Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Papua New Guinea Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome and Principe is 0.8% cheaper than Papua New Guinea overall.

Restaurants: pay 91.4% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Groceries: pay 16.3% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Transportation: pay 51.7% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Housing: pay 70.8% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.8% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Clothing: pay 80.4% less in Sao Tome and Principe

The cost of restaurants, transportation, and groceries in Sao Tome and Principe are more expensive than in Papua New Guinea. Expenses including clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Sao Tome and Principe. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Sao Tome and Principe.

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Papua New Guinea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of Papua New Guinea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 91.4% more for restaurants

	Papua New Guinea	Sao Tome and Principe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.87 PGK75.83	$29.20 STD650,623	+63.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.92 PGK25.13	$11.68 STD260,249	+97.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 PGK3.41	$1.92 STD42,768	+139.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 PGK2.99	$1.17 STD26,025	+65.8%
Average			+91.4%

Papua New Guinea vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.3% more for groceries

	Papua New Guinea	Sao Tome and Principe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.55 PGK6.59	$1.08 STD24,088	-30.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.60 PGK15.29	$10.22 STD227,718	+183.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.76 PGK32.93	$5.97 STD132,995	-23.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.00 PGK16.99	$5.09 STD113,503	+27.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.63 PGK15.41	$9.27 STD206,583	+155.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.99 PGK8.44	$2.12 STD47,219	+6.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 PGK5.61	$0.53 STD11,805	-59.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.73 PGK11.60	$1.85 STD41,316	-32.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.62 PGK6.89	$1.59 STD35,414	-2.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.58 PGK6.71	$1.19 STD26,561	-24.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.18 PGK5.01	$0.93 STD20,658	-21.5%
Average			+16.3%

Papua New Guinea vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of groceries

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pay 51.7% more for transportation

	Papua New Guinea	Sao Tome and Principe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.22 PGK17.89	$6.40 STD142,518	+51.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.69 PGK100.53	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,387.96 PGK94,999.61	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.88 PGK105.56	??
Average			+51.7%

Papua New Guinea vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of transportation

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pay 70.8% less for housing

	Papua New Guinea	Sao Tome and Principe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$165.84 PGK703.70	$72.42 STD1,613,544	-56.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,652.44 PGK11,255.17	$350.40 STD7,807,473	-86.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$758.54 PGK3,218.75	$233.60 STD5,204,982	-69.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.08 PGK339.79	??
Average			-70.8%

Papua New Guinea vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Papua New Guinea	Sao Tome and Principe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$631.76 PGK2,680.77	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,968.24 PGK16,838.56	??

Papua New Guinea vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Papua New Guinea	Sao Tome and Principe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.98 PGK12.63	$1.67 STD37,216	-43.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.56 PGK10.85	$2.34 STD52,050	-8.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.96 PGK29.52	$2.34 STD52,050	-66.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$73.52 PGK311.97	$37.38 STD832,797	-49.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.30 PGK43.71	$21.02 STD468,448	+104.1%
Average			-12.8%

Papua New Guinea vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 80.4% less for clothing

	Papua New Guinea	Sao Tome and Principe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$31.15 PGK132.20	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.48 PGK154.81	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.40 PGK324.21	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.73 PGK414.68	$19.16 STD426,809	-80.4%
Average			-80.4%

Papua New Guinea vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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