Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Cameroon instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:
Health
be 10.5% less likely to be obese
In Sao Tome and Principe, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Cameroon, that number is 16.0% of people as of 2024.
live 5.9 years less
In Sao Tome and Principe, the average life expectancy is 70 years (66 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024. In Cameroon, that number is 64 years (62 years for men, 66 years for women) as of 2024.
see 30.7% less spent on your healthcare
Sao Tome and Principe spends $355 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Cameroon spends $246 as of 2023.
have 70.7% fewer doctors per person
Sao Tome and Principe has 4.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Cameroon has 1.4 as of 2022.
have 25.4% less access to essential health services
Sao Tome and Principe scores 59 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Cameroon scores 44 as of 2021.
be 9.9 times more likely to die by suicide
Sao Tome and Principe has a suicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Cameroon, it is 8.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 60.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Sao Tome and Principe, 9.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Cameroon, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
make 51.7% less money
Sao Tome and Principe has a GDP per capita of $4,084 as of 2025, while in Cameroon, the GDP per capita is $1,972 as of 2025.
Life
have 18.7% more children
In Sao Tome and Principe, there are approximately 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Cameroon, there are 33.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 3.4 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 75.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Cameroon, 258.0 women do as of 2023.
be 23.5% less likely to be literate
In Sao Tome and Principe, the literacy rate is 94.8% as of 2021. In Cameroon, it is 72.5% as of 2018.
be 4.4 times more likely to die during infancy
In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 9.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Cameroon, on the other hand, 40.2 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 11.4% less likely to have access to electricity
In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 81% of people have electricity access (82% in urban areas, and 70% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Cameroon, that number is 72% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 26% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 21.8% less likely to have internet access
In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 59.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Cameroon, about 46.3% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 43.5% less on education
Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Cameroon spends 2.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 21.1% less on healthcare
Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Cameroon, that number is 4.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 92.3% more coastline
Sao Tome and Principe has a total of 209 km of coastline. In Cameroon, that number is 402 km.
Infrastructure
live with 17.0% less strain on fresh water
Sao Tome and Principe withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Cameroon withdraws 2% as of 2022.
find 28.8% less home broadband
Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Cameroon has 2.1 as of 2022.
Environment
emit 44.4% less CO2
Sao Tome and Principe emits 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Cameroon emits 0.3 tonnes as of 2024.
be 18.8% more likely to die from air pollution
In Sao Tome and Principe, air pollution causes 85.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Cameroon, it causes 101.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Sao Tome and Principe vs. Cameroon
MORE COMPARISONS
Cameroon: At a glance
How big is Cameroon compared to Sao Tome and Principe? See an in-depth size comparison.