Sao Tome and Principe

 

 

Literacy Statistics

Overall: 73.0%

Male: 85%

Female: 62%

 

GNP Per Capita (US Dollars)

$1,000

 

 

Source: The World Bank Development Indicators, 1996; CIA World Fact Book 1997

 

Country Report presented by Alzira Maria Rodrigues

Sao Tome and Principe comprise two islands and several small islets off the coast of West Africa. The population is made up of the following groups:

  • "Forros" or "Filhos da Terra" (sons of the soil), who are descendants of the first Portuguese settlers and freed slaves;
  • "Angolares," a fishing population, who are said to descend from the slaves that escaped from a sinking slave ship coming from Angola, and who are an autonomous ethnic, cultural, and political entity (The Angolarian language has been influenced by Bantu language and Portuguese.);
  • "Serviçais," who are former landworkers from Portugal's other African colonies (Angola, Cape Verde, and Mozambique); and
  • "N'guyá," the people of the island of Principe who speak a language of the same name.

Despite the several different languages and dialects used in the islands, Portuguese became the official language at Independence in 1975. It is the only language on the island that has a complete orthography and, as the most widely known language, it is the most convenient lingua franca. French is the second language taught in schools because the islands are surrounded by nations where French is spoken, and English is also offered in the later grades as an additional language.

In 1975, 20% of the population was literate. As part of a massive post- independence campaign, the government made primary education free to all children, and used the primary schools for teaching adults. Despite the fact that there were only limited, age-specific materials for learning (e.g., elementary primers and child-sized desks), the literacy rate increased to 57% in just 10 years. By 1995, 42% of women and 73% of men were literate. The country now requires renewed efforts to face the challenge of further improving the literacy of the population.

 

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INTERNATIONAL LITERACY INSTITUTE
Graduate School of Education/University of Pennsylvania
3910 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-3111 USA
Telephone 215-898-2100 | Fax 215-898-9804 | E-mail: sltp@literacy.upenn.edu
Revised: July 6, 1998