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

Health

be 17.9% less likely to be obese

In Solomon Islands, 21.8% 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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see 2.3 times more spent on your healthcare

Solomon Islands spends $153 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 95.0% more doctors per person

Solomon Islands has 2.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sao Tome and Principe has 4.6 as of 2022.

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have 25.5% more access to essential health services

Solomon Islands scores 47 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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be 95.6% less likely to die by suicide

Solomon Islands has a suicide rate of 19.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, it is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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live 0.8 years less

In Solomon Islands, the average life expectancy is 71 years (69 years for men, 72 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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Economy

make 95.8% more money

Solomon Islands has a GDP per capita of $2,086 as of 2025, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $4,084 as of 2025.

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be 6.4 times more likely to be unemployed

In Solomon Islands, 1.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 9.1% as of 2025.

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Life

be 39.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In Solomon Islands, approximately 123.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, 75.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 43.9% less likely to die during infancy

In Solomon Islands, approximately 16.4 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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Basic Needs

be 2.0 times more likely to have internet access

In Solomon Islands, approximately 29.0% 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 39.3% less on education

Solomon Islands spends 8.3% 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 96.1% less coastline

Solomon Islands has a total of 5,313 km of coastline. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 209 km.

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Safety

be 13.5% less likely to be murdered

Solomon Islands has a homicide rate of 3.7 per 100,000 people as of 2008. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 3.2 per 100,000 as of 2011.

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Infrastructure

find 27.2 times more home broadband

Solomon Islands has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 as of 2024.

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Environment

be 49.1% more likely to die from air pollution

In Solomon Islands, air pollution causes 57.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sao Tome and Principe, it causes 85.0 as of 2019.

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emit 65.8% more CO2

Solomon Islands emits 0.4 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 (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2008–2021), 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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