POPULATION 170,372
ROMAN CATHOLIC 89.5 percent
OTHER CHRISTIAN 6.3 percent
BAHAI 2.1 percent
AFRICAN TRADITIONAL 1.1 percent
NONRELIGIOUS 1 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe consists of two small islands in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of west central Africa. Their total land area is 386 square miles. Uninhabited at the time of their discovery by Portuguese mariners in the 1470s, São Tomé and Príncipe bears the mark of five hundred years of Portuguese colonial rule. The distinctive creole society, language, and culture of the islands are the product of importations of slaves from the African mainland, as well as smaller migrations from Portugal, including expelled "New Christians" (converted Jews), civil and political criminals from Portuguese African colonies, and planter-settlers.

The Roman Catholic Church has been present...