Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 98.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In South Africa, 19.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 0.3% of people as of 2020.

live 1.7 years longer

In South Africa, the average life expectancy is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 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.

be 56.2% less likely to be obese

In South Africa, 28.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 12.4% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 50.2% less likely to be unemployed

In South Africa, 28.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 14.3% as of 2022.

make 74.8% less money

South Africa has a GDP per capita of $13,500 as of 2022, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $3,400 as of 2022.

be 3.3 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In South Africa, 16.6% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Sao Tome and Principe, however, that number is 55.5% as of 2017.

Life

have 50.8% more children

In South Africa, there are approximately 17.7 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 71.6% more likely to die during infancy

In South Africa, approximately 25.9 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 12.2% less likely to have access to electricity

In South Africa, approximately 89% of people have electricity access (87% in urban areas, and 92% in rural areas) as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 78% of people on average (80% in urban areas, and 74% in rural areas) as of 2021.

be 29.2% less likely to have internet access

In South Africa, approximately 72.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, about 51.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 24.2% less on education

South Africa spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 43.0% less on healthcare

South Africa spends 8.6% 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 92.5% less coastline

South Africa has a total of 2,798 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 South Africa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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