|RNature and climate:|N Group of islands off the African west coast by the Equator.
The two main islands are mountainous. The highest peak, Pico de Sao Tomé, reaches 2024 m.a.s.l. Four minor islands.
Vegetation is tropical.
Average temperature between 25 and 27°C around the year,
Percipitation close to 1000 mm.
|RPeople:|N Descendants of African slaves and contract workers and some Europeans, mainly portuguese.
|REconomy:|N Agriculture dominates. Most important crops are cacao, copra, coconuts, coffee and bananas. Cacao gives 90% of the export revenues.
Fishing is good around the islands and some fishprocessing industry has been developed.
There are also some textilefactories.
|RHistory:|N The islands were uninhabited when in 1470 discovered by the Portuguese sailor Pedro de Escobar. In 1522 they became a Portuguese colony and by the middle of the century they were the worlds largest exporter of sugarcanes.
The plantations on the islands were operated with slaves from the African mainland, mainly from Angola.
When the market form sugar dropped, the Portuguese on the island instead developed slavetrade and later coffee and cacao plantations. In the early 20th century the islands were the worlds largest producer of cacao.
In 1975 Sao Tomé and Principe became an independent country, but since then been dependent on foreign aid, which accounts for 40% of GDP.
