deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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

People
Sao Tome and Principe

Population:

206,178 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 47.1% (male 49,196/female 47,941) 15-64 years: 49.3% (male 49,326/female 52,324) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 3,350/female 4,041) (2008 est.)