Cost of living comparison

Sao Tome and Principe

compared to

China

China vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost of Living Summary

China is 25.7% cheaper than Sao Tome and Principe overall.

Restaurants: pay 59.8% less in China
Groceries: pay 51.4% less in China
Transportation: pay 37.5% less in China
Housing: pay 18.0% less in China
Childcare: pay 4.3 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.3% less in China
Clothing: pay 39.5% more in China

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

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China vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 59.8% less for restaurants

	Sao Tome and Principe	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 STD200K	$3.02 CN¥20.18	-66.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.89 STD176K	$5.16 CN¥34.52	-34.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.84 STD41,004	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-72.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 STD27,770	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-76.3%
Average			-59.8%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.4% less for groceries

	Sao Tome and Principe	China
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 STD22,187	$1.66 CN¥11.09	+66.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.80 STD218K	$6.71 CN¥44.88	-31.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.87 STD131K	$6.65 CN¥44.53	+13.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.85 STD108K	$1.57 CN¥10.47	-67.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$8.89 STD198K	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-82.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.70 STD37,881	$0.83 CN¥5.55	-51.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 STD17,644	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-26.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 STD36,419	$0.67 CN¥4.46	-59.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.57 STD34,958	$0.58 CN¥3.90	-62.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.31 STD29,299	$0.33 CN¥2.18	-75.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 STD23,986	$0.40 CN¥2.67	-62.9%
Average			-51.4%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.5% less for transportation

	Sao Tome and Principe	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.46 STD144K	$4.77 CN¥31.92	-26.1%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$20.77 CN¥138.99
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,634.18 STD549M	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	-23.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.43 STD500K	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-81.1%
Average			-37.5%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.0% less for housing

	Sao Tome and Principe	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.91 STD1M	$11.27 CN¥75.42	-83.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$284.91 STD6M	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	+18.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$195.02 STD4M	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	+9.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$174.83 STD4M	$42.92 CN¥287.14	-75.5%
Average			-18.0%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 4.3 times more for childcare

	Sao Tome and Principe	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$228.62 STD5M	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	+118.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,194.77 STD49M	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+761.5%
Average			+334.3%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Sao Tome and Principe	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.70 STD37,799	$1.12 CN¥7.52	-33.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.26 STD50,442	$2.84 CN¥19.00	+25.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.26 STD50,420	$3.71 CN¥24.79	+63.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.92 STD756K	$41.75 CN¥279.37	+23.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$20.16 STD449K	$6.28 CN¥41.99	-68.9%
Average			-20.3%

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

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pay 39.5% more for clothing

	Sao Tome and Principe	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$46.40 CN¥310.43
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.02 STD2M	$33.97 CN¥227.29	-54.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$73.79 CN¥493.72
Men's business shoes (leather)	$18.36 STD409K	$78.93 CN¥528.10	+329.8%
Average			+39.5%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. China - 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: Sao Tome and Principe vs. China

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Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

Sao Tome and Principe is about 9,955 times smaller than China.

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

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