São Tomé is an island located in the Gulf of Guinea. At and a population of 193,380 as of May 2018, it is the largest and most populous island of São Tomé and Príncipe, being home to 96% of the country's population. The island is divided into six districts. It is located north of the Equator.
Geography
São Tomé is about long (north-south) by wide (east-west). It rises to at Pico de São Tomé and includes the homonymous capital city on the northeast coast. It is situated in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Africa. The nearest city on mainland Africa is the port city of Port Gentil in Gabon located to the east.
The island is surrounded by a number of small islands, including Ilhéu das Rolas, Ilhéu das Cabras and Ilhéu Gabado.
Languages The main language is Portuguese, but there are many speakers of Forro and Angolar (Ngola), two Portuguese-based creole languages. The name "" is Portuguese for Saint Thomas.
Geology The entire island of São Tomé is a massive shield volcano that rises from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, over below sea level. It formed along the Cameroon line, a line of volcanoes extending from Cameroon southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the lava erupted on São Tomé over the last million years has been basalt. The youngest dated rock on the island is about 100,000 years old, but numerous more recent cinder cones are found on the southeast side of the island.
Environment and economy The higher slopes of the island are forested and form part of the Parque Natural Obô de São Tomé, but agriculture is important near the north and east coasts. The chief exports are cocoa, coffee, copra, and palm products, while there is also a fishing industry.
Large reserves of oil are in the ocean between Nigeria and São Tomé. The discovery has been lamented by some as endangering the nation's political stability and natural environment. In response to these concerns the government of São Tomé and Príncipe has drawn up legislation in an attempt to ensure the efficient and equitable use of oil revenues over time.
In 2025, the island was designated as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO, making São Tomé and Príncipe the first country to be designated as such in its entirety following a previous designation on Príncipe.
Natural history
Birds The island has a total of 63 regular bird species, plus an additional 36 vagrant and unconfirmed species. Of these, 19 are endemic and 3 near endemic; in addition, the local subspecies of olive ibis (Bostrychia olivacea bocagei) and maroon pigeon (Columba thomensis) are endemic and considered critically endangered. Six species are considered vulnerable, and two critically endangered (São Tomé fiscal and São Tomé grosbeak).
Administrative divisions
São Tomé is divided into the following six districts (seat within brackets): Água Grande (São Tomé) Cantagalo (Santana) Caué (São João dos Angolares) Lembá (Neves) Lobata (Guadalupe) Mé-Zóchi (Trindade)
Towns and villages Villages on the island include:
Agua-Coco Agua Ize Alice Alto Douro Andrade Bela Vista Blublu Bom Sucesso Buenos Aires Dona Augusta Dona Eugenia Enjale Formiga General Fonseco Graça Granja Guadalupe Guegue Norte Henrique Java Lemos Mbombo Mbondi Monte Café Monte Herminios Monte Rosa Neves Nova Olinda Nzumbi Plato Café Ponta Figo Portinho Porto Alegre Perseverança Quimpo Ribeira Afonso Santa Catarina Santa Clotilde Santa Cruz Santa Josefina Santana Santo António São João dos Angolares São José São Tomé Saudade Trindade Ubabundo
References
CIA Word Fact Book