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

Health

live 2.6 years longer

In Western Sahara, the average life expectancy is 64 years (62 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2020. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 67 years (65 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 2.2 times more money

Western Sahara has a GDP per capita of $2,500 as of 2007, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $5,500 as of 2023.

Geography

see 81.2% less coastline

Western Sahara has a total of 1,110 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 Western Sahara? See an in-depth size comparison.

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