Country or area · Middle Africa · Africa · UN WPP 2024

São Tomé and Príncipe population

UN name: Sao Tome and Principe

São Tomé and Príncipe population now

246,157

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 241,468–252,829.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 230,872

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 244,985; 95% range, 31 Dec: 241,468–252,829
Median age: 20.7
Aged 65+: 4.0%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 50 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

STP · 1950–2100 · in brief

São Tomé and Príncipe in numbers

In mid-2023 there were 230,872 people in São Tomé and Príncipe: the 188th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and less than 0.01% of the world's people. That is 3.8 times its 1950 population of 60,874.

In the UN's medium projection it is still growing in 2100, when it reaches 534 thousand. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 183 thousand to 1.6 million.

Births outnumber deaths in every year from 1950 to 2100, estimates and projection alike.

The median age was 24.7 in 1950 and 20.1 in 2023; the projection has 38.3 in 2100. 3.9% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 18.1% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is still growing in 2100 in the medium projection.

By size it is the 188th country in 2023; the projection puts it 183rd in 2050 and 174th in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Barbados in 2034, French Polynesia in 2035 and Martinique in 2039.

Population, mid-2023: 230,872
Rank by population, 2023: 188 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: less than 0.01%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +2.02% · +4,567 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 240
Land area, 2023: 960 km²
Births, 2023: 6,507
Deaths, 2023: 1,287
Net migration, 2023: −592
Children per woman, 2023: 3.64
Median age, 2023: 20.1 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 69.7 years
In a city, 2025: 62 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 60,874
Projected, mid-2050: 365,114
Projected, mid-2100: 534,014

STP · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections0500 k1 m1.5 m2 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. Every column stands for a single year, counted on 1 January, and the paper rules slice it into cells of equal size.

Show the numbers: São Tomé and Príncipe, 1950–2100

São Tomé and Príncipe: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	60,426		2,776	1,575	6.23	39.1
1951	estimate	61,321		2,717	1,587	6.22	39.1
1952	estimate	62,202		2,667	1,585	6.20	39.1
1953	estimate	62,984		2,644	1,586	6.19	39.1
1954	estimate	63,670		2,649	1,587	6.18	39.2
1955	estimate	64,304		2,682	1,591	6.18	39.3
1956	estimate	64,908		2,739	1,595	6.19	39.5
1957	estimate	65,543		2,811	1,588	6.20	40.1
1958	estimate	66,199		2,891	1,570	6.21	41.0
1959	estimate	66,916		2,967	1,537	6.22	42.1
1960	estimate	67,666		3,030	1,484	6.24	43.6
1961	estimate	68,358		3,067	1,409	6.26	45.2
1962	estimate	69,055		2,967	1,341	6.28	46.8
1963	estimate	69,750		2,880	1,270	6.31	48.4
1964	estimate	70,473		2,812	1,212	6.33	49.7
1965	estimate	71,258		2,770	1,158	6.35	51.1
1966	estimate	72,102		2,757	1,115	6.37	52.3
1967	estimate	73,049		2,775	1,082	6.39	53.5
1968	estimate	74,143		2,825	1,058	6.42	54.5
1969	estimate	75,387		2,905	1,044	6.44	55.4
1970	estimate	76,779		3,012	1,033	6.47	56.3
1971	estimate	78,474		3,133	1,006	6.49	57.0
1972	estimate	80,186		3,237	1,005	6.51	57.5
1973	estimate	81,896		3,338	1,008	6.53	57.9
1974	estimate	83,700		3,439	1,017	6.53	58.3
1975	estimate	85,644		3,543	1,028	6.53	58.6
1976	estimate	87,772		3,653	1,045	6.52	58.8
1977	estimate	90,073		3,768	1,064	6.50	59.0
1978	estimate	92,529		3,886	1,085	6.47	59.1
1979	estimate	95,059		4,001	1,109	6.43	59.3
1980	estimate	97,446		4,101	1,135	6.39	59.4
1981	estimate	99,642		4,178	1,163	6.33	59.4
1982	estimate	101,588		4,237	1,189	6.28	59.5
1983	estimate	103,428		4,302	1,202	6.22	59.7
1984	estimate	105,333		4,373	1,210	6.16	59.9
1985	estimate	107,455		4,459	1,217	6.10	60.1
1986	estimate	109,861		4,557	1,376	6.05	57.6
1987	estimate	112,439		4,668	1,228	5.99	60.7
1988	estimate	115,400		4,786	1,243	5.94	60.8
1989	estimate	118,477		4,902	1,327	5.88	59.7
1990	estimate	121,481		5,011	1,292	5.83	60.7
1991	estimate	124,479		5,110	1,309	5.77	60.8
1992	estimate	126,914		5,154	1,332	5.70	60.7
1993	estimate	129,306		5,194	1,353	5.63	60.6
1994	estimate	131,628		5,230	1,370	5.56	60.5
1995	estimate	133,837		5,334	1,386	5.55	60.5
1996	estimate	135,953		5,389	1,395	5.47	60.6
1997	estimate	137,971		5,442	1,401	5.40	60.6
1998	estimate	139,872		5,521	1,401	5.30	60.8
1999	estimate	141,630		5,618	1,397	5.23	61.0
2000	estimate	143,254		5,724	1,390	5.16	61.2
2001	estimate	144,783		5,850	1,379	5.10	61.5
2002	estimate	147,967		5,973	1,382	5.06	61.8
2003	estimate	151,876		6,084	1,382	5.01	62.2
2004	estimate	155,752		6,183	1,373	4.96	62.6
2005	estimate	159,658		6,300	1,403	4.94	62.4
2006	estimate	163,621		6,435	1,378	4.93	63.0
2007	estimate	167,655		6,604	1,378	4.96	63.3
2008	estimate	171,744		6,685	1,389	4.91	63.5
2009	estimate	175,842		6,739	1,390	4.84	63.7
2010	estimate	179,865		6,785	1,394	4.77	63.9
2011	estimate	183,739		6,841	1,395	4.72	64.1
2012	estimate	187,560		6,889	1,387	4.66	64.5
2013	estimate	191,318		6,830	1,381	4.58	64.9
2014	estimate	194,977		6,743	1,363	4.49	65.5
2015	estimate	198,557		6,615	1,346	4.35	66.0
2016	estimate	202,025		6,455	1,330	4.20	66.6
2017	estimate	205,352		6,326	1,319	4.07	67.1
2018	estimate	208,589		6,264	1,307	3.98	67.6
2019	estimate	211,785		6,237	1,305	3.90	68.0
2020	estimate	214,999		6,228	1,354	3.83	68.0
2021	estimate	219,870		6,330	1,375	3.76	68.0
2022	estimate	224,052		6,399	1,297	3.69	69.2
2023	estimate	228,558		6,507	1,287	3.64	69.7
2024	estimate	233,185		6,617	1,303	3.60	69.9
2025	projection	237,888	236,156–239,414	6,688	1,319	3.53	70.1
2026	projection	242,620	238,914–245,776	6,777	1,335	3.47	70.3
2027	projection	247,367	241,468–252,829	6,866	1,351	3.42	70.5
2028	projection	252,209	243,907–260,260	6,937	1,368	3.36	70.6
2029	projection	257,113	246,209–268,053	7,038	1,386	3.32	70.8
2030	projection	262,081	248,329–275,860	7,102	1,407	3.26	71.0
2031	projection	267,048	250,434–283,987	7,182	1,427	3.21	71.1
2032	projection	272,092	252,138–293,110	7,259	1,449	3.17	71.3
2033	projection	277,196	254,334–301,919	7,332	1,471	3.13	71.5
2034	projection	282,337	256,030–310,674	7,397	1,494	3.09	71.6
2035	projection	287,502	256,980–319,418	7,425	1,518	3.04	71.8
2036	projection	292,674	258,680–329,365	7,468	1,544	3.01	72.0
2037	projection	297,872	259,575–339,663	7,495	1,571	2.97	72.2
2038	projection	303,016	260,605–349,300	7,513	1,599	2.94	72.3
2039	projection	308,172	261,388–359,740	7,526	1,629	2.90	72.5
2040	projection	313,299	262,870–369,769	7,525	1,662	2.87	72.6
2041	projection	318,385	263,960–380,990	7,522	1,694	2.83	72.8
2042	projection	323,392	265,067–391,284	7,524	1,725	2.80	73.0
2043	projection	328,403	266,462–403,494	7,534	1,761	2.78	73.1
2044	projection	333,431	267,154–414,565	7,540	1,795	2.75	73.3
2045	projection	338,426	268,586–426,803	7,553	1,832	2.73	73.4
2046	projection	343,426	269,897–438,802	7,557	1,868	2.70	73.6
2047	projection	348,349	270,119–452,388	7,550	1,904	2.67	73.8
2048	projection	353,182	269,880–466,385	7,535	1,940	2.65	73.9
2049	projection	357,982	268,489–479,952	7,527	1,977	2.62	74.1
2050	projection	362,740	267,500–493,715	7,525	2,016	2.59	74.3
2051	projection	367,489	267,081–504,121	7,544	2,055	2.57	74.4
2052	projection	372,262	267,144–518,049	7,559	2,096	2.55	74.6
2053	projection	376,937	266,731–533,142	7,578	2,138	2.52	74.7
2054	projection	381,621	266,668–550,324	7,602	2,181	2.50	74.9
2055	projection	386,259	266,428–568,021	7,627	2,222	2.49	75.0
2056	projection	390,903	266,724–582,220	7,645	2,264	2.47	75.2
2057	projection	395,427	266,292–597,386	7,655	2,308	2.44	75.3
2058	projection	399,992	265,377–615,755	7,669	2,354	2.43	75.5
2059	projection	404,499	264,807–636,473	7,670	2,396	2.40	75.7
2060	projection	408,994	264,542–655,957	7,682	2,441	2.39	75.8
2061	projection	413,517	263,537–673,914	7,700	2,488	2.37	76.0
2062	projection	417,970	262,597–694,004	7,705	2,533	2.36	76.1
2063	projection	422,444	262,321–716,102	7,717	2,578	2.34	76.3
2064	projection	426,823	259,619–736,681	7,719	2,626	2.33	76.4
2065	projection	431,214	259,787–759,747	7,715	2,673	2.31	76.6
2066	projection	435,443	259,368–778,548	7,704	2,720	2.30	76.7
2067	projection	439,719	256,334–794,371	7,695	2,767	2.29	76.8
2068	projection	443,892	253,965–814,492	7,687	2,814	2.27	77.0
2069	projection	447,933	251,453–832,902	7,665	2,859	2.26	77.2
2070	projection	451,995	248,915–852,350	7,639	2,905	2.25	77.3
2071	projection	455,913	245,994–881,220	7,615	2,951	2.24	77.5
2072	projection	459,714	242,328–911,739	7,587	2,999	2.22	77.6
2073	projection	463,442	242,065–932,518	7,561	3,046	2.21	77.8
2074	projection	467,055	239,756–948,670	7,533	3,095	2.20	77.9
2075	projection	470,635	239,229–970,227	7,494	3,143	2.19	78.1
2076	projection	474,162	238,018–996,632	7,466	3,194	2.18	78.2
2077	projection	477,635	0.2–1.0 million	7,446	3,248	2.17	78.3
2078	projection	481,080	0.2–1.0 million	7,418	3,302	2.16	78.5
2079	projection	484,361	0.2–1.1 million	7,380	3,359	2.15	78.7
2080	projection	487,567	0.2–1.1 million	7,343	3,416	2.13	78.8
2081	projection	490,742	0.2–1.1 million	7,319	3,475	2.12	79.0
2082	projection	493,745	0.2–1.1 million	7,293	3,540	2.11	79.1
2083	projection	496,672	0.2–1.2 million	7,280	3,604	2.10	79.2
2084	projection	499,548	0.2–1.2 million	7,257	3,672	2.10	79.4
2085	projection	502,276	0.2–1.2 million	7,232	3,739	2.09	79.5
2086	projection	504,928	0.2–1.3 million	7,207	3,807	2.08	79.7
2087	projection	507,452	0.2–1.3 million	7,187	3,880	2.07	79.8
2088	projection	509,957	0.2–1.3 million	7,166	3,951	2.06	80.0
2089	projection	512,446	0.2–1.4 million	7,152	4,021	2.05	80.1
2090	projection	514,809	0.2–1.4 million	7,137	4,094	2.05	80.3
2091	projection	517,112	0.2–1.4 million	7,107	4,164	2.04	80.4
2092	projection	519,272	0.2–1.4 million	7,082	4,231	2.03	80.5
2093	projection	521,387	0.2–1.5 million	7,049	4,296	2.02	80.7
2094	projection	523,380	0.2–1.5 million	7,021	4,362	2.02	80.8
2095	projection	525,281	0.2–1.5 million	6,987	4,423	2.01	81.0
2096	projection	527,040	0.2–1.5 million	6,960	4,487	2.00	81.1
2097	projection	528,793	0.2–1.6 million	6,926	4,544	1.99	81.2
2098	projection	530,440	0.2–1.6 million	6,893	4,597	1.99	81.4
2099	projection	531,967	0.2–1.6 million	6,846	4,650	1.98	81.5
2100	projection	533,352	0.2–1.6 million	6,804	4,697	1.97	81.6

Show the numbers: São Tomé and Príncipe, mid-2026, by single year of age

São Tomé and Príncipe: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	3,370	3,284
1	3,316	3,232
2	3,263	3,180
3	3,202	3,120
4	3,144	3,065
5	3,070	2,998
6	3,021	2,953
7	2,964	2,906
8	2,896	2,855
9	2,894	2,862
10	2,929	2,906
11	2,970	2,954
12	2,994	2,987
13	3,006	3,005
14	2,865	2,839
15	2,714	2,694
16	2,743	2,755
17	2,791	2,804
18	2,794	2,813
19	2,748	2,771
20	2,654	2,687
21	2,526	2,579
22	2,384	2,470
23	2,258	2,370
24	2,150	2,266
25	2,035	2,138
26	1,912	1,996
27	1,796	1,872
28	1,692	1,767
29	1,615	1,681
30	1,563	1,611
31	1,510	1,539
32	1,456	1,475
33	1,407	1,430
34	1,378	1,405
35	1,353	1,383
36	1,314	1,352
37	1,281	1,328
38	1,265	1,320
39	1,270	1,321
40	1,300	1,334
41	1,327	1,348
42	1,332	1,350
43	1,317	1,336
44	1,281	1,302
45	1,240	1,254
46	1,194	1,201
47	1,146	1,144
48	1,105	1,096
49	1,062	1,046
50	1,005	980
51	948	912
52	893	853
53	839	804
54	802	773
55	776	748
56	740	712
57	696	670
58	650	629
59	604	595
60	568	577
61	541	570
62	515	565
63	489	548
64	464	522
65	439	487
66	410	451
67	374	415
68	336	376
69	304	344
70	275	322
71	254	304
72	238	284
73	219	264
74	196	240
75	173	213
76	151	189
77	132	172
78	116	158
79	102	148
80	92	140
81	82	130
82	74	123
83	66	116
84	60	109
85	52	99
86	44	86
87	36	73
88	28	58
89	22	46
90	16	35
91	12	26
92	8	20
93	6	14
94	4	10
95	2	7
96	2	4
97	1	2
98	1	2
99	0	1
100+	0	1

STP · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

São Tomé and Príncipe, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

STP · ages 15–64

Who does the work in São Tomé and Príncipe

In São Tomé and Príncipe the number of people aged 15–64 is still growing in 2100, the last year the UN projects. In 2023 there were 133,564 of them.

100 aged 15–64

66 children

7 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: take 100 people of working age — the orange row — and the two rows under it are the children (teal) and the people of 65 and over (violet) who lived alongside them in 2023.

At no point between 1950 and 2100 do fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 here.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: one stripe a year from 1950 to 2100. A stripe takes colour in a year when fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people of working age, and stays grey otherwise; hatching means the year is projected.

How every country compares

STP · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in São Tomé and Príncipe, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 São Tomé and Príncipe loses 579 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 121 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 20 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: age runs left to right, babies to 100. A blue square above the line means arrivals outnumber departures at that age, an orange square below it means the opposite. The figures are the UN's projection for 2020–2025; nobody recorded migration by age before 2020.

Across the counted years, 1950 to 2023, its biggest single-year gain was 0 (2020); its biggest loss, 2,798 (2000).

In 2024, 1,955 people living in São Tomé and Príncipe had been born in another country, fewer than 1 of every 100 people there, against 5 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

STP · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in São Tomé and Príncipe

Of every 100 babies born in São Tomé and Príncipe in 2023, 18 had a mother under 20, 67 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 15 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 8 under 20 and 18 aged 35 or older.

1950
8 · 74 · 18

2023
18 · 67 · 15

2050 · projected
12 · 74 · 14

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: one block a year, 100 squares in each, a square for every hundredth baby. The colour is the mother's age group, and the three numbers underneath are those groups in order, youngest first.

Babies born, 2023: 6,507
Average age when women have a baby: 28.5 years; 29.2 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 86; 152 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in São Tomé and Príncipe by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	4	14	25	12	3	1
15–19	211	655	1,214	1,166	854	338
20–24	804	1,053	1,692	1,889	2,012	1,321
25–29	769	768	1,133	1,411	1,959	2,019
30–34	473	461	788	1,057	1,616	2,040
35–39	351	382	587	671	810	865
40–44	144	182	253	277	254	208
45–49	20	27	31	24	17	12
50–54	0	1	1	0	0	0
All babies	2,776	3,543	5,724	6,507	7,525	6,804

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

STP · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in São Tomé and Príncipe

In São Tomé and Príncipe, WHO puts the healthy years a newborn could expect in 2021 at 62.4 (95% range 61.7–63.2), out of 71.2 in all. That leaves 8.8 years in less than full health, fewer than the world's 9.5, which mostly means lives are shorter here, with fewer years in which to be ill.

Women

62.6 in full health, 10.2 not: 72.8 years

Men

62.3 in full health, 7.3 not: 69.6 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 62.6 healthy years of 72.8. Men: 62.3 of 69.6. In 2019, before the pandemic, the healthy years were 63.0.

STP · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in São Tomé and Príncipe

UNHCR publishes no refugees, asylum-seekers or displaced people in or from São Tomé and Príncipe at the end of 2025.

An empty row is not the same as a zero. These figures cover the people one agency works with, so a country it has no operation in has nothing to report here.

In 2025, 10 people from São Tomé and Príncipe asked for asylum in another country. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

STP · of every 100 people

How people live in São Tomé and Príncipe

Of every 100 people in São Tomé and Príncipe in 2025, 62 lived in a city, 22 in a town or suburb and 16 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

22.3 of every 100 have no electricity at home (2024). 40.9 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: everyone here, shrunk to 100 squares, with the colour saying whether that hundredth person lives in a city, a town or the countryside. Every country is measured by the same rule.

How the world's people live

STP · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in São Tomé and Príncipe went in school

Of every 100 adults in São Tomé and Príncipe in 2020, 8 never went to school and 9 finished upper secondary or went further.

8 never went to school 45 some primary 26 finished primary 12 finished lower secondary 8 finished upper secondary 1 studied after school

Compare two generations. Aged 60–64, 26.1 of every 100 women and 4.2 of every 100 men never went to school; aged 25–29, 2.6 and 1.7.

The middle projection has its working-age people most numerous in 2075; those among them who finished upper secondary are still growing in 2100.

How to read this: every adult here as one of 100 squares. The stronger the colour, the further that person went in school (the Wittgenstein Centre, 2020).

How far the world's people went in school

STP · cities · 2025

Cities in São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe had 1 city in 2025, home to 148,144 people.

São Tomé148,144

How to read this: one bar for the city, 2025, all on the same scale. "City" here means the built-up area the UN measures, not the boundary the city draws itself.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for São Tomé and Príncipe are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.