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

Health

be 25.7% less likely to be obese

In Albania, 24.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 17.9% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 68.7% less likely to die by suicide

Albania has a suicide rate of 2.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, it is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

live 9.9 years less

In Albania, the average life expectancy is 80 years (78 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 70 years (66 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 75.8% less spent on your healthcare

Albania spends $1,465 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sao Tome and Principe spends $355 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 75.3% fewer doctors per person

Albania has 18.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Sao Tome and Principe has 4.6 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 16.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Albania, 10.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 9.1% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

make 68.6% less money

Albania has a GDP per capita of $12,998 as of 2025, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $4,084 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

have 2.8 times more children

In Albania, there are approximately 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, there are 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 10.7 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Albania, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, 75.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 10.8% more likely to die during infancy

In Albania, approximately 8.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, on the other hand, 9.2 children do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 18.7% less likely to have access to electricity

In Albania, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 81% of people on average (82% in urban areas, and 70% in rural areas) as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 31.1% less likely to have internet access

In Albania, approximately 85.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, about 59.1% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 18.0% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Albania, approximately 95% of people have access to drinking water (96% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 78% of people on average (79% in urban areas, and 73% in rural areas) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 18.2% less on healthcare

Albania spends 7.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 5.8% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

spend 62.8% more on education

Albania spends 3.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 42.3% less coastline

Albania has a total of 362 km of coastline. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 209 km.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

live with 60.8% less strain on fresh water

Albania withdraws 5% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe withdraws 2% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

find 88.0% less home broadband

Albania has 24.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Environment

emit 64.8% less CO2

Albania emits 1.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 44.1% more likely to die from air pollution

In Albania, air pollution causes 59.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sao Tome and Principe, it causes 85.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this

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.
Read more

How big is Sao Tome and Principe compared to Albania? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Sao Tome and Principe or Albania. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.