Society · Poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) · São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe’s poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) was 13% of population in 2017.
13% of population
2017Derived
Down 5.9 pp from 2010.
Stale — last updated 18 Oct 2026
In plain words
13% of population
What it is. This measure gives the share of people in São Tomé and Príncipe who live below an international poverty line of a few dollars a day. Prices are adjusted for purchasing power parity so that a dollar buys a comparable basket across countries. The World Bank builds the estimate from household surveys and fills the years between surveys by interpolation or extrapolation. Every person under the line counts equally, so a household just below it and one far below it add the same amount to the figure.
Lower is better. A lower share is better because fewer people are living on very little. The latest figure, for 2017, is 13% of population. That is the lowest level since 2000. The highest in the same span was 18.9% of population in 2010, so the share sits several percentage points below its peak.
Why it matters. A household under this line has little room beyond food, and school fees or a health emergency can be hard to cover. At 13% of population, extreme deprivation still affects a sizeable part of the country. For the state, that is the group that targeted support and basic services have to reach.
| Period | Poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) · São Tomé and Príncipe |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 17.3% of population |
| 2010 | 18.9% of population |
| 2017 | 13% of population |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Poverty headcount ($3.00 a day), São Tomé and Príncipe, 2017; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 18 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/society/poverty-headcount/sao-tome-and-principe
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
What this means
Working this out from the published figures…
Strata AI commentary is coming — reviewed, dated, and generated only from the figures on this page.
Methodology
Share of the population living on less than $3.00 a day (2021 purchasing power parity). A World Bank modelled estimate from household surveys, interpolated or extrapolated between survey years; not an official national release.
Share of the population living on less than $3.00 a day (2021 purchasing power parity). Unit: % of population.
This is a World Bank modelled estimate. It is built from household surveys and interpolated or extrapolated between survey years. It is not an official national release, and every value carries the Derived label.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series SI.POV.DDAY), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.