Cost of living comparison

Botswana

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Botswana Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome and Principe is 27.9% more expensive than Botswana overall.

Restaurants: pay 25.3% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Groceries: pay 95.1% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Transportation: pay 22.2% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Housing: pay 8.8% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Childcare: pay 25.7% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.1% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Clothing: pay 2.5% more in Sao Tome and Principe

The cost of groceries, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, and housing in Sao Tome and Principe are more expensive than in Botswana. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Sao Tome and Principe.

Planning a move to Sao Tome and Principe? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Botswana Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 25.3% more for restaurants

	Botswana	Sao Tome and Principe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.85 BWP148.87	$8.96 STD200K	-17.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.79 BWP79.40	$7.89 STD176K	+36.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 BWP9.92	$1.84 STD41,004	+154.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 BWP5.71	$1.25 STD27,770	+199.7%
Average			+25.3%

Botswana vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 95.1% more for groceries

	Botswana	Sao Tome and Principe
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 BWP12.02	$1.00 STD22,187	+13.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.16 BWP43.42	$9.80 STD218K	+209.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.47 BWP75.12	$5.87 STD131K	+7.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 BWP33.83	$4.85 STD108K	+96.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.11 BWP28.88	$8.89 STD198K	+322.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.75 BWP10.31	$1.70 STD37,881	+126.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 BWP8.75	$0.79 STD17,644	+24.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 BWP12.38	$1.63 STD36,419	+81.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 BWP10.15	$1.57 STD34,958	+112.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 BWP7.97	$1.31 STD29,299	+126.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 BWP7.25	$1.08 STD23,986	+103.6%
Average			+95.1%

Botswana vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.2% more for transportation

	Botswana	Sao Tome and Principe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.15 BWP70.71	$6.46 STD144K	+25.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.66 BWP406.91	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,891.73 BWP273K	$24,634.18 STD549M	+23.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.87 BWP286.32	$22.43 STD500K	+7.5%
Average			+22.2%

Botswana vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.8% more for housing

	Botswana	Sao Tome and Principe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.10 BWP577.61	$66.91 STD1M	+58.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	$284.91 STD6M	-20.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	$195.02 STD4M	-11.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$45.63 BWP626.12	$174.83 STD4M	+283.1%
Average			+8.8%

Botswana vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.7% more for childcare

	Botswana	Sao Tome and Principe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	$228.62 STD5M	+79.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	$2,194.77 STD49M	-12.2%
Average			+25.7%

Botswana vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Botswana	Sao Tome and Principe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.99 BWP27.29	$1.70 STD37,799	-14.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.32 BWP31.83	$2.26 STD50,442	-2.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.62 BWP49.62	$2.26 STD50,420	-37.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.58 BWP460.78	$33.92 STD756K	+1.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.15 BWP84.36	$20.16 STD449K	+227.8%
Average			+24.1%

Botswana vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.5% more for clothing

	Botswana	Sao Tome and Principe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.53 BWP652.19	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.75 BWP229.75	$75.02 STD2M	+348.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.33 BWP992.46	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	$18.36 STD409K	-76.6%
Average			+2.5%

Botswana vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Botswana vs. Sao Tome and Principe

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Sao Tome and Principe?

Quality of Life Comparison · 16 statistics

Be 3.4 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Sao Tome and Principe

Size Comparison · See true size

Botswana is about 603 times bigger than Sao Tome and Principe.

Moving from Botswana to Sao Tome and Principe · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

More cost comparisons

Botswana vs.

South Africa

Botswana vs.

Zimbabwe

Botswana vs.

United Kingdom

Botswana vs.

Australia

Botswana vs.

Zambia

Botswana vs.

Canada

Botswana vs.

Namibia

Botswana vs.

Netherlands

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Gaborone vs. Sao Tome

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Botswana

Add prices for Sao Tome and Principe

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Sao Tome and Principe or Botswana. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.