São Tomé and Príncipe: Flag and Facts
São Tomé and Príncipe flies a flag with green, yellow and green horizontal stripes, a red triangle on the left, and two black five-pointed stars on the wide yellow middle band.
- Official name
- Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
- Capital
- São Tomé
- Region
- Middle Africa
- Population
- 223,561 (2024)
- Languages
- Portuguese
- Currency
- São Tomé and Príncipe dobra
- Area
- 964 km² (372 sq mi)
- People
- Sao Tomean
- Calling code
- +239
- Highest point
- Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m
- Independence
- 12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
- National symbols
- palm tree
- Borders
- No land borders
About São Tomé and Príncipe
Nobody lived on these islands when Portugal found and colonized them in the late 15th century. Sugar plantations came first, then coffee and cocoa took over in the 19th century, all worked by enslaved Africans. Independence from Portugal arrived on 12 July 1975, but democratic reforms waited until the late 1980s, and the first free elections took place in 1991.
Politics stayed bumpy after that, with frequent leadership changes and failed coup attempts in 1995, 1998, 2003 and 2009. The islands are volcanic and mountainous, hot and humid, with a single rainy season from October to May. Just 964 square kilometers of land hold fewer than a quarter million people. Around 80,000 of them live in the capital, also called São Tomé, and Portuguese is the official language.
Did you know?
- Pico de Sao Tome is the highest point at 2,024 meters.
- Its green, yellow, red and black are Pan-African movement colors.
- The national anthem is called Independencia total, or Total Independence.
Want to test yourself? The random flag generator has a quiz mode, and the full flags of the world page shows every flag at once.
Questions about São Tomé and Príncipe
What do the two stars on the São Tomé and Príncipe flag mean?
They stand for the two main islands. Yellow represents cocoa, a key crop.
What currency is used in São Tomé and Príncipe?
It uses the dobra, shortened to Db.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.