Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of Nicaragua, you would:
Health
be 48.7% less likely to be obese
In Nicaragua, 34.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 17.9% of people as of 2024.
be 79.7% less likely to die by suicide
Nicaragua has a suicide rate of 4.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, it is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 5.2 years less
In Nicaragua, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 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 48.4% less spent on your healthcare
Nicaragua spends $689 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sao Tome and Principe spends $355 as of 2023.
have 15.7% less access to essential health services
Nicaragua scores 70 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sao Tome and Principe scores 59 as of 2021.
Economy
make 28.7% more money
Nicaragua has a GDP per capita of $3,173 as of 2025, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $4,084 as of 2025.
be 81.2% more likely to be unemployed
In Nicaragua, 5.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 9.1% as of 2025.
be 2.2 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Nicaragua, 24.9% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Sao Tome and Principe, however, that number is 55.5% as of 2017.
Life
have 46.8% more children
In Nicaragua, there are approximately 19.1 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 25.0% more likely to die during childbirth
In Nicaragua, approximately 60.0 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.
Expenditures
spend 30.5% less on healthcare
Nicaragua spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 5.8% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 75.3% more on education
Nicaragua spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 77.0% less coastline
Nicaragua has a total of 910 km of coastline. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 209 km.
Safety
be 14.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Nicaragua, road accidents kill 13.6 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 15.3% less strain on fresh water
Nicaragua withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe withdraws 2% as of 2022.
find 48.3% less home broadband
Nicaragua has 5.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 24.1% less CO2
Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.2 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Nicaragua, air pollution causes 38.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sao Tome and Principe, it causes 85.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2016–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Nicaragua vs. Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe: At a glance
How big is Sao Tome and Principe compared to Nicaragua? See an in-depth size comparison.