Economical overview
The economy of São Tomé and Príncipe is
almost entirely based on cocoa cultivation for export as
well as foreign aid. However, oil discoveries made
offshore may turn the small country into a rich oil
state.
So far, no oil has begun to be extracted
commercially. Meanwhile, the foreign companies that are
looking for oil are paying license money to São Tomé and
Príncipe.
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Countryaah.com:
Major imports by Sao Tome and Principe, covering a full list of top products imported by the country and trade value for each product category.
Kakaon's special position as an export product has
made the country's economy dependent on weather changes
and price trends on the world market. Even though the
price of cocoa is favorable, exports are not long enough
to cover the country's imports of food, oil and capital
goods.
The government has long sought to develop other
industries. Especially tourism, but also fishing has
become more important to the country's economy.
After a long period of low growth, the trend reversed
in the late 1990s and during the period 2002–2014 the
economy grew by almost 5 percent on average per year.
Behind the growth was a more efficient economic policy
on the part of the government as well as large inflows
of aid. From 2005, the oil license money also
contributed.
Per capita, São Tomé and Príncipe are among the
world's largest recipients of aid. Portugal is the
largest bilateral aid provider, but much assistance also
comes from Taiwan.
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Abbreviationfinder.org: Check this abbreviation website to find three letter ISO codes for all countries in the world, including STP which represents the country of Sao Tome and Principe.
An important income in addition to aid and loans is
the money that Tomeans living abroad send home to their
families.
In exchange for favorable loans, São Tomé and
Príncipe have implemented several so-called structural
adjustment programs designed by the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). The programs have
included reduced government spending, liberalization of
the economy and investments in alternative industries
such as fishing and tourism.
São Tomé and Príncipe have on several occasions
received their foreign debt neglected and the foreign
debt now corresponds to around two-thirds of the
country's gross domestic product (GDP).
In spite of loan programs and assistance, the region
has usually had a budget deficit, although the oil
license money has for some years provided a temporary
budget surplus.
According to the World Bank, the country has
succeeded in reducing the government's direct influence
on the economy, but investments in, among other things,
infrastructure are still needed to increase private
investment. Another barrier to investment is the
widespread corruption that exists within the country's
administrations.
To provide greater stability to the economy, São Tomé
and Príncipe have linked the local currency, dobran, to
the euro. One reason was to give the country financial
stability and thus more easily attract foreign capital.
Another was to reduce the high inflation rate in the
country, which has also succeeded.
FACTS - FINANCE
GDP per person
US $ 2,001 (2018)
Total GDP
US $ 422 million (2018)
GDP growth
2.7 percent (2018)
Agriculture's share of GDP
11.4 percent (2018)
Manufacturing industry's share of GDP
7.4 percent (2018)
The service sector's share of GDP
71.8 percent (2018)
External debt
US $ 262 million (2017)
Currency
dobra
Merchandise exports
US $ 16 million (2018)
Imports
US $ 133 million (2018)
Current account
- US $ 62 million (2018)
Commodity trade's share of GDP
40 percent (2018)
Main export goods
cocoa, copra, coffee, vanilla, pepper
Largest trading partner
Portugal, Angola, Brazil, Netherlands, Belgium
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