Cost of living comparison

 Sao Tome and Principe
compared to
 Japan
Japan vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 71.2% more expensive than Sao Tome and Principe overall.

Restaurants
pay 47.0% less in Japan
Groceries
pay 14.5% more in Japan
Transportation
pay 26.4% less in Japan
Housing
pay 53.7% more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 67.6% more in Japan
Clothing
pay 4.6 times more in Japan

The cost of clothing, entertainment and sports, housing, and groceries in Japan are more expensive than in Sao Tome and Principe. Expenses including restaurants and transportation are lower in Japan. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Japan.

Japan vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost Breakdown

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

pay 47.0% less for restaurants

 
Sao Tome and Principe
Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.76
STD417,914
$6.44
¥957
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.11
STD202,987
$4.94
¥734
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.76
STD39,244
$0.97
¥144

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pay 14.5% more for groceries

 
Sao Tome and Principe
Japan
Bread
1 loaf
$0.95
STD21,104
$1.52
¥226
Local cheese (8 oz) $9.38
STD208,957
$5.72
¥850
Milk (1 gallon) $4.73
STD105,465
$5.46
¥811

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pay 26.4% less for transportation

 
Sao Tome and Principe
Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.74
STD127,914
$4.22
¥628
Monthly public transit pass ?? $57.82
¥8,593
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $22,042.19
¥3,276,241

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pay 53.7% more for housing

 
Sao Tome and Principe
Japan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $31.09
¥4,621
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $321.53
STD7,164,243
$500.38
¥74,374
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $214.35
STD4,776,162
$325.42
¥48,368

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Sao Tome and Principe
Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $288.10
¥42,822
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $11,095.30
¥1,649,151

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pay 67.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Sao Tome and Principe
Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.09
STD24,239
$2.71
¥402
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.61
STD35,821
$2.78
¥413
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.14
STD47,762
$3.98
¥592

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pay 4.6 times more for clothing

 
Sao Tome and Principe
Japan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $40.54
¥6,026
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $26.82
¥3,986
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $54.08
¥8,038

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: March 2025
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