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Africa: São Toméans Support Free Movement Across Borders, but Many Say Crossing Them Is Difficult

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Africa: São Toméans Support Free Movement Across Borders, but Many Say Crossing Them Is Difficult


More than two-thirds of citizens say they have considered moving abroad.

Key findings

  • A majority (61%) of São Toméans say that people in the subregion should be able to move freely across international borders in order to trade or work in other countries.
  • o Six in 10 respondents (59%) say that in practice, crossing international borders is “difficult” or “very difficult.”
  • o Only 12% of São Toméans say they have heard of the AfCFTA.
  • More than two-thirds (68%) of citizens see immigrants’ economic impact on São Tomé and Príncipe as positive.
  • Majorities say they wouldn’t mind or would like living next door to immigrants (89%) and refugees (63%).
  • Even so, almost half (45%) of São Toméans say the government should reduce the number of foreign job seekers it allows to enter the country (34%) or eliminate such immigration altogether (11%).
  • o A greater majority (74%) favour reducing (38%) or eliminating (36%) entry by refugees.
  • More than two-thirds (68%) of respondents say they have considered leaving São Tomé and Príncipe, including 31% who have thought about it “a lot.”
  • o Interest in emigration is highest among citizens with post-secondary education (84%), youth (75%), economically well-off people (74%), the unemployed who are searching for jobs (73%), and urbanites (71%).
  • The most common reasons cited by potential emigrants are finding better work opportunities (67%) and escaping economic hardship (20%).
  • The most popular destination among potential emigrants is Europe (81%). Freedom of movement is a basic human right, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 13 allows for all human beings to travel across borders, while Article 14 provides for anyone to seek refuge from persecution (United Nations General Assembly, 1948). What do São Toméans think about the free movement of people in the region?


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Migration is a defining feature of life in São Tomé and Príncipe, a small island nation of about 228,000 people where movement abroad is deeply woven into household strategy and national identity. An estimated 18% of São Toméans live outside the country, a figure likely understated given data gaps and the introduction of a 2022 mobility agreement among Community of Portuguese Language Countries members that has eased migration to Portugal, home to roughly half the diaspora (Monslave Morteil, Kroll, Barros Barbosa, Mawete, & Boly, 2024). By contrast, the number of people migrating into São Tomé and Príncipe is small: Just 2,139 foreigners were legally resident in the country as of 2020, most hailing from Cabo Verde, Angola, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Portugal (Integral Human Development, 2023).

Despite the size of its diaspora, São Tomé and Príncipe captures only limited economic benefit from it. Remittances remain low due to precarious employment abroad (Monslave Morteil et al., 2024). This dynamic sharpens the stakes of migration decisions for families who depend on relatives overseas, even as limited job opportunities at home continue to push citizens to look abroad.

As a member of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), São Tomé and Príncipe belongs to a regional bloc committed to free cross-border movement, though implementation has lagged across the region (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, n.d.). Notably, the country is among only a handful of African Union member states to have ratified the continental Free Movement of Persons Protocol, putting it ahead of most peers in formal commitment even as practical mobility barriers persist (Okunade, 2021).

Afrobarometer’s Round 10 survey sought ordinary São Toméans’ perspectives on migration. A majority of respondents support free cross-border movement within the subregion for trade and work, though many say that crossing international borders is difficult in practice. Few are aware of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).