Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
be 45.2% less likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 17.9% of people as of 2024.
be 89.3% less likely to die by suicide
Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, it is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 11.1 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 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.
see 81.6% less spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sao Tome and Principe spends $355 as of 2023.
have 82.7% fewer doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe has 4.6 as of 2022.
have 27.2% less access to essential health services
Costa Rica scores 81 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sao Tome and Principe scores 59 as of 2021.
Economy
be 33.5% more likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 9.1% as of 2025.
make 79.5% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $4,084 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.8 times more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 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.
be 3.1 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Costa Rica, approximately 24.0 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.
Basic Needs
be 18.7% less likely to have access to electricity
In Costa Rica, 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.
be 32.2% less likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 87.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, about 59.1% do as of 2024.
be 21.9% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Costa Rica, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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.
Expenditures
spend 16.0% less on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 5.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 83.8% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 209 km.
Safety
be 24.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, they kill 11.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 68.0% less strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe withdraws 2% as of 2022.
find 87.2% less home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 61.3% less CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 5.7 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Costa Rica, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sao Tome and Principe, it causes 85.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe: At a glance
How big is Sao Tome and Principe compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.