Political relations are good and cooperation with Sao Tome and Principe in international organisations is close. There has been a German faculty at the Universidade de São Tomé e Príncipe since 2016. Germans comprise the second largest group of tourists in Sao Tome and Principe, after Portugal.

The country has traditionally shown a keen interest in relations with Germany. Several of Sao Tome and Principe’s leaders – including former President Manuel Pinto da Costa – studied in the former GDR and have a strong affinity with Germany.

Bilateral relations are looked after by the German Embassy in Libreville, the capital of Gabon. Smaller projects in the areas of rural development and education are financed through the Embassy.

Agriculture (coffee, cocoa, cotton and palm oil) is the country’s most important economic activity. Fifty-five percent of the population are still subsisting below the breadline, on less than 3.65 US dollars per day. Ninety percent of the national budget is financed by international donor assistance (IMF, the World Bank, UNDP, the EU, Portugal, the United States, Brazil, France and the African Development Bank). The country’s most important trading partners are Portugal and Angola.

Economic relations between Germany and Sao Tome and Principe have not developed to any significant extent. There are no German firms based in the country.