Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in British Virgin Islands instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:

Health

live 12.6 years longer

In Sao Tome and Principe, the average life expectancy is 67 years (65 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2022. In British Virgin Islands, that number is 80 years (78 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 6.2 times more money

Sao Tome and Principe has a GDP per capita of $5,500 as of 2023, while in British Virgin Islands, the GDP per capita is $34,200 as of 2017.

be 79.6% less likely to be unemployed

In Sao Tome and Principe, 14.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In British Virgin Islands, that number is 2.9% as of 2015.

Life

be 68.1% less likely to die during infancy

In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 44.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In British Virgin Islands, on the other hand, 14.2 children do as of 2022.

have 59.2% fewer children

In Sao Tome and Principe, there are approximately 26.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In British Virgin Islands, there are 10.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 28.2% more likely to have access to electricity

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

be 52.4% more likely to have internet access

In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 51.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In British Virgin Islands, about 77.7% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 48.0% less on education

Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. British Virgin Islands spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 61.7% less coastline

Sao Tome and Principe has a total of 209 km of coastline. In British Virgin Islands, that number is 80 km.

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

British Virgin Islands: At a glance

British Virgin Islands (sometimes abbreviated BVI) is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 151 sq km. First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.
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How big is British Virgin Islands compared to Sao Tome and Principe? See an in-depth size comparison.

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