Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of Belgium, you would:

Health

be 43.9% less likely to be obese

In Belgium, 22.1% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 12.4% of people as of 2016.

live 14.8 years less

In Belgium, the average life expectancy is 82 years (79 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 67 years (65 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 91.4% less money

Belgium has a GDP per capita of $63,600 as of 2023, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $5,500 as of 2023.

be 2.6 times more likely to be unemployed

In Belgium, 5.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 14.2% as of 2023.

be 4.5 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Belgium, 12.3% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Sao Tome and Principe, however, that number is 55.5% as of 2017.

Life

have 2.5 times more children

In Belgium, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, there are 26.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 29.2 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Belgium, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sao Tome and Principe, 146.0 women do as of 2020.

be 13.9 times more likely to die during infancy

In Belgium, approximately 3.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Sao Tome and Principe, on the other hand, 44.4 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 22.0% less likely to have access to electricity

In Belgium, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Sao Tome and Principe, 78% of the population do as of 2022.

be 44.0% less likely to have internet access

In Belgium, approximately 91.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, about 51.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 25.4% less on education

Belgium spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 55.9% less on healthcare

Belgium spends 11.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 4.9% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 3.1 times more coastline

Belgium has a total of 66 km of coastline. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 209 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Sao Tome and Principe: At a glance

Sao Tome and Principe is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 964 sq km. Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with African plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. While independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The country held its first free elections in 1991, but frequent internal wrangling between the various political parties precipitated repeated changes in leadership and two failed coup attempts in 1995 and 2003. In 2012, three opposition parties combined in a no confidence vote to bring down the majority government of former Prime Minister Patrice TROVOADA. The new government of Prime Minister Gabriel Arcanjo Ferreira DA COSTA is entirely composed of opposition party members with limited experience in governance. New oil discoveries in the Gulf of Guinea may attract increased attention to the small island nation.
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How big is Sao Tome and Principe compared to Belgium? See an in-depth size comparison.

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