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Location:
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Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon
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Geographic coordinates:
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1 00 N, 7 00 E
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Map references:
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Africa
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Area:
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total: 1,001 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 1,001 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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more than five times the size of Washington, DC
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Land boundaries:
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0 km
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Coastline:
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209 km
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Maritime claims:
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measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
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Climate:
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tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
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Terrain:
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volcanic, mountainous
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m
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Natural resources:
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fish, hydropower
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Land use:
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arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 41%
other: 57% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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100 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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NA
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Environment - current issues:
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deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous
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