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

Health

live 3.3 years longer

In Kiribati, the average life expectancy is 67 years (65 years for men, 68 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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be 60.7% less likely to be obese

In Kiribati, 45.6% 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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have 22.9% more access to essential health services

Kiribati scores 48 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 95.1% less likely to die by suicide

Kiribati has a suicide rate of 17.5 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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see 11.4% less spent on your healthcare

Kiribati spends $401 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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Economy

make 59.6% more money

Kiribati has a GDP per capita of $2,559 as of 2025, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $4,084 as of 2025.

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Life

be 76.3% less likely to die during infancy

In Kiribati, approximately 38.8 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 11.0% more children

In Kiribati, there are approximately 25.3 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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Basic Needs

be 15.2% less likely to have access to electricity

In Kiribati, approximately 96% of people have electricity access (89% in urban areas, and 94% 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 33.9% less likely to have internet access

In Kiribati, approximately 89.4% 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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Expenditures

spend 69.3% less on education

Kiribati spends 16.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 47.3% less on healthcare

Kiribati spends 10.9% 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 81.7% less coastline

Kiribati has a total of 1,143 km of coastline. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 209 km.

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Safety

be 55.6% less likely to be murdered

Kiribati has a homicide rate of 7.2 per 100,000 people as of 2012. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 3.2 per 100,000 as of 2011.

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be 88.7% more likely to die in a road accident

In Kiribati, road accidents kill 6.2 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

find 99.7 times more home broadband

Kiribati has 0.0 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 73.5% more likely to die from air pollution

In Kiribati, air pollution causes 49.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sao Tome and Principe, it causes 85.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2011–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. 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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