Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 1.8 years less

In Sao Tome and Principe, the average life expectancy is 67 years (65 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2022. In Djibouti, that number is 65 years (63 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 18.2% more money

Sao Tome and Principe has a GDP per capita of $5,500 as of 2023, while in Djibouti, the GDP per capita is $6,500 as of 2023.

be 62.0% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Sao Tome and Principe, 55.5% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Djibouti, however, that number is 21.1% as of 2017.

be 84.8% more likely to be unemployed

In Sao Tome and Principe, 14.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Djibouti, that number is 26.3% as of 2023.

Life

be 60.3% more likely to die during childbirth

In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 146.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Djibouti, 234.0 women do as of 2020.

have 18.4% fewer children

In Sao Tome and Principe, there are approximately 26.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Djibouti, there are 21.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 35.3% more likely to have internet access

In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 51.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Djibouti, about 69.0% do as of 2021.

be 16.7% less likely to have access to electricity

In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 78% of people have electricity access (80% in urban areas, and 74% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Djibouti, that number is 65% of people on average (54% in urban areas, and 36% in rural areas) as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 28.0% less on education

Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Djibouti spends 3.6% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

spend 59.2% less on healthcare

Sao Tome and Principe spends 4.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Djibouti, that number is 2.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 50.2% more coastline

Sao Tome and Principe has a total of 209 km of coastline. In Djibouti, that number is 314 km.

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

Djibouti: At a glance

Djibouti is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 23,180 sq km. The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. Hassan Gouled APTIDON installed an authoritarian one-party state and proceeded to serve as president until 1999. Unrest among the Afar minority during the 1990s led to a civil war that ended in 2001 with a peace accord between Afar rebels and the Somali Issa-dominated government. In 1999, Djibouti's first multiparty presidential elections resulted in the election of Ismail Omar GUELLEH as president; he was reelected to a second term in 2005 and extended his tenure in office via a constitutional amendment, which allowed him to begin a third term in 2011. Djibouti occupies a strategic geographic location at the intersection of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and serves as an important shipping portal for goods entering and leaving the east African highlands and transshipments between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The government holds longstanding ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country, and has strong ties with the United States. Djibouti hosts several thousand members of US armed services at US-run Camp Lemonnier.
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How big is Djibouti compared to Sao Tome and Principe? See an in-depth size comparison.

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