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Located just north of the equator, the islands are of volcanic origin and rise to 6,640 ft (2,024 m) on SAo TomE. They have a tropical rain forest climate and a thick vegetation cover. The official language is Portuguese, although a creole dialect is widely spoken. Roman Catholicism and Evangelical Protestantism are the predominant religions. The inhabitants are mainly descendants of slaves brought from the mainland. There is also a sizable population of foreign workers.
From state-owned farms, tropical produce, notably cocoa (90% of export earnings), copra, coffee, and palm oil, is exported. Fishing and timber are also important. Industry is limited to food processing and light manufacturing. Efforts to diversify agriculture and the economy in general have met with limited success, but there are significant offshore oil fields to the north of the islands that are now being developed. Fuel, machinery, equipment, and a significant amount of food must be imported. The country's trading partners include the Netherlands, Portugal, France, and Belgium. The country has an ongoing balance-of-payments problem and relies heavily on foreign aid. SAo TomE island has a good road and railroad system.
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