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

Health

be 59.2% less likely to be obese

In Egypt, 43.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 17.9% of people as of 2024.

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live 1.9 years less

In Egypt, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 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.

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see 60.8% less spent on your healthcare

Egypt spends $905 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sao Tome and Principe spends $355 as of 2023.

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have 30.8% fewer doctors per person

Egypt has 6.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Sao Tome and Principe has 4.6 as of 2022.

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have 15.7% less access to essential health services

Egypt scores 70 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sao Tome and Principe scores 59 as of 2021.

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be 36.5% more likely to die by suicide

Egypt has a suicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, it is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

make 32.4% more money

Egypt has a GDP per capita of $3,086 as of 2025, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $4,084 as of 2025.

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be 34.7% more likely to be unemployed

In Egypt, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 9.1% as of 2025.

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Life

be 19.3% more likely to be literate

In Egypt, the literacy rate is 79.5% as of 2022. In Sao Tome and Principe, it is 94.8% as of 2021.

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be 55.8% less likely to die during infancy

In Egypt, approximately 20.8 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.

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have 34.3% more children

In Egypt, there are approximately 20.9 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.

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be 4.4 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Egypt, approximately 17.0 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.

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Basic Needs

be 18.7% less likely to have access to electricity

In Egypt, 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.

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be 20.8% less likely to have internet access

In Egypt, approximately 74.7% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, about 59.1% do as of 2024.

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be 19.9% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Egypt, approximately 97% of people have access to drinking water (99% in urban areas, and 96% 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.

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Expenditures

spend 2.0 times more on education

Egypt spends 2.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 18.2% more on healthcare

Egypt spends 4.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 5.8% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 91.5% less coastline

Egypt has a total of 2,450 km of coastline. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 209 km.

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Safety

be 24.5% more likely to die in a road accident

In Egypt, road accidents kill 9.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, they kill 11.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 98.7% less strain on fresh water

Egypt withdraws 141% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe withdraws 2% as of 2022.

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find 74.4% less home broadband

Egypt has 11.7 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 as of 2024.

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Environment

be 19.0% less likely to die from air pollution

In Egypt, air pollution causes 105.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sao Tome and Principe, it causes 85.0 as of 2019.

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emit 74.8% less CO2

Egypt emits 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2020–2021), World Health Organization (2024). 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.
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