Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe

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

Sao Tome and Principe is 26.9% cheaper than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 27.9% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Groceries: pay 23.6% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Transportation: pay 20.9% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Housing: pay 37.9% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Childcare: pay 78.7% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.5% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Clothing: pay 49.9% less in Sao Tome and Principe

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

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Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.9% more for restaurants

	South Korea	Sao Tome and Principe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.06 ₩9,422	$8.96 STD200K	+26.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 ₩8,230	$7.89 STD176K	+27.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.53 ₩2,039	$1.84 STD41,004	+20.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 ₩1,181	$1.25 STD27,770	+40.8%
Average			+27.9%

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

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pay 23.6% less for groceries

	South Korea	Sao Tome and Principe
Bread 1 loaf	$3.04 ₩4,055	$1.00 STD22,187	-67.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.12 ₩8,174	$9.80 STD218K	+60.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.23 ₩10,982	$5.87 STD131K	-28.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.94 ₩3,923	$4.85 STD108K	+65.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.11 ₩5,484	$8.89 STD198K	+116.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.00 ₩5,342	$1.70 STD37,881	-57.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.55 ₩2,069	$0.79 STD17,644	-48.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.00 ₩4,000	$1.63 STD36,419	-45.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.63 ₩3,513	$1.57 STD34,958	-40.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.03 ₩2,715	$1.31 STD29,299	-35.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.26 ₩1,685	$1.08 STD23,986	-14.7%
Average			-23.6%

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

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pay 20.9% more for transportation

	South Korea	Sao Tome and Principe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 ₩6,685	$6.46 STD144K	+28.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.10 ₩61,538	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,394.53 ₩38M	$24,634.18 STD549M	-13.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.59 ₩11,470	$22.43 STD500K	+161.0%
Average			+20.9%

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

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pay 37.9% less for housing

	South Korea	Sao Tome and Principe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.34 ₩32,490	$66.91 STD1M	+174.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$561.73 ₩750K	$284.91 STD6M	-49.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$387.83 ₩518K	$195.02 STD4M	-49.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$153.72 ₩205K	$174.83 STD4M	+13.7%
Average			-37.9%

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

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pay 78.7% less for childcare

	South Korea	Sao Tome and Principe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$545.93 ₩729K	$228.62 STD5M	-58.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,214.53 ₩27M	$2,194.77 STD49M	-89.1%
Average			-78.7%

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

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pay 22.5% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Sao Tome and Principe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 ₩4,403	$1.70 STD37,799	-48.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.66 ₩4,888	$2.26 STD50,442	-38.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.35 ₩4,467	$2.26 STD50,420	-32.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.32 ₩76,507	$33.92 STD756K	-40.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 ₩15,062	$20.16 STD449K	+78.6%
Average			-22.5%

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

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pay 49.9% less for clothing

	South Korea	Sao Tome and Principe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.53 ₩90,139	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.43 ₩71,316	$75.02 STD2M	+40.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.10 ₩104K	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.84 ₩137K	$18.36 STD409K	-82.1%
Average			-49.9%

South Korea 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: South Korea vs. Sao Tome and Principe

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Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Be 3.9 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Sao Tome and Principe

Size Comparison · See true size

South Korea is about 103 times bigger than Sao Tome and Principe.

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

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