01Key Takeaways
- Sao Tome and Principe imported $183.56 million worth of goods in 2023, down 6.5% from $196.30 million in 2022, the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Mineral fuels led import categories at 29.3% ($53.78 million), by far the largest single category.
- Portugal supplied 36.2% of imports ($66.42 million), by far the largest single partner.
- Togo ranked second among partners at 15.6% ($28.73 million), followed closely by Angola at 13.7%.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $147.7M | $138.0M | $166.3M | $196.3M | $183.6M |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal | $66.4M | 36.2% |
| 2 | Togo | $28.7M | 15.6% |
| 3 | Angola | $25.2M | 13.7% |
| 4 | Japan | $10.2M | 5.6% |
| 5 | Turkey | $9.6M | 5.2% |
| 6 | China | $8.3M | 4.5% |
| 7 | United States | $4.6M | 2.5% |
| 8 | Gabon | $4.2M | 2.3% |
| 9 | Brazil | $3.5M | 1.9% |
| 10 | India | $2.4M | 1.3% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $53.8M | 29.3% |
| 2 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $15.6M | 8.5% |
| 3 | Cereals | $15.2M | 8.3% |
| 4 | Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar | $8.9M | 4.8% |
| 5 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $8.8M | 4.8% |
| 6 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $8.5M | 4.6% |
| 7 | Products of the Milling Industry; Malt; Starches; Inulin; Wheat Gluten | $6.2M | 3.4% |
| 8 | Animal or Vegetable Fats and Oils and their Cleavage Products; Prepared Edible Fats; Animal or Vegetable Waxes | $4.5M | 2.5% |
| 9 | Salt; Sulphur; Earths and Stone; Plastering Materials, Lime and Cement | $4.3M | 2.4% |
| 10 | Meat and Edible Meat Offal | $3.8M | 2.1% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Peaked in 2022 Before Easing Back
Sao Tome and Principe imported $183.56 million worth of goods in 2023, down 6.5% from $196.30 million in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023.
Import value moved unevenly across those years. It stood at $147.67 million in 2019, eased to $138.04 million in 2020, then climbed for two straight years. Imports reached $166.28 million in 2021 and $196.30 million in 2022, the highest point in this five-year window, before easing back to $183.56 million in 2023.
On the export side of trade for this country, value also peaked in 2022 before falling in 2023. This dataset does not include information explaining either decline, but the timing lines up on both sides of Sao Tome and Principe's trade. That parallel movement suggests something affected the broader economy in 2023 rather than a shift confined to just one side of Sao Tome and Principe's trade, though this dataset cannot identify what that underlying cause was. Import value nonetheless remains well above where it stood at the very start of this five-year window, even after the pullback seen most recently.
Fuel Is the Single Largest Import Category by a Wide Margin
Mineral fuels and related products led every import category in 2023. They were worth $53.78 million, or 29.3% of the total, far ahead of every other category. Sao Tome and Principe depends entirely on imported fuel for its diesel-based electricity system, spending roughly $36.3 million, or about 8% of GDP, on fuel imports each year. Electrical machinery and equipment followed at 8.5% ($15.63 million), and cereals contributed 8.3% ($15.17 million).
Beverages, spirits and vinegar added 4.8% ($8.90 million), and machinery, boilers and mechanical appliances contributed 4.8% ($8.77 million). Vehicles added 4.6% ($8.52 million), and products of the milling industry contributed 3.4% ($6.20 million). Animal or vegetable fats and oils added 2.5% ($4.54 million), and salt, sulphur and earthy materials contributed 2.4% ($4.33 million). Meat and edible meat offal closed out the top ten at 2.1% ($3.84 million).
Fuel's share here is smaller than the 61.5% that cocoa holds on the export side of trade for this country, but it still stands well apart from every other import category. A small economy with no domestic energy production or refining capacity depends on this kind of steady fuel import volume regardless of what else it buys from abroad. Unlike the export list, which is dominated by a single agricultural product, this import list spreads across energy, electronics, food staples and machinery. That spread reflects the wide range of goods a small island cannot produce on its own.
Portugal Supplies More Than a Third of All Imports
Portugal supplied 36.2% of Sao Tome and Principe's imports in 2023, worth $66.42 million, by far the largest single partner. Togo ranked second at 15.6% ($28.73 million), and Angola followed closely at 13.7% ($25.18 million). Together, the top three suppliers made up 65.5% of total import value.
Japan contributed 5.6% ($10.24 million), and Turkey added 5.2% ($9.58 million). China contributed 4.5% ($8.30 million), and the United States added 2.5% ($4.61 million). Gabon contributed 2.3% ($4.24 million), and Brazil added 1.9% ($3.52 million). India closed out the top ten at 1.3% ($2.42 million).
Portugal's dominant position here contrasts with its smaller role on the export side of trade for this country, where it ranked third among destinations at a much smaller 4.7% share. Angola, by contrast, does not appear among the top ten export destinations at all, despite ranking third among import suppliers. Togo does not appear among the top ten export destinations either. Both countries supply Sao Tome and Principe with imports. Neither buys meaningful volumes of its exports in return, at least among the top ten partners this dataset tracks on each side.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes a small economy importing fuel and a broad mix of goods primarily from Portugal, with Togo and Angola playing meaningful secondary roles. Its export list, covered in the companion export data for this country, runs through a much narrower set of European destinations built almost entirely around cocoa. The contrast between a wide, varied import list and a narrow, concentrated export list is one of the clearer patterns in this dataset's coverage of Sao Tome and Principe.