Country Foundations

Sao Tome and Principe

Constitution in force since 1975, 7,988 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
88%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
73%
mean across compared rights
Gap
−15%
delivers less than promised
Executive respects constitution
65%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 75%, gap −25%Right to life100%75%−25%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 91%, gap −9%Freedom from torture100%91%−9%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 0%, practiced 86%, gap +86%Freedom from slavery and forced labour0%86%+86%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 66%, gap −34%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%66%−34%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 33%, practiced 67%, gap +34%Right to a fair and public trial33%67%+34%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 69%, gap −31%Due process of law100%69%−31%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Freedom of expression100%72%−28%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 70%, gap −30%Freedom of the press100%70%−30%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 77%, gap −23%Freedom of thought and conscience100%77%−23%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Freedom of religion100%85%−15%Separation of religion and state — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure100%——Academic freedom — declared 100%, practiced 73%, gap −27%Academic freedom100%73%−27%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 70%, gap −30%Freedom of assembly100%70%−30%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 75%, gap −25%Freedom of association100%75%−25%Right to petition government — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure100%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 100%, practiced 65%, gap −35%Right to form and join trade unions100%65%−35%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 88%, gap +38%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%88%+38%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 94%, gap −6%Right to privacy100%94%−6%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 93%, gap −7%Freedom of movement100%93%−7%Right to asylum — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure100%——Right to own property — declared 50%, practiced 80%, gap +30%Right to own property50%80%+30%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 77%, gap −23%Equality before the law100%77%−23%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 51%, gap −49%Right to education100%51%−49%Right to health care — declared 100%, practiced 53%, gap −47%Right to health care100%53%−47%Right to shelter or housing — declared 100%, practiced 39%, gap −61%Right to shelter or housing100%39%−61%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 69%, gap −31%Independent judiciary100%69%−31%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
05010019801990200020102020

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1975–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Right to life −25%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −34%
  • Due process of law −31%
  • Freedom of expression −28%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour +86%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 2017
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 2017
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 2017
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 2003
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 2017
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1991
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2015
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)no action
Migrant Workers (ICMW)ratified 2017

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.