Sao Tome and Principe: Introduction

Sao Tome and Principe is an island nation in the Gulf of Guinea off the western coast of Central Africa. The two main islands are mountainous and form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes. The government system is a republic; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Sao Tome and Principe has a mixed economic system in which there is a variety of private freedoms combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Sao Tome and Principe is a member of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).