São Tomé and Príncipe (STP), a small island nation of 215,000 people in the Gulf ofGuinea off the coast of Central Africa, is in many ways a country of great untapped wealth. One of Africa's least known countries, its striking volcanic landscape is hometo virgin rainforests with rich...

In the fiscal area, the primary budget balance of São Tomé and Príncipe has turned around from a deficit of 2.2 percent of GDP in 1997 to a surplus of 0.7 percent of GDP in 1998 (Dobra 1.9 billion). The primary surplus is estimated to have increased further to 1.3 percent of GDP in 1999....

São Tomé & Príncipe remains at high risk of debt distress, although it has received substantial debt relief. The increases in world food and fuel prices have rekindled domestic inflation pressures. Inflation has declined substantially since 2008, but remains at double-digit levels. A...