Page last updated on February 8,

Location:
Central Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling 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 ]
country comparison to the world: 185
land: 964 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 0 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]

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

Land boundaries:
0 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

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

Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

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

Terrain:
volcanic, mountainous

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

Natural resources:
fish, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 8.33%
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 48.96%
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
other: 42.71% (2005)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
100 sq km (2008)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Natural hazards:
NA

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