Native name: Ilha de São Tomé | |
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 Emblem of São Tome | |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Gulf of Guinea |
| Coordinates | 0°13′N6°37′E / 0.22°N 6.61°E /0.22; 6.61 |
| Archipelago | Cameroon line |
| Area | 859 km2 (332 sq mi) |
| Length | 48 km (29.8 mi) |
| Width | 32 km (19.9 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 2,024 m (6640 ft) |
| Highest point | Pico de São Tomé |
| Administration | |
| Districts | 6 |
| Largest settlement | São Tomé (pop. 71,868) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 193,380 (2018) |
| Pop. density | 225/km2 (583/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | Mestiços, angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), serviçais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of serviçais born on the islands),Europeans (primarilyPortuguese) |
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São Tomé, at 854 km2 (330 sq mi), is the largest island ofSão Tomé and Príncipe and is home in May 2018 to about 193,380 or 96% of the nation's population. The island is divided into sixdistricts. It is located 2 km (1¼ miles) north of theequator.
São Tomé is about 48 kilometres (30 miles) long (north-south) by 32 kilometres (20 miles) wide (east-west). It rises to 2,024 metres (6,640 feet) atPico de São Tomé and includes thehomonymous capital city on the northeast coast. It is situated in theGulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Africa. The nearest city on mainlandAfrica is the port city ofPort Gentil inGabon located 240 kilometres (150 miles) to the east.
The island is surrounded by a number of small islands, includingIlhéu das Rolas,Ilhéu das Cabras andIlhéu Gabado.
The main language isPortuguese, but there are many speakers ofForro andAngolar (Ngola), two Portuguese-basedcreole languages. The name "São Tomé" is Portuguese for Saint Thomas.
The entire island of São Tomé is a massiveshield volcano that rises from the floor of theAtlantic Ocean, over 3,000 m (10,000 ft)below sea level. It formed along theCameroon line, a line of volcanoes extending fromCameroon southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. Most of thelava erupted on São Tomé over the last million years has beenbasalt. The youngest dated rock on the island is about 100,000 years old, but numerous more recentcinder cones are found on the southeast side of the island.
The higher slopes of the island areforested and form part of theParque Natural Obô de São Tomé, butagriculture is important near the north and east coasts. The chief exports arecocoa,coffee,copra, andpalm products, while there is also afishing industry.
Large reserves ofoil are in theocean betweenNigeria and São Tomé. The discovery has been lamented by some as endangering the nation's political stability and natural environment. In response to these concerns the government ofSão Tomé and Príncipe has drawn up legislation in an attempt to ensure the efficient and equitable use of oil revenues over time.
In 2025, the island was designated as abiosphere reserve byUNESCO, making São Tomé and Príncipe the first country to be designated as such in its entirety following a previous designation onPríncipe.[1]
The island has a total of 63 regular bird species, plus an additional 36vagrant and unconfirmed species. Of these, 19 areendemic and 3 near endemic; in addition, the localsubspecies ofolive ibis (Bostrychia olivacea bocagei) andmaroon pigeon (Columba thomensis) are endemic and considered critically endangered. Six species are considered vulnerable, and two critically endangered (São Tomé fiscal andSão Tomé grosbeak).[2][3]
São Tomé is divided into the following sixdistricts (seat within brackets):
Villages on the island include:
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 Islands ofSão Tomé and Príncipe | |
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| Major islands | |
| Minor islands and islets | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
