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

Health

live 7.6 years longer

In Liberia, the average life expectancy is 62 years (61 years for men, 64 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 52.3% more spent on your healthcare

Liberia spends $233 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 2.6 times more doctors per person

Liberia has 1.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe has 4.6 as of 2022.

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have 31.1% more access to essential health services

Liberia scores 45 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 85.6% less likely to die by suicide

Liberia has a suicide rate of 6.0 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 4.5 times more money

Liberia has a GDP per capita of $915 as of 2025, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $4,084 as of 2025.

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be 3.2 times more likely to be unemployed

In Liberia, 2.9% 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 88.1% less likely to die during childbirth

In Liberia, approximately 628.0 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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be 85.4% less likely to die during infancy

In Liberia, approximately 63.2 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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Basic Needs

be 2.5 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Liberia, approximately 32% of people have electricity access (53% in urban areas, and 9% 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 83.4% more likely to have internet access

In Liberia, approximately 32.2% 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 55.6% less on healthcare

Liberia spends 13.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 5.8% of GDP as of 2023.

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spend 2.2 times more on education

Liberia spends 2.3% 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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Geography

see 63.9% less coastline

Liberia has a total of 579 km of coastline. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 209 km.

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Safety

be 23.5% less likely to die in a road accident

In Liberia, road accidents kill 15.3 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 11.1 times more home broadband

Liberia has 0.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 as of 2024.

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live with 7.2 times more strain on fresh water

Liberia withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe withdraws 2% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 41.7% more likely to die from air pollution

In Liberia, air pollution causes 60.0 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 4.2 times more CO2

Liberia emits 0.1 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 (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), 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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