An eclectic population
Uninhabited before its discovery in 1471, the São Tomé and Príncipe archipelago was gradually populated with the arrival of the Portuguese, who were the first men to set foot on these wild lands. Successively, they brought slaves, made up of Jews forced into exile by the Inquisition and convicts, then forced laborers (the Serviçais) from the Portuguese colonies (Angola, Cape Verde and Mozambique). In the meantime, miscegenation became frequent. Around 1515, concubine wives of Europeans and children born of these mixed unions were officially "free". They formed the community of filhos da terra or forros, with their own identity and social status. As for the Angolares group, they are the descendants of shipwrecked slaves from Angola who reached the coasts of São Tomé. Unlike other African countries, there are no ethnic groups as such on the archipelago, but rather populations whose socio-cultural origins differ according to the different waves of immigration that have arrived on the island. In 1950, the archipelago was home to some 61,000 people, the vast majority of them descendants of slaves, around 4,000 of mixed race and some 1,100 Europeans, mainly Portuguese. Since then, demographics have more than tripled, with the population now estimated at 223,000. Descendants of black slaves imported from the continent must account for some 88% of the total population, mestizos for almost 10% and Europeans for 2%. Among the blacks, we must not forget the Fang, a Bantu-speaking ethnic group from the mainland, and the many seasonal immigrant workers, mainly from the Cape Verde Islands.
A young and deprived population
The age pyramid reveals a very young population, with around 45% of the population under the age of 15. In 2020, the fertility rate per woman was 3.89, with an infant mortality rate of 41.71%. Life expectancy at birth is 65.16 for men and 67.79 for women. Only 2.83% of the population is aged 65 and over. A small country with a high illiteracy rate at the time of its independence in 1975, São Tomé and Príncipe has made education one of its priorities for several years. In 2018, the literacy rate among the under-24s was 97%, one of the highest in Africa. However, the country still faces major educational challenges, not least in the qualification of teachers, over 70% of whom are untrained at primary level. While school attendance reaches 94% in primary education, it drops drastically to 52% in secondary education and 20% in higher education. The vast majority of young people in the district capitals, from families with sufficient income, have access to higher education. Unemployment is particularly high among the under-35s, who clearly lack qualifications. Although a law prohibits child labor, it does not fully protect them, since minors aged 15 to 17 can legally work up to 40 hours a week, if employers allow them to attend school. Moreover, it is not uncommon to find young children working in agriculture, domestic service or street work. The government is also making efforts to curb violence against children, but corporal punishment is still legal in the home.
