São Tomé and Príncipe is a unitary semi-presidential republic whose smaller island, Príncipe, has been autonomous since 1995. It is a Portuguese-speaking, aid-dependent economy centred on cocoa and tourism that has held multiparty elections since 1991.
In the 12 Axes register, São Tomé and Príncipe leans hardest on Democratic – Autocratic: Democratic 68%; the register median is balanced 50%.
Take the test and this line shows how close your twelve scores are to São Tomé and Príncipe, and the axis where you differ most.
Where São Tomé and Príncipe sits on each of the twelve axes, in four categories. The label is our estimate; the line under it says why.
Unitary
Unitary state with autonomous Príncipe
Representative Democracy
Directly elected president, multiparty politics
Liberal
Multiparty since 1991; coup attempt foiled in 2022
Non-Interventionist
Non-aligned, links with Portugal and CPLP
Neutral
Very small armed forces
Centrist
Creole society, Portuguese official language
Mixed Economic
Aid-dependent mixed economy
Markets
Cocoa and tourism, private sector growing
Free Trade
Open island economy, CPLP and ECCAS member
Spiritual
Mostly Catholic, secular state
Conservative
Same-sex acts decriminalised in 2012
Neutral
No distinct state stance
Set against the median of all 195 countries in the register.
Democratic – Autocratic
On Democratic – Autocratic, São Tomé and Príncipe is at Democratic 68%. The register median is balanced 50%.
Federal – Unitary
On Federal – Unitary, São Tomé and Príncipe is at Unitary 68%, almost the register median of Unitary 68%.
Closeness is 100 minus the root-mean-square distance on all twelve axes.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · freedomhouse.org
Map: M.Bitton, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and resized.
Last updated: 2026-10-15
The tiers on this page are our estimates from public positions and policies. They are not an official statement by the person or the government concerned. Two independent passes scored every axis and a third settled the differences. How the register works. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].
