If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of Saint Kitts and Nevis, you would:

Health

be 61.6% less likely to be obese

In Saint Kitts and Nevis, 46.7% 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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live 2.4 years less

In Saint Kitts and Nevis, the average life expectancy is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 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 81.7% less spent on your healthcare

Saint Kitts and Nevis spends $1,936 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 25.3% less access to essential health services

Saint Kitts and Nevis scores 79 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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Economy

make 83.8% less money

Saint Kitts and Nevis has a GDP per capita of $25,223 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 33.8% less likely to die during infancy

In Saint Kitts and Nevis, approximately 13.9 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.

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have 2.4 times more children

In Saint Kitts and Nevis, there are approximately 11.7 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.

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Basic Needs

be 18.7% less likely to have access to electricity

In Saint Kitts and Nevis, 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.

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be 23.1% less likely to have internet access

In Saint Kitts and Nevis, approximately 76.9% 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 43.7% more on education

Saint Kitts and Nevis spends 3.5% 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 54.8% more coastline

Saint Kitts and Nevis has a total of 135 km of coastline. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 209 km.

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Safety

be 49.4% less likely to die in a road accident

In Saint Kitts and Nevis, road accidents kill 23.1 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

live with 96.3% less strain on fresh water

Saint Kitts and Nevis withdraws 51% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe withdraws 2% as of 2022.

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find 93.6% less home broadband

Saint Kitts and Nevis has 46.7 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 as of 2024.

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Environment

emit 78.1% less CO2

Saint Kitts and Nevis emits 2.9 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 (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (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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