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Sao Tome Principe is one of the poorest countries in the world. The export of coffee and cacao forms its monetary basis. Unluckily, world market prices have dropped so sharply that Sao Tome Principe is reliant on global aid today. Because of the large oil reserves that are thought to lie off the shores of Sao Tomé and Principe there is an mistaken belief that outside aid is no longer required. However, it will be at least 5-7 years before any income can be derived from those expected reserves. From the end of 2005 until the beginning of 2006 there was a cholera plague that resulted in a large number of deaths and illnesses. Yet, there is still a dearth of the most elementary medical instruments, not to mention hospital beds and medication.

The Portuguese explorer João de Santarém is thought to have exposed the island while in the service of merchant Fernão Gomes. The Portuguese king Alfons V had given Gomes the precise to explore 100 leagues of African coast per annum, at his own expenditure. On 21 December 1471, he discovered Sao Tome, and on 17 January 1472, Santo António which was renamed Principe in 1502.

The new state was caught up in a network of communist African states. This unique status was partly the result of the amazing organizational skills of the Portuguese colonists and merchants, and partly the slave labour economy that was rampant for centuries throughout the world. Slavery was abolished in the 19th century and replaced by the contract labour system, which the laborers, however, felt to be just as oppressive.  Ever since, under the democratically elected President Fradique de Menezes and the Prime Minister Tomé Vera Cruz, the country has striven, with increasing success, to recover reasonably, using its own resources as well as international support.