CountriesAfricaSao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome and Principe

Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe

Africa

UN Member since 1975

Member of AU, NAM.

Population

228K

GDP

$620M

Capital

Sao Tome

Government

Unitary semi-presidential re...

Power & politics

Leadership, governance, and democratic trajectory.

Democracy index

6.1 / 10

UN voting record

How Sao Tome and Principe votes at the UN General Assembly — ideological trajectory, voting partners, topic patterns, and key recent roll calls.

Ideological trajectory

Voting summary

No votes recorded for this period yet.

Bloc alignment

Bloc alignment data not available yet.

Top voting partners

Topic-level voting

Source: Erik Voeten, “United Nations General Assembly Voting Data”, Harvard Dataverse (CC0). Aggregated by Model Diplomat. Last refresh tracked in profile freshness.

Foreign policy

Bilateral posture, key relationships, and live diplomatic statements.

Foreign Policy

Sao Tome and Principe maintains a pragmatic foreign policy focused on attracting development aid and investment while preserving its democratic governance model. Portugal remains the closest bilateral partner through colonial history and the CPLP framework. The country switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2016, gaining access to Chinese development financing.

Regionally, Sao Tome and Principe participates in Gulf of Guinea maritime security cooperation and ECCAS mechanisms. The country's small size means it relies heavily on multilateral institutions and regional partnerships for security and development. Nigeria is the most important regional partner through the Joint Development Zone agreement for shared offshore oil resources.

Allies

MUN Delegate Guide

Sao Tome and Principe is a small but credible delegation, particularly on democracy, island state issues, and maritime governance. As one of Africa's most stable democracies, you can speak with authority on democratic transitions, good governance, and the importance of institutional capacity building for small states.

Focus on SIDS issues: climate change, sea-level rise, blue economy, sustainable fisheries, and the challenges of small island economies. Sao Tome and Principe can also contribute to discussions on Gulf of Guinea maritime security, including piracy and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Align with the CPLP, SIDS, the African Group, and the G-77. Key allies include Portugal, Nigeria, and other Lusophone states (Brazil, Angola, Mozambique). Sao Tome and Principe generally follows the African consensus on major votes and avoids confrontational positions. Build coalitions with other small island states and use your democratic record to advocate for governance reforms in international institutions.