Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 7.7 years longer

In Sao Tome and Principe, the average life expectancy is 67 years (65 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2022. In Nicaragua, that number is 75 years (73 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2022.

be 91.1% more likely to be obese

In Sao Tome and Principe, 12.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Nicaragua, that number is 23.7% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 70.6% more money

Sao Tome and Principe has a GDP per capita of $3,400 as of 2022, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $5,800 as of 2022.

be 65.2% less likely to be unemployed

In Sao Tome and Principe, 14.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Nicaragua, that number is 5.0% as of 2022.

be 55.1% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Sao Tome and Principe, 55.5% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Nicaragua, however, that number is 24.9% as of 2016.

Life

be 46.6% less likely to die during childbirth

In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 146.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Nicaragua, 78.0 women do as of 2020.

be 57.0% less likely to die during infancy

In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 44.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Nicaragua, on the other hand, 19.1 children do as of 2022.

be 12.9% less likely to be literate

In Sao Tome and Principe, the literacy rate is 94.8% as of 2021. In Nicaragua, it is 82.6% as of 2015.

have 38.6% fewer children

In Sao Tome and Principe, there are approximately 26.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nicaragua, there are 16.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 11.8% more likely to have internet access

In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 51.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Nicaragua, about 57.0% do as of 2021.

be 15.5% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Sao Tome and Principe, approximately 98% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Nicaragua, that number is 83% of people on average (98% in urban areas, and 63% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 75.5% more on healthcare

Sao Tome and Principe spends 4.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.6% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 4.4 times more coastline

Sao Tome and Principe has a total of 209 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Nicaragua: At a glance

Nicaragua is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 119,990 sq km. The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. After losing free and fair elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra was elected president in 2006 and reelected in 2011. The 2008 municipal elections, 2010 regional elections, 2011 presidential elections, 2012 municipal elections, and 2013 regional elections were marred by widespread irregularities. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt, but democratic institutions have been weakened under the ORTEGA administration.
Read more

How big is Nicaragua compared to Sao Tome and Principe? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Nicaragua.or Sao Tome and Principe It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.