Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 73.2% more expensive than Sao Tome and Principe overall.

Restaurants: pay 45.7% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 39.7% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 31.2% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 6.0% more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.4% more in South Korea
Clothing: pay 5.4 times more in South Korea

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

South Korea vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 45.7% less for restaurants

	Sao Tome and Principe	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$29.20 STD650,623	$6.72 ₩9,907	-77.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.68 STD260,249	$5.50 ₩8,102	-52.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.92 STD42,768	$1.47 ₩2,161	-23.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 STD26,025	$0.82 ₩1,216	-29.4%
Average			-45.7%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 39.7% more for groceries

	Sao Tome and Principe	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 STD24,088	$2.87 ₩4,235	+165.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.22 STD227,718	$5.63 ₩8,290	-45.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.97 STD132,995	$7.67 ₩11,311	+28.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 STD113,503	$2.84 ₩4,180	-44.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.27 STD206,583	$3.34 ₩4,917	-64.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.12 STD47,219	$3.24 ₩4,768	+52.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.53 STD11,805	$1.39 ₩2,045	+162.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.85 STD41,316	$2.80 ₩4,121	+50.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.59 STD35,414	$2.40 ₩3,543	+51.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.19 STD26,561	$1.78 ₩2,627	+49.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 STD20,658	$1.20 ₩1,775	+29.9%
Average			+39.7%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.2% less for transportation

	Sao Tome and Principe	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.40 STD142,518	$4.40 ₩6,485	-31.2%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$47.17 ₩69,524
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$8.33 ₩12,280
Average			-31.2%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.0% more for housing

	Sao Tome and Principe	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$72.42 STD1,613,544	$21.68 ₩31,958	-70.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$350.40 STD7,807,473	$473.91 ₩698,442	+35.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$233.60 STD5,204,982	$357.19 ₩526,420	+52.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$132.53 ₩195,326
Average			+6.0%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Sao Tome and Principe	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$378.52 ₩557,869
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655

Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Sao Tome and Principe	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.67 STD37,216	$3.12 ₩4,595	+86.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.34 STD52,050	$3.57 ₩5,258	+52.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 STD52,050	$3.18 ₩4,693	+36.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.38 STD832,797	$49.86 ₩73,483	+33.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$21.02 STD468,448	$10.12 ₩14,912	-51.9%
Average			+31.4%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.4 times more for clothing

	Sao Tome and Principe	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$66.46 ₩97,948
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$50.68 ₩74,697
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$72.74 ₩107,204
Men's business shoes (leather)	$19.16 STD426,809	$103.23 ₩152,146	+438.9%
Average			+438.9%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Korea - 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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