Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of Palau, you would:
Health
be 55.8% less likely to be obese
In Palau, 40.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 17.9% of people as of 2024.
see 80.9% less spent on your healthcare
Palau spends $1,857 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sao Tome and Principe spends $355 as of 2023.
have 74.3% fewer doctors per person
Palau has 18.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sao Tome and Principe has 4.6 as of 2022.
Economy
make 79.1% less money
Palau has a GDP per capita of $19,532 as of 2025, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $4,084 as of 2025.
Life
be 15.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In Palau, approximately 89.0 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.
be 50.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Palau, approximately 18.6 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.
have 2.6 times more children
In Palau, there are approximately 10.7 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.
Basic Needs
be 18.7% less likely to have access to electricity
In Palau, 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.
be 29.6% less likely to have internet access
In Palau, approximately 83.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, about 59.1% do as of 2024.
be 21.7% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Palau, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 99% 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.
Expenditures
spend 46.8% less on healthcare
Palau spends 10.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 5.8% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 46.2% more on education
Palau spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 86.2% less coastline
Palau has a total of 1,519 km of coastline. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 209 km.
Safety
be 47.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In Palau, road accidents kill 22.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, they kill 11.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 59.2% less home broadband
Palau has 7.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 99.2% less CO2
Palau emits 82.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Palau vs. Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe: At a glance
How big is Sao Tome and Principe compared to Palau? See an in-depth size comparison.