AGUACYCLE
Sub-Saharan Africa

Sao Tome and Principe

Capital: Sao Tome · Lower middle income · Pop. 235,536

36.68%
Safely managed drinking water
34.69%
Safely managed sanitation
9,633
m³ freshwater / person / yr
2%
Water stress · Low

Source: World Bank Open Data (WHO/UNICEF JMP & FAO AQUASTAT) · drinking water 2024

In Sao Tome and Principe, 36.68% of the population uses safely managed drinking water — an improved source, located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination (2024 estimate). That leaves roughly 149,141 people without safely managed drinking water at home.

Sanitation tracks closely: 34.69% use safely managed sanitation services and 48.68% have at least a basic service (2024).

Sao Tome and Principe has about 9,633 cubic meters of renewable internal freshwater per person each year. It withdraws the equivalent of 2% of those internal resources annually (low water stress).

Agriculture accounts for about 63% of Sao Tome and Principe's water withdrawals, the rest going to households and industry.

Common questions

How many people in Sao Tome and Principe have safe drinking water?

36.68% of Sao Tome and Principe's population uses safely managed drinking water (2024), per WHO/UNICEF data; about 149,141 people do not.

Does Sao Tome and Principe have enough freshwater?

Sao Tome and Principe has roughly 9,633 m³ of renewable internal freshwater per person per year, and uses about 2% of it annually (low stress).

Elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa