São Tomé and Príncipe is a small nation composed of an archipelago located in the Gulf of Guinea of equatorial Atlantic Ocean. The nation's main islands are São Tomé and Príncipe, for which the country is named. These are located about 300 and 250km (200 and 150 miles), respectively, off the northerwest coast of Gabon in West Africa. The nation's geographic coordinates are a latitude of 1°00′N and a latitude of 7°00′E.

São Tomé and Príncipe constitute one of Africa's smallest countries. They have a with a coastline of total of 209km of coastline. Both are part of an extinct volcanic mountain range, which also includes the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea to the north and Mount Cameroon to the west. São Tomé is 48km (30 miles) long and 32km (20 mile) wide and the more mountainous of the two islands. Its peaks reach 2,024m (6,640 feet). Principe is about 16km (10 miles) long and 6km (4 miles) wide, making it the smallest of the two. This makes the total land area of the country 1,001 km,² about five times the size of Washington, D.C. Both islands are crossed by swift streams radiating down the mountains through lush forest and cropland to the sea.

At sea level, the climate is tropical—hot and humid with average yearly temperatures of about 27 degrees C (80 degrees F) and little daily variation. At the interior's higher altitudes, the average yearly temperature is 20 degrees C (68 degrees F), and nights are generally cool. Annual rainfall varies from 500 centimeters (200 inches) on the southwestern slopes to 100cm (40 inches) in the northern lowlands. The rainy season runs from October to May.

The highest point is Pico de São Tomé, at 2,024m.

Maritime claims:

• Measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
• Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
• Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate

Tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)

Terrain

Volcanic, mountainous

Elevation extremes

• Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
• Highest point: Pico de São Tomé 2,024 m

Natural resources

Fish, hydropower

Natural hazards

NA

Environment--current issues

Deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion

Environment--international agreements

• Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution
• Signed, but not ratified: None of the selected agreements

See also: São Tomé and Príncipe