The duel
- 29× São Tomé and Príncipe fits inside Equatorial Guinea 29 times
- 8.1× Equatorial Guinea has 8.1 times as many people as São Tomé and Príncipe
- +6 years People in São Tomé and Príncipe live 6 years longer than in Equatorial Guinea
- 2.5× Equatorial Guinea produces 2.5 times as much per person as São Tomé and Príncipe
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
São Tomé and Príncipe fits inside Equatorial Guinea 29 times.
Equatorial Guinea: 28,050 km² (2023) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 960 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Equatorial Guinea’s coastline is 42% longer than São Tomé and Príncipe’s.
Equatorial Guinea: 296 km (2026 edition) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 209 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Equatorial Guinea’s highest peak towers 984 m above São Tomé and Príncipe’s.
Equatorial Guinea: 3,008 m (2026 edition) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 2,024 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Equatorial Guinea has 8.1 times as many people as São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 1.94 million (2025) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 240,254 (2025)
How crowded is it?
São Tomé and Príncipe is 3.6 times as densely populated as Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea: 69 per km² (2025) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 250 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in São Tomé and Príncipe are 2.2 cm taller than in Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea: 168.2 cm (2019) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 170.4 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in São Tomé and Príncipe are 1.8 cm taller than in Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea: 158.1 cm (2019) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 159.8 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Equatorial Guinea is 1.9 years older than in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 21 years (2023) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 19.1 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Equatorial Guinea have 0.5 more children on average than in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 4.12 children per woman (2024) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 3.6 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
São Tomé and Príncipe and Equatorial Guinea are practically level.
Equatorial Guinea: 3.8% (2025) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 3.9% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Equatorial Guinea: 0 (2025) · São Tomé and Príncipe: no data
How many official languages?
Equatorial Guinea has 3 official languages, São Tomé and Príncipe 1.
Equatorial Guinea: 3 (2026) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Equatorial Guinea’s economy is 13 times the size of São Tomé and Príncipe’s.
Equatorial Guinea: $12.8 billion (2025) · São Tomé and Príncipe: $981 million (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Equatorial Guinea produces 2.5 times as much per person as São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: Int$16,133 (2025) · São Tomé and Príncipe: Int$6,388 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in São Tomé and Príncipe than in Equatorial Guinea (Gini 2.2 points higher).
Equatorial Guinea: 38.5 (2022) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 40.7 (2017)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 9.1% in São Tomé and Príncipe, versus 8.3% in Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea: 8.3% (2025) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 9.1% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Equatorial Guinea: 1% (2024) · São Tomé and Príncipe: no data
How expensive is it?
São Tomé and Príncipe’s price level (US = 100) is 1.6× Equatorial Guinea’s.
Equatorial Guinea: 41% (2025) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 64% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Equatorial Guinea spends 37% more on health per person than São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: $234 (2023) · São Tomé and Príncipe: $171 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in São Tomé and Príncipe live 6 years longer than in Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea: 63.9 years (2024) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 69.9 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Equatorial Guinea is 5.2 times as likely to die before turning one as in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 47.6 per 1,000 (2024) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 9.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
São Tomé and Príncipe has 3 times as many doctors per person as Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea: 0.2 per 1,000 (2022) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 0.5 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
19% of adults in Equatorial Guinea are obese, versus 16% in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 18.8% (2024) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 16.3% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
Equatorial Guinea: no data · São Tomé and Príncipe: 8.3% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How much do people drink?
Adults in Equatorial Guinea drink 22% more alcohol than in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 5.3 litres (2023) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 4.3 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Equatorial Guinea: no data · São Tomé and Príncipe: 25.2 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Equatorial Guinea: no data · São Tomé and Príncipe: 2,279 kcal (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Equatorial Guinea went to school 2.3 years longer than in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 8.3 years (2023) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 6 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Equatorial Guinea: no data · São Tomé and Príncipe: 0.16 (2019)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
63% of people in Equatorial Guinea are online, versus 59% in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 63% (2024) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 59% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
78% of people in São Tomé and Príncipe have electricity, versus 65% in Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea: 65.1% (2024) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 77.7% (2024)
How many live in cities?
72% of people in Equatorial Guinea live in cities, versus 69% in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 72% (2025) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 69% (2025)
How many phones per person?
São Tomé and Príncipe has 62 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Equatorial Guinea 50.
Equatorial Guinea: 50 (2022) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 62 (2024)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from São Tomé and Príncipe fly 2.6 times as many passengers per resident as those from Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea: 0.06 (2023) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 0.16 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 86% of Equatorial Guinea, but only 52% of São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 86.4% (2023) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 52.1% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Equatorial Guinea emits 6.2 times as much CO₂ as someone in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 3.7 t (2024) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 0.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
27% of Equatorial Guinea’s electricity is renewable, versus 11% in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 26.8% (2024) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 11.1% (2023)
How clean is the air?
The air in Equatorial Guinea carries 2.3 times as much fine dust as in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 35.4 µg/m³ (2024) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 15.6 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How dangerous are the roads?
Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe are nearly identical here.
Equatorial Guinea: 11.7 per 100k (2021) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 11.7 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
São Tomé and Príncipe is on average 1.5 °C warmer than Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea: 24.5°C (2016–2025 avg) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 26°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Equatorial Guinea gets 2 times as much rain as São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equatorial Guinea: 2,914 mm (2016–2025 avg) · São Tomé and Príncipe: 1,487 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Equatorial Guinea bigger than São Tomé and Príncipe?
Equatorial Guinea is larger. São Tomé and Príncipe fits inside Equatorial Guinea 29 times.
Which has more people, Equatorial Guinea or São Tomé and Príncipe?
Equatorial Guinea has 8.1 times as many people as São Tomé and Príncipe (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Equatorial Guinea or São Tomé and Príncipe?
People in São Tomé and Príncipe live 6 years longer than in Equatorial Guinea. Life expectancy at birth is 63.9 years in Equatorial Guinea and 69.9 in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Are people taller in Equatorial Guinea or São Tomé and Príncipe?
Men in São Tomé and Príncipe are 2.2 cm taller than in Equatorial Guinea (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
