Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of Swaziland, you would:
Health
live 5.6 years longer
In Swaziland, the average life expectancy is 64 years (61 years for men, 67 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.
be 39.5% less likely to be obese
In Swaziland, 29.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 17.9% of people as of 2024.
be 96.8% less likely to die by suicide
Swaziland has a suicide rate of 27.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, it is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 61.5% less spent on your healthcare
Swaziland spends $922 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sao Tome and Principe spends $355 as of 2023.
have 16.7% fewer doctors per person
Swaziland has 5.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sao Tome and Principe has 4.6 as of 2022.
Economy
be 73.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Swaziland, 34.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 9.1% as of 2025.
Life
be 36.4% less likely to die during childbirth
In Swaziland, approximately 118.0 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.
be 78.2% less likely to die during infancy
In Swaziland, approximately 42.2 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.
have 18.8% more children
In Swaziland, there are approximately 23.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, there are 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 16.6% less on education
Swaziland spends 6.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 23.1% less on healthcare
Swaziland spends 7.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 5.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 52.6% less likely to die in a road accident
In Swaziland, road accidents kill 24.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, they kill 11.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 19.1% more home broadband
Swaziland has 2.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe has 3.0 as of 2024.
live with 97.6% less strain on fresh water
Swaziland withdraws 78% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sao Tome and Principe withdraws 2% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 28.4% less CO2
Swaziland emits 0.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sao Tome and Principe emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 28.8% more likely to die from air pollution
In Swaziland, air pollution causes 66.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sao Tome and Principe, it causes 85.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Swaziland vs. Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe: At a glance
How big is Sao Tome and Principe compared to Swaziland? See an in-depth size comparison.