Of São Tomé and Príncipe's total population of some 201,800,[1] about 193,380 live on São Tomé and 8,420 on Príncipe. All are descended from various ethnic groups that have migrated to the islands since 1485. 70% of the people on São Tomé and Príncipe are black and 30% of the people are mixed race, mostly black and white. Six groups are identifiable:
Asians, mostly Chinese minority, including Macanese people of mixed Portuguese and Chinese blood from Macau.
Although a small country, São Tomé and Príncipe has four national languages: Portuguese (the official language, spoken by 95% of the population), and the Portuguese-based creolesForro (85%), Angolar (3%) and Principense (0.1%). French is also learned in schools, as the country is a member of Francophonie.
In the 1970s, there were two significant population movements—the exodus of most of the 4,000 Portuguese residents and the influx of several hundred São Toméan refugees from Angola. The islanders have been absorbed largely into a common Luso-African culture. Almost all belong to the Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, or Seventh-day Adventist churches, which in turn retain close ties with churches in Portugal. There is a small but growing Muslim population.
Population
São Tomé and Príncipe's population between 1960 and 2017.
According to the 2022 revision of the world factbook the total population was 217,164 in 2022, compared to only 60,000 in 1950.[3] The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2020 was 39.8%, 57.4% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.9% was 65 years or older.[3]
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2017): [4]
Age Group
Male
Female
Total
%
Total
97 988
99 712
197 700
100
0–4
12 031
12 102
24 133
12.21
5–9
13 833
13 667
27 500
13.91
10–14
12 677
12 714
25 390
12.84
15–19
10 673
10 672
21 345
10.80
20–24
9 278
9 062
18 341
9.28
25–29
7 895
7 946
15 841
8.01
30–34
7 276
7 389
14 665
7.42
35–39
6 105
6 252
12 358
6.25
40–44
4 762
4 784
9 546
4.83
45–49
3 831
3 822
7 654
3.87
50–54
2 880
3 153
6 033
3.05
55–59
2 384
2 620
5 004
2.53
60–64
1 573
1 858
3 431
1.74
65-69
1 076
1 173
2 249
1.14
70-74
665
835
1 500
0.76
75-79
535
777
1 313
0.66
80+
514
886
1 400
0.71
Age group
Male
Female
Total
Percent
0–14
38 541
38 483
77 024
38.96
15–64
56 657
57 558
114 215
57.77
65+
2 790
3 671
6 461
3.27
Vital statistics
Registration of vital events is in São Tomé & Príncipe not available for recent years. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.
[5]
Period
Live births per year
Deaths per year
Natural change per year
CBR*
CDR*
NC*
TFR*
IMR*
1950-1955
3 000
1 000
2 000
47.7
21.0
26.7
6.20
124
1955-1960
3 000
1 000
2 000
47.7
18.5
29.2
6.20
112
1960-1965
3 000
1 000
2 000
47.0
16.8
30.1
6.30
99
1965-1970
3 000
1 000
2 000
42.7
13.1
29.6
6.40
88
1970-1975
3 000
1 000
2 000
40.7
13.2
27.6
6.52
80
1975-1980
4 000
1 000
3 000
41.1
11.0
30.1
6.50
70
1980-1985
4 000
1 000
3 000
40.4
11.5
28.9
6.24
66
1985-1990
4 000
1 000
3 000
38.8
10.7
28.1
5.66
63
1990-1995
5 000
1 000
3 000
37.0
9.8
27.1
5.16
61
1995-2000
5 000
1 000
4 000
35.9
9.2
26.7
4.80
58
2000-2005
5 000
1 000
4 000
34.8
8.8
26.0
4.34
55
2005-2010
5 000
1 000
4 000
32.4
8.2
24.2
3.85
52
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)
Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[10]
One birth every 76 minutes
One death every 480 minutes
One net migrant every 360 minutes
Net gain of one person every 120 minutes
The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook[11] unless otherwise indicated.
Population
217,164 (2022 est.)
204,454 (July 2018 est.)
Religions
Catholic 55.7%, Adventist 4.1%, Assembly of God 3.4%, New Apostolic 2.9%, Mana 2.3%, Universal Kingdom of God 2%, Jehovah's Witness 1.2%, other 6.2%, none 21.2%, unspecified 1% (2012 est.)
Age structure
Population pyramid of Sao Tome and Principe in 2020
0-14 years: 39.77% (male 42,690/female 41,277)
15-24 years: 21.59% (male 23,088/female 22,487)
25-54 years: 31.61% (male 32,900/female 33,834)
55-64 years: 4.17% (male 4,095/female 4,700)
65 years and over: 2.87% (2020 est.) (male 2,631/female 3,420)
0-14 years: 41.2% (male 42,825 /female 41,403)
15-24 years: 21.01% (male 21,767 /female 21,188)
25-54 years: 31.03% (male 31,218 /female 32,229)
55-64 years: 3.93% (male 3,708 /female 4,332)
65 years and over: 2.83% (male 2,545 /female 3,239) (2018 est.)
Birth rate
28.19 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 36th
31.5 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 32nd
Death rate
6.2 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 149th
6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 138th
urban population: 75.8% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 2.96% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 72.8% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 3.33% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 67.06 years. Country comparison to the world: 194th
male: 65.44 years
female: 68.72 years (2022 est.)
total population: 65.7 years
male: 64.3 years
female: 67.1 years (2018 est.)
total population: 65.25 years
male: 63.84 years
female: 66.7 years (2000 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
Sex ratio
at birth:
male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.03 male(s)/female
15–64 years:
0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.84 male(s)/female
total population:
0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Nationality
noun:
São Toméan(s)
adjective:
São Toméan
Ethnic groups
Mestiços, angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), serviçais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of serviçais born on the islands) and Europeans (primarily Portuguese).
