“São Tomé and Principe’s economic conditions are challenging. Long-standing socio-economic vulnerabilities were further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, persistent energy shortages, the floods at end-2021 and early-2022, and a sharp increase in global food and fuel prices. As a result, 2022 growth slowed to an estimated 0.9 percent, down from an average of about 4 percent in the previous few years. Inflation reached 25.6 percent year-on-year in January 2023. International reserves fell substantially.