São Tomé and Príncipe: population and ages

In mid-1950 there were 60,900 people, so the population is now 4.0 times as large.

The UN projects 6,780 births and 1,340 deaths in 2026, 5,440 more births than deaths.

More people leave than move in: net migration in 2026 is projected at minus 690.

The median age is 19.7, which is 11.4 years below the world’s 31.1.

37% of the people are under 15 and 4% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).

In the UN projection, children under 15 outnumber people aged 65 and over in every year to 2100.

Women have 3.5 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 6.2 in 1950.

Life expectancy at birth is 70.3 years, below the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 39.1.

For mid-2050 the UN projects 365,000 people, 49% more than now, with a median age of 24.8.

By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 69.7 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 16.1 more years for women and 12.5 for men.

On 1 January 2026, there are 6.8 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 10.5.

For 2100 the UN projects a population of 534,000, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 182,000 to 1.64 million.

Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.

In mid-2024, 1,960 international migrants lived here, 0.8% of the population.

In mid-2024, 41,400 people from here lived in other countries.