Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome and Principe is 11.8% cheaper than Japan overall.

Restaurants: pay 46.0% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Groceries: pay 16.7% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Transportation: pay 29.9% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Housing: pay 33.4% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Childcare: pay 67.4% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.9% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Clothing: pay 26.3% less in Sao Tome and Principe

The cost of restaurants, transportation, and groceries in Sao Tome and Principe are more expensive than in Japan. Expenses including childcare, housing, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Sao Tome and Principe.

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Sao Tome and Principe vs. Japan Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 46.0% more for restaurants

	Japan	Sao Tome and Principe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.75 ¥1,066	$8.96 STD200K	+32.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.10 ¥805	$7.89 STD176K	+54.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.13 ¥179	$1.84 STD41,004	+62.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 ¥120	$1.25 STD27,770	+64.6%
Average			+46.0%

Japan vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.7% more for groceries

	Japan	Sao Tome and Principe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.53 ¥241	$1.00 STD22,187	-34.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.55 ¥877	$9.80 STD218K	+76.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.56 ¥879	$5.87 STD131K	+5.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.01 ¥318	$4.85 STD108K	+141.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.85 ¥450	$8.89 STD198K	+212.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.16 ¥342	$1.70 STD37,881	-21.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.08 ¥171	$0.79 STD17,644	-26.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.54 ¥243	$1.63 STD36,419	+6.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.92 ¥303	$1.57 STD34,958	-18.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.10 ¥174	$1.31 STD29,299	+19.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 ¥170	$1.08 STD23,986	+0.1%
Average			+16.7%

Japan vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.9% more for transportation

	Japan	Sao Tome and Principe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.11 ¥649	$6.46 STD144K	+57.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$63.20 ¥9,986	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,047.50 ¥3M	$24,634.18 STD549M	+17.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.65 ¥3,895	$22.43 STD500K	-9.0%
Average			+29.9%

Japan vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.4% less for housing

	Japan	Sao Tome and Principe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$33.54 ¥5,300	$66.91 STD1M	+99.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$546.58 ¥86,367	$284.91 STD6M	-47.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$360.78 ¥57,008	$195.02 STD4M	-45.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.26 ¥17,897	$174.83 STD4M	+54.4%
Average			-33.4%

Japan vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of housing

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pay 67.4% less for childcare

	Japan	Sao Tome and Principe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$417.01 ¥65,893	$228.62 STD5M	-45.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,300.14 ¥2M	$2,194.77 STD49M	-80.6%
Average			-67.4%

Japan vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Japan	Sao Tome and Principe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.57 ¥406	$1.70 STD37,799	-34.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 ¥483	$2.26 STD50,442	-25.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.83 ¥605	$2.26 STD50,420	-40.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$53.31 ¥8,424	$33.92 STD756K	-36.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.73 ¥1,853	$20.16 STD449K	+71.9%
Average			-15.9%

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

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pay 26.3% less for clothing

	Japan	Sao Tome and Principe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.32 ¥7,320	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.33 ¥4,950	$75.02 STD2M	+139.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.45 ¥9,394	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.04 ¥12,805	$18.36 STD409K	-77.3%
Average			-26.3%

Japan vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of clothing

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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: Japan vs. Sao Tome and Principe

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Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Be 3.7 times more likely to be unemployed in Sao Tome and Principe

Size Comparison · See true size

Japan is about 392 times bigger than Sao Tome and Principe.

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

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