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Sao Tome and Principe — Population growth
Population Growth (Annual %) for Sao Tome and Principe, 1961–2025.
Latest value · 2025
1.98%
Population Growth (Annual %) · annual % · +95.1% since 1961
Population growth for Sao Tome and Principe was 1.98% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 65 years, from 1961 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 2.69% in 1978. The lowest was 1.01% in 1962 (about 2.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 1.05% per year.
Sao Tome and Principe ranks 51 of 217 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 24%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 2.30%, so Sao Tome and Principe sits below it. It peaked in 1978 and has fallen 26% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 12%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
1.98%
First (1961)
1.02%
Change
+95.1%
Highest
2.69%
in 1978
Lowest
1.01%
in 1962
Average
1.94%
Annual growth (CAGR)
1.05%
Years of data
65
Recent years
| Year | annual % |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.98% |
| 2024 | 2% |
| 2023 | 2% |
| 2022 | 1.94% |
| 2021 | 2.06% |
| 2020 | 1.88% |
| 2019 | 1.51% |
| 2018 | 1.54% |
| 2017 | 1.6% |
| 2016 | 1.68% |
| 2015 | 1.78% |
| 2014 | 1.86% |
Reading this correctly. Annual population growth rate. A negative value means the population shrank, usually through emigration or low birth rates. Figures are in annual %. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SP.POP.GROW — Population Growth (Annual %). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.