Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower middle income
São Tomé and Príncipe: the economy in numbers
Per person: $4,084, or $6,388 at purchasing power parity. Population: 240,254 (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #196 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +0.4%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $309 million in 1970, $981 million in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $3,978 per person in 1970, $4,084 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 2.3% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1971: 7 of 55.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose 19.3 times from 2000 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 51.2% in 1994.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 2001: 418.4% of GDP in 2001. IMF forecast for 2031: 43.6%.
Population
1960: 68,012 · 2025: 240,254.
Unemployment rate
1991: 14.5% · 2025: 9.1%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 43.6 years · 2024: 69.9 years.
Exports of goods and services
2008: 9.3% · 2025: 13.3%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 2.8%f | 5.0%f | 43.6%f | |||||||
| 2030 | 2.8%f | 5.0%f | 46.5%f | |||||||
| 2029 | 2.8%f | 5.9%f | 49.6%f | |||||||
| 2028 | 2.6%f | 7.1%f | 52.0%f | |||||||
| 2027 | 1.9%f | 9.6%f | 54.2%f | |||||||
| 2026 | 0.4%f | 11.0%f | 55.9%f | |||||||
| 2025 | $981M | $4,084 | $6,388 | 1.0% | 11.0% | 59.1% | 240K | 9.1% | 13.3% | |
| 2024 | $825M | $3,503 | $6,274 | 1.5% | 14.4% | 69.0% | 236K | 9.1% | 69.9 | 15.6% |
| 2023 | $690M | $2,991 | $6,155 | 0.4% | 21.3% | 73.2% | 231K | 9.0% | 69.7 | 14.2% |
| 2022 | $541M | $2,390 | $6,033 | 0.2% | 18.0% | 86.8% | 226K | 9.0% | 69.2 | 19.7% |
| 2021 | $524M | $2,363 | $5,733 | 1.9% | 8.1% | 85.1% | 222K | 9.6% | 68.0 | 15.1% |
| 2020 | $471M | $2,167 | $5,145 | 2.6% | 9.8% | 91.0% | 217K | 9.7% | 68.0 | 10.6% |
| 2019 | $413M | $1,935 | $4,655 | 2.0% | 7.7% | 98.6% | 213K | 8.8% | 68.0 | 16.7% |
| 2018 | $384M | $1,826 | $3,941 | 4.4% | 7.9% | 95.9% | 210K | 8.7% | 67.6 | 21.0% |
| 2017 | $322M | $1,556 | $3,436 | 4.1% | 5.7% | 92.3% | 207K | 8.8% | 67.1 | 27.1% |
| 2016 | $292M | $1,435 | $3,320 | 5.2% | 5.4% | 104.6% | 204K | 9.7% | 66.6 | 31.9% |
| 2015 | $260M | $1,298 | $3,172 | 1.5% | 5.2% | 101.1% | 200K | 10.6% | 66.0 | 33.7% |
| 2014 | $293M | $1,490 | $3,233 | 4.9% | 7.0% | 92.5% | 197K | 11.4% | 65.5 | 29.0% |
| 2013 | $267M | $1,383 | $2,946 | 5.1% | 8.1% | 76.8% | 193K | 12.5% | 64.9 | 16.1% |
| 2012 | $229M | $1,211 | $2,695 | 2.9% | 10.6% | 59.6% | 189K | 13.6% | 64.5 | 10.9% |
| 2011 | $226M | $1,220 | $2,914 | 2.0% | 14.3% | 86.0% | 186K | 14.2% | 64.1 | 11.0% |
| 2010 | $190M | $1,045 | $2,859 | 1.4% | 13.3% | 83.0% | 182K | 14.6% | 63.9 | 10.8% |
| 2009 | $201M | $1,128 | $2,846 | 3.3% | 17.0% | 70.3% | 178K | 15.1% | 63.7 | 8.6% |
| 2008 | $188M | $1,082 | $2,802 | 6.2% | 32.0% | 60.7% | 174K | 15.4% | 63.4 | 9.3% |
| 2007 | $149M | $879 | $2,650 | 3.6% | 18.5% | 110.1% | 170K | 16.0% | 63.3 | |
| 2006 | $143M | $862 | $2,551 | 8.9% | 23.1% | 283.2% | 166K | 16.6% | 63.0 | |
| 2005 | $136M | $844 | $2,329 | 6.6% | 17.2% | 334.2% | 162K | 16.5% | 62.4 | |
| 2004 | $115M | $727 | $2,171 | 3.5% | 13.3% | 354.5% | 158K | 16.1% | 62.6 | |
| 2003 | $102M | $664 | $2,094 | 8.3% | 9.8% | 329.4% | 154K | 16.4% | 62.2 | |
| 2002 | $85.2M | $568 | $1,945 | 3.4% | 10.1% | 366.5% | 150K | 17.6% | 61.8 | |
| 2001 | $76M | $519 | $1,898 | 3.1% | 9.2% | 418.4% | 146K | 15.7% | 61.5 | |
| 2000 | $76.2M | $529 | $1,830 | 0.4% | 12.2% | 144K | 14.4% | 61.2 | ||
| 1999 | $77.3M | $543 | $1,802 | 2.5% | 12.7% | 142K | 14.4% | 61.0 | ||
| 1998 | $72.3M | $514 | $1,754 | 2.5% | 50.5% | 141K | 14.4% | 60.8 | ||
| 1997 | $91.9M | $662 | $1,714 | 1.0% | 35.8% | 139K | 14.4% | 60.6 | ||
| 1996 | $135M | $987 | $1,693 | 1.5% | 42.0% | 137K | 14.3% | 60.6 | ||
| 1995 | $104M | $769 | $1,663 | 2.0% | 36.8% | 135K | 14.3% | 60.5 | ||
| 1994 | $131M | $990 | $1,623 | 2.2% | 51.2% | 133K | 14.4% | 60.6 | ||
| 1993 | $126M | $964 | $1,581 | 1.1% | 25.5% | 130K | 14.5% | 60.6 | ||
| 1992 | $94.9M | $740 | $1,556 | 0.7% | 33.7% | 128K | 14.7% | 60.7 | ||
| 1991 | $107M | $855 | $1,540 | 1.2% | 46.5% | 126K | 14.5% | 60.8 | ||
| 1990 | $119M | $970 | $1,504 | −2.2% | 42.2% | 123K | 60.7 | |||
| 1989 | $98.5M | $821 | 3.1% | 42.9% | 120K | 59.7 | ||||
| 1988 | $99M | $847 | 2.0% | 44.3% | 117K | 60.8 | ||||
| 1987 | $116M | $1,018 | −2.9% | 25.0% | 114K | 60.7 | ||||
| 1986 | $116M | $1,043 | −5.8% | 13.9% | 111K | 57.6 | ||||
| 1985 | $82.7M | $761 | 9.3% | 0.1% | 109K | 60.1 | ||||
| 1984 | $78.2M | $735 | −6.0% | 3.2% | 106K | 59.9 | ||||
| 1983 | $75.1M | $720 | −3.9% | 7.0% | 104K | 59.7 | ||||
| 1982 | $80.3M | $783 | 3.1% | 0.4% | 103K | 59.5 | ||||
| 1981 | $83.5M | $830 | −10.3% | 11.5% | 101K | 59.4 | ||||
| 1980 | $81.7M | $829 | −1.1% | 0.2% | 98.5K | 59.4 | ||||
| 1979 | $65.8M | $683 | 16.3% | 96.3K | 59.3 | |||||
| 1978 | $55M | $587 | 2.9% | 93.8K | 59.1 | |||||
| 1977 | $49.2M | $539 | 23.4% | 91.3K | 59.0 | |||||
| 1976 | $52M | $585 | 1.6% | 88.9K | 58.8 | |||||
| 1975 | $60.1M | $693 | 5.4% | 86.7K | 58.6 | |||||
| 1974 | $57.8M | $683 | 5.7% | 84.7K | 58.3 | |||||
| 1973 | $56M | $676 | 1.6% | 82.8K | 57.9 | |||||
| 1972 | $41.4M | $511 | 2.3% | 81K | 57.4 | |||||
| 1971 | $37.3M | $470 | 5.4% | 79.3K | 57.0 | |||||
| 1970 | $37.2M | $479 | 77.6K | 56.3 | ||||||
| 1969 | 76.1K | 55.4 | ||||||||
| 1968 | 74.8K | 54.5 | ||||||||
| 1967 | 73.6K | 53.4 | ||||||||
| 1966 | 72.6K | 52.3 | ||||||||
| 1965 | 71.7K | 51.1 | ||||||||
| 1964 | 70.9K | 49.7 | ||||||||
| 1963 | 70.1K | 48.4 | ||||||||
| 1962 | 69.4K | 46.8 | ||||||||
| 1961 | 68.7K | 45.2 | ||||||||
| 1960 | 68K | 43.6 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data for 1980–1996, World Bank for the other years.
Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)