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

Health

be 46.8% less likely to be obese

In Libya, 33.7% 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 82.8% less likely to die by suicide

Libya has a suicide rate of 5.0 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 1.2 years less

In Libya, the average life expectancy is 71 years (70 years for men, 73 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 66.4% less spent on your healthcare

Libya spends $1,055 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sao Tome and Principe spends $355 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 51.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Libya, 18.8% 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 36.7% less money

Libya has a GDP per capita of $6,449 as of 2025, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $4,084 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

have 70.2% more children

In Libya, there are approximately 16.5 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 27.1% more likely to die during childbirth

In Libya, approximately 59.0 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 16.5% more likely to die during infancy

In Libya, approximately 7.9 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 11.1% more likely to have access to electricity

In Libya, approximately 73% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 96% 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 27.9% less likely to have internet access

In Libya, approximately 82.0% 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 19.1% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Libya, approximately 96% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, 78% of people do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 26.1% less on healthcare

Libya spends 7.8% 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 →

Geography

see 88.2% less coastline

Libya has a total of 1,770 km of coastline. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 209 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 65.6% less likely to die in a road accident

In Libya, road accidents kill 34.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, they kill 11.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

live with 99.8% less strain on fresh water

Libya withdraws 817% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe withdraws 2% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

find 33.8% less home broadband

Libya has 4.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Environment

emit 92.7% less CO2

Libya emits 8.7 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 57.4% more likely to die from air pollution

In Libya, air pollution causes 54.0 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 (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), 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.
Read more

How big is Sao Tome and Principe compared to Libya? 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 Libya. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.