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

Health

be 37.8% less likely to be obese

In Sao Tome and Principe, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Haiti, that number is 11.1% of people as of 2024.

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live 4.8 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 Haiti, that number is 65 years (62 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 70.5% less spent on your healthcare

Sao Tome and Principe spends $355 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Haiti spends $105 as of 2023.

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have 37.1% fewer doctors per person

Sao Tome and Principe has 4.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Haiti has 2.9 as of 2022.

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be 9.1 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 Haiti, it is 7.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 63.6% more likely to be unemployed

In Sao Tome and Principe, 9.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Haiti, that number is 14.9% as of 2025.

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make 34.0% less money

Sao Tome and Principe has a GDP per capita of $4,084 as of 2025, while in Haiti, the GDP per capita is $2,694 as of 2025.

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Life

be 4.4 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 Haiti, 328.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 4.2 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 Haiti, on the other hand, 39.0 children do as of 2024.

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have 21.9% fewer children

In Sao Tome and Principe, there are approximately 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Haiti, there are 21.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 36.9% 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 Haiti, that number is 51% of people on average (84% in urban areas, and 3% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 19.0% less likely to have internet access

In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 59.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Haiti, about 47.9% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 80.9% less on education

Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Haiti spends 1.0% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 44.7% less on healthcare

Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Haiti, that number is 3.2% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 8.5 times more coastline

Sao Tome and Principe has a total of 209 km of coastline. In Haiti, that number is 1,771 km.

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Safety

be 2.7 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Sao Tome and Principe, road accidents kill 11.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Haiti, they kill 31.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 89.6% less home broadband

Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Haiti has 0.3 as of 2022.

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live with 7.1 times more strain on fresh water

Sao Tome and Principe withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Haiti withdraws 13% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 41.2% less 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 Haiti, it causes 50.0 as of 2019.

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emit 52.4% less CO2

Sao Tome and Principe emits 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Haiti emits 0.3 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Haiti: At a glance

Haiti is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 27,560 sq km. The native Taino - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first post-colonial black-led nation in the world, declaring its independence in 1804. Currently the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has experienced political instability for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the forced resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE in February 2004, an interim government took office to organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations. Continued instability and technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti inaugurated a democratically elected president and parliament in May of 2006. This was followed by contested elections in 2010 that resulted in the election of Haiti's current President, Michel MARTELLY. A massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 with an epicenter about 25 km (15 mi) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Estimates are that over 300,000 people were killed and some 1.5 million left homeless. The earthquake was assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years.
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