Location:
Central Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, just north of the Equator, west of Gabon

Geographic coordinates:
1 00 N, 7 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 964 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 964 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 0 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 185

Area - comparative:
more than five times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
209 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)

Terrain:
volcanic, mountainous

Elevation:
mean elevation: NA
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m

Natural resources:
fish, hydropower

Land use:
agricultural land: 50.7% arable land 9.1%; permanent crops 40.6%; permanent pasture 1%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 28.1%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 21.2% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
100 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population - distribution:
Sao Tome, the capital city, has roughly a quarter of the nation's population; Santo Antonio is the largest town on Principe; the northern areas of both islands have the highest population densities

Natural hazards:
flooding

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are mountainous