Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:
Health
be 63.7 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Sao Tome and Principe, 0.3% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In South Africa, that number is 19.1% of people as of 2020.
live 1.7 years less
In Sao Tome and Principe, the average life expectancy is 67 years (65 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2022. In South Africa, that number is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2022.
be 2.3 times more likely to be obese
In Sao Tome and Principe, 12.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Africa, that number is 28.3% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 2.8 times more money
Sao Tome and Principe has a GDP per capita of $4,100 as of 2020, while in South Africa, the GDP per capita is $11,500 as of 2020.
be 75.1% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sao Tome and Principe, 66.7% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In South Africa, however, that number is 16.6% as of 2016.
be 2.3 times more likely to be unemployed
In Sao Tome and Principe, 12.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In South Africa, that number is 28.5% as of 2019.
Life
be 41.7% less likely to die during infancy
In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 44.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In South Africa, on the other hand, 25.9 children do as of 2022.
have 34.2% fewer children
In Sao Tome and Principe, there are approximately 28.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Africa, there are 18.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 32.4% more likely to have access to electricity
In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 71% of people have electricity access (87% in urban areas, and 25% in rural areas) as of 2019. In South Africa, that number is 94% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 92% in rural areas) as of 2019.
be 2.1 times more likely to have internet access
In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 33.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In South Africa, about 70.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 15.3% more on education
Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. South Africa spends 6.8% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 65.5% more on healthcare
Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In South Africa, that number is 9.1% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 13.4 times more coastline
Sao Tome and Principe has a total of 209 km of coastline. In South Africa, that number is 2,798 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
South Africa: At a glance
How big is South Africa compared to Sao Tome and Principe? See an in-depth size comparison.