Africa · Middle Africa

São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe covers about 1,040 km² (400 mi²), the 185th largest of the 246 places listed here. That is close to Hong Kong, at about 1,040 km².

1,040km²Area, main territory
204,000Population
0.03In Belgiums

20 km

São Tomé and Príncipe

Facts

Area, main territory	1,040 km²400 mi²
Official area	1,000 km²Wikidata · 3.6% below our measure
In Belgiums	0.03
Capital	São Tomé
Population	204,000Wikidata, 2017
Density	197 people per km²
Latitude range	0°N to 2°N
In other languages	Santo Tomé y Príncipe Español · São Tomé und Príncipe Deutsch · Sao Tomé-et-Principe Français · São Tomé e Príncipe Português · サントメ・プリンシペ日本語 · 圣多美和普林西比中文 · 상투메 프린시페 한국어
Continent	Africa#54 of 54 countries by area

What the numbers say about São Tomé and Príncipe

Russia, the largest place listed, is 16,371× the size of São Tomé and Príncipe.
At 197 people per km², São Tomé and Príncipe is the 37th most densely populated of the 185 places over 1,000 km²; the median is 72 per km².
São Tomé and Príncipe lies at 0°N, close to the equator, where a standard web map (Web Mercator) is nearly true to size: it inflates area by only about 1.0×.
Laid out flat, São Tomé and Príncipe's main territory stretches about 186 km north to south and 111 km east to west.
Our measured 1,040 km² is 3.6% above Wikidata's official figure of 1,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently.

How São Tomé and Príncipe measures up

São Tomé and Príncipe holds 0.0% of the land area and 0.0% of the people of the 54 countries listed for Africa. In Middle Africa it is the 9th largest of 9.

Where it ranks	Figure	Position
Area	1,040 km²	184th of 239
Population	204,000	182nd of 237
Density	197 per km²	37th of 185
Farthest north	0.4°N	171st of 212

Compared with	Its area	São Tomé and Príncipe is
Belgium	30,700 km²	0.03× its size
United Kingdom	244,000 km²	1 in 235 its size
Germany	358,000 km²	1 in 345 its size
Japan	374,000 km²	1 in 360 its size
France	548,000 km²	1 in 528 its size
India	3,151,000 km²	1 in 3,038 its size
Brazil	8,473,000 km²	1 in 8,169 its size
United States	9,447,000 km²	1 in 9,109 its size
Russia	16,980,000 km²	1 in 16,371 its size

Where São Tomé and Príncipe sits

São Tomé and Príncipe's centre lies at 0.4°N, 6.7°E, in the northern and eastern hemispheres, about 50 km from the equator.
Its main territory spans 0°N to 2°N, about 190 km from its southern edge to its northern.

Closest neighbours, by distance between centres

On the same latitude, elsewhere in the world

If São Tomé and Príncipe had other densities

At Bangladesh's density of 1,252 people per km², São Tomé and Príncipe would have 1.3 million people. It has 204,000.
At Canada's density of 3.7 people per km², São Tomé and Príncipe would have 3,860 people. It has 204,000.
At the median density of the places listed, 72 per km², it would have 75,000.

About the same size as

Largest in Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo2,325,000 km²
Algeria2,309,000 km²
Sudan1,856,000 km²
Libya1,624,000 km²
Chad1,266,000 km²
São Tomé and Príncipe#54 · 1,040 km²

Compare São Tomé and Príncipe

Sources and method

Outline: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded
Official figures: Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-11
Population: Wikidata, 2017; covers the whole country, overseas territory included
Data built: 2026-11-11

Full method