Economy of São Tomé and Príncipe

Economy of São Tomé and Príncipe
Capital city of São Tomé
CurrencySão Tomé and Príncipe Dobra (now STN, was STD)
Statistics
GDP
GDP rank
  • 3.8% (2025)[1]
  • 4.3% (2026f)[1]
GDP per capita
  • Increase $3,570 (nominal; 2025)[1]
  • Increase $6,420 (PPP; 2025)[1]
GDP per capita rank
-1.0% (2025)[2]
Increase 5.8% (2017 est.)
Labour force
52,490 (2007 est.)
Labour force by occupation
Population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing
9.1% (2025)[3]
8.8% (2025)[4]
Main industries
light construction, textiles, soap, beer, fish processing, timber
External
ExportsIncrease $11.7 million (2012 est.)
Export goods
cocoa, copra, coffee, palm oil
Main export partners
 Netherlands 32.7%
Belgium 21.4%
Spain 10.8%
Nigeria 5.7%
United States 5.0% (2012 est.)[5]
ImportsIncrease $121.6 million (2012 est.)
Import goods
machinery, electrical equipment, petroleum products, food
Main import partners
 Portugal 63.0%
Gabon 6.0% (2012 est.)[6]
Negative increase $299.5 million (31 December 2012 est.)
Public finance
Positive decrease 83.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
Increase $51.58 million (31 December 2012 est.)
Decrease -10% of GDP (2012 est.)
$105.5 million (2012 est.)
$131.8 million (2012 est.)
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

History

Under Portuguese colonial rule, sugar plantations were set up, and the islands were used for the transshipment of slaves.[7]

Oil reserves

Geologists estimate that the Gulf of Guinea zone (Niger Delta province) holds more than 10 billion barrels (1.6 km3) of oil, although no reserves have yet been proven.[8] A joint oil project with Nigeria in 2005 is likely to contribute $50 million of revenues to the government from the exploration licence signing fees. This represents four times government revenues in 2004. São Tomé is optimistic that significant petroleum discoveries under the exploration licence are forthcoming, though no crude oil nor natural gas has been found as of 2021.[9]

Agriculture

Since the 1800s, the economy of São Tomé and Príncipe has been based on plantation agriculture. At the time of independence, Portuguese-owned plantations occupied 90% of the cultivated area. After independence, control of these plantations passed to various state-owned agricultural enterprises. The dominant crop on São Tomé is cocoa, representing about 95% of exports. Other export crops include copra, palm kernels, and coffee.[10]

Coffee farm in São Tomé and Príncipe

Economic issues

The government has an economic program that is supported by the IMF, via its Extended Credit Facility arrangement.[11]

Data

Gross domestic product: purchasing power parity – $316.9 million (2010 est.), $214 million (2003 est.)

GDP – real growth rate: 6% (2010 est.), 5% (2004 est.)

GDP – per capita: purchasing power parity – $1,800 (2010 est.), $1,200 (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate: 12.2% in the formal business sector (2017 est.)

Budget:

  • revenues: $58 million
  • expenditures: $114 million, including capital expenditures of $54 million (1993 est.)

Industries: light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish processing; timber

Agriculture – products: cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish

Exports: $13 million (2010 est.)

Exports – commodities: cocoa 80%, copra, coffee, palm oil (2009)

Exports – partners: United Kingdom 32.99%, Netherlands 26.93%, Belgium 21.04%, Portugal 4.31% (2009)

Imports: $127.7 million (2017 est.)

Petroleum – it needs to import all of its required petroleum[12]

Macroeconomic trend

Main indicators

The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980-2026. Inflation below 5% is in green.[13]

Year GDP GDP

growth (real)

 Inflation Government

debt (% of GDP)

Total

(bil. US$ PPP)

 Per capita

(US$ PPP)

 Total

(bil. US$ nominal)

1980 0.1 1501 0.1 Decrease -1.1 Increase0.2 n/a
1985 Increase0.2 Increase1575 Steady0.1 Increase9.3 Increase0.1 n/a
1990 Steady0.2 Decrease1503 Steady0.1 Decrease -2.2 Negative increase42.2 n/a
1995 Steady0.2 Increase1638 Steady0.1 Increase2.0 Negative increase36.8 n/a
2000 Increase0.3 Increase1758 Steady0.1 Increase0.4 Negative increase11.0 n/a
2005 Increase0.4 Increase2182 Steady0.1 Increase7.1 Negative increase17.2 Negative increase334.2
2006 Steady0.4 Increase2395 Steady0.1 Increase9.1 Negative increase23.1 Positive decrease283.2
2007 Steady0.4 Increase2479 Steady0.1 Increase3.3 Negative increase18.6 Positive decrease110.1
2008 Increase0.5 Increase2669 Increase0.2 Increase8.2 Negative increase32.0 Positive decrease60.7
2009 Steady0.5 Increase2711 Steady0.2 Increase3.3 Negative increase17.0 Negative increase70.3
2010 Steady0.5 Increase2723 Steady0.2 Increase1.4 Negative increase13.3 Negative increase83
2011 Steady0.5 Increase2776 Steady0.2 Increase2.0 Negative increase14.3 Negative increase86
2012 Steady0.5 Increase2853 Steady0.2 Increase2.9 Negative increase10.6 Positive decrease59.6
2013 Increase0.6 Increase2992 Increase0.3 Increase5.1 Negative increase8.1 Negative increase76.8
2014 Steady0.6 Increase3134 Steady0.3 Increase4.9 Negative increase7.0 Negative increase92.5
2015 Steady0.6 Increase3156 Steady0.3 Increase1.5 Negative increase6.1 Negative increase101.1
2016 Increase0.7 Increase3295 Steady0.3 Increase5.2 Negative increase5.4 Negative increase104.6
2017 Steady0.7 Increase3436 Steady0.3 Increase4.1 Negative increase5.7 Positive decrease92.3
2018 Increase0.8 Increase3941 Increase0.4 Increase4.4 Negative increase7.9 Negative increase95.9
2019 Increase1.0 Increase4655 Steady0.4 Increase2.0 Negative increase7.7 Negative increase98.6
2020 Increase1.1 Increase5145 Increase0.5 Increase2.6 Negative increase9.8 Positive decrease91
2021 Increase1.3 Increase5733 Steady0.5 Increase1.9 Negative increase8.1 Positive decrease85.1
2022 Increase1.4 Increase6033 Steady0.5 Increase0.2 Negative increase18.1 Negative increase86.8
2023 Steady1.4 Increase6155 Increase0.7 Increase0.4 Negative increase21.1 Positive decrease73.2
2024 Increase1.5 Increase6252 Increase0.8 Increase1.1 Negative increase14.4 Positive decrease65.2
2025 Steady1.5 Increase6435 Increase1.0 Increase2.1 Increase0.9 Positive decrease55.7
2026 Increase1.6 Increase6712 Increase1.2 Increase3.4 Negative increase9.6 Positive decrease50.4

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "IMF DataMapper: São Tomé and Príncipe". International Monetary Fund. 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  2. ↑ "GDP per capita growth (annual %), World Bank Group, accessed July 2026".
  3. ↑ "Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate)". World Bank Open Data. 2026. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  4. ↑ "Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24)". World Bank Open Data. 2026. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  5. ↑ "Export Partners of São Tomé and Príncipe". CIA World Factbook. 2012. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
  6. ↑ "Import Partners of São Tomé and Príncipe". CIA World Factbook. 2012. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
  7. ↑ "Sao Tome and Principe profile". BBC. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "Sao Tome and Principe | World Bank Group". www.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
  9. ↑ "São Tomé and Príncipe". EITI. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  10. ↑ "Sao Tome and Principe (01/19/12)". U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets / Background Notes. U.S. Department of State. 19 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "IMF Concludes Visit to the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe". Press Release No. 13/32. International Monetary Fund. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  12. ↑ "Petroleum (Thousand Barrels per Day)". São Tomé and Principe: Country Analysis Brief. U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  13. ↑ "São Tomé and Príncipe". www.imf.org. Retrieved 2026-08-21.

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