué, Lembá, Lobata and Mé-Zóchi; the Autonomous
Príncipe Region contains the district of Pagué
Languages: Portuguese (official) and local languages (Forro, Angolar and Lunguye)
Religion: Catholic (82%)
Geography
Geographical Area: 1001 km2 (Gulf of Guinea, West Africa)
Climate: Equatorial
Demography
Population: 193 000 (2013, AICEP)
Average rate of population growth: 2.6 – 2010/2015 (2013, UNDP)
Life expectancy at birth: 69 years (2013, UNDP)
Literacy rate (adults, 15 and over): 69,5 % (2013, UNDP)
Primary education enrolment rate: 97% (2013, UNDP)
Human development index: 142 position (2013, UNDP)
Economic data
Currency: Dobra (1€= 24 500 STD) paridade fixa desde 1 janeiro 2010.
GNP per Capita: 1 625 USD (2013, AICEP)
Inflation rate: 8.3% (2013, AICEP)
Unemployment rate: 13,6% (2013, INESTP)
Growth rate: 4,3% (2012, AICEP)
Main exports: Cocoa, machinery and equipment, fruit (2013, AICEP)
Exports - Portugal: 8.7 million € (2013, AICEP)
Imports - Portugal: 58.8 million € (2013, AICEP)
Direct Portuguese investment: 2.5 million euro - average between 2003 and 2013 (2013, BP)
Other information
Portuguese Embassy in Sao Tome
Ambassador: Luís Gaspar da Silva
Address: Avenida Marginal 12 de julho
Caixa Postal 173, S. Tomé
Tel.: (+239) 222 11 30 / 222 49 97
Fax: (+258) 222 11 90
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Attaché/Co-operation contact: António Machado (desde 2014)
Tel. (+239) 222 11 30
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tomé & Principe in Lisbon
Ambassador: Luís Guilherme d´Oliveira Viegas
Address: Avenida 5 de Outubro, nº 35, 4º Andar
1050-047 Lisboa
Tel.: (+351) 21 846 19 17/8
Fax: (+351) 21 846 18 95
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Current situation
General framework
Strategic Co-operation Programme
Strategic Co-operation Programme (SCP) 2016-2020. Signed by both countries on the 7th of September with a financial envelope of 57.5M€, this new programme involves a greater concentration of funds in the areas of education, health and social protection, extending to military training, police co-operation and justice.
Strategic Co-operation Programme 2016-2020
Indicative Co-operation Programme
Indicative Co-operation Programme Portugal - Sao Tome & Principe 2012-2015
Indicative Co-operation Programme 2012-2015. This programme covers a period of four years (2012--2015). It was signed in Lisbon on the 27th of November 2013 by the Portuguese Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Rui Machete and by the Sao Tome & Principe Minister of Foreign Affairs, Co-operation and Communities. With a financial envelope of €43.5m, this programme is primarily focused on co-operation for good governance, participation and democracy, sustainable development and the fight against poverty.
Indicative Co-operation Programme Portugal - Sao Tome & Principe 2008-2011
Co-operation in Numbers
Official development assistance 2013 – 2017 - Sao Tome & Principe
In 2015, Portugal’s ODA to S. Tome & Principe increased considerably compared to the last three years, reaching 22,61 M€. This can be explained largely by a concessional loan regarding electrical infrastructures for projects in the areas of constructing, renewing and restoring the power network.
In 2016, ODA approached the average values of recent years (13,64 M€) followed by a decline in 2017 to 10,30 M€, mainly due to the end of the use of a concessional credit line for road and electric infrastructure and the drop in the costs on patients evacuated for treatment in Portugal. Between 2013 and 2017, the average net ODA was 13,89 M€.
In gross ODA, there is centralization in "Education" (33%), "Water supply and sanitation" (21,5%), “Other social infrastructure and services” (13,2%) and "Health" (13%).
Projects