Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Macau instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:
Health
live 13.4 years longer
In Sao Tome and Principe, the average life expectancy is 70 years (66 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024. In Macau, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.
Economy
be 74.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Sao Tome and Principe, 9.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Macau, that number is 2.4% as of 2025.
make 18.6 times more money
Sao Tome and Principe has a GDP per capita of $4,084 as of 2025, while in Macau, the GDP per capita is $75,902 as of 2025.
Life
be 50.1% less 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 Macau, on the other hand, 4.6 children do as of 2022.
have 81.1% fewer children
In Sao Tome and Principe, there are approximately 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Macau, there are 5.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 23.0% more 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 Macau, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 51.9% more likely to have internet access
In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 59.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Macau, about 89.8% do as of 2024.
be 28.3% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 78% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Macau, 100% of people do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 30.4% less on education
Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Macau spends 3.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 80.4% less coastline
Sao Tome and Principe has a total of 209 km of coastline. In Macau, that number is 41 km.
Infrastructure
find 10.0 times more home broadband
Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Macau has 29.9 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 4.0 times more CO2
Sao Tome and Principe emits 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Macau emits 2.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2023–2025), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Sao Tome and Principe vs. Macau
MORE COMPARISONS
Macau: At a glance
How big is Macau compared to Sao Tome and Principe? See an in-depth size comparison.