---
title: "Living in Dakar as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/dakar
description: "West Africa's cultural capital on the Atlantic"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Dakar, Senegal

Dakar scores 29.6/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 307 of 309 cities. Expect about an unknown amount per month (country-level estimate), no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 5.5 Mbps.

Dakar is a vibrant francophone city with surf, music and a peninsula setting. Traffic and costs are higher than expected.

Known for: Surf and beaches, Music scene, French-speaking, Traffic and heat.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 29.6 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 48 |
| Healthcare | 41 |
| Internet | 22 |
| Visa ease | 46 |
| Getting there & around | 14 |
| Climate | 50 |
| Air quality | 0 |
| Quality of life | 15 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | — | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 7.9 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 62 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 48 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 67.8 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 5.5 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 2.8 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | 90 days / 90 days / 90 days | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (DSS) | 31 | city | 2026-08 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 6 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 53.1 | city | 2024 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.53 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 21.9 | 11 | 70 | yes |
| Feb | 20.5 | 8 | 76 | yes |
| Mar | 20.5 | 3 | 83 | yes |
| Apr | 20.6 | 6 | 88 | no |
| May | 22.2 | 2 | 88 | no |
| Jun | 24.9 | 14 | 86 | no |
| Jul | 26.6 | 79 | 84 | yes |
| Aug | 27.3 | 191 | 84 | no |
| Sep | 27.8 | 170 | 83 | no |
| Oct | 28.2 | 49 | 79 | no |
| Nov | 26.9 | 9 | 73 | yes |
| Dec | 24.3 | 13 | 69 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Blaise Diagne International Airport | DSS | 31 | 19 | 1 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 31, of which 19 international (Wikipedia, 2026-08).

## Similar cities

- [Marrakech](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/marrakech) (43) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/dakar-vs-marrakech)
- [Kampala](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kampala) (27.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/dakar-vs-kampala)
- [Kumasi](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kumasi) (33.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/dakar-vs-kumasi)
- [Cairo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/cairo) (38.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cairo-vs-dakar)
- [Ulaanbaatar](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/ulaanbaatar) (34.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/dakar-vs-ulaanbaatar)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Dakar as a digital nomad?

We do not have a reliable monthly cost figure for Dakar yet.

### Is Dakar safe for digital nomads?

Dakar scores 48/100 on safety. Senegal records 7.9 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 62/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Senegal have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Senegal as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay 90 days visa-free.

### How fast is the internet in Dakar?

Measured median download speed in Dakar was 5.5 Mbps (upload 2.8 Mbps) across 10,134 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Which airports serve Dakar and how many nonstop flights are there?

Dakar is served by Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS) with 31 nonstop destinations, of which 19 are international. 1 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-08.

### When is the best time of year to be in Dakar?

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Mar, Jul, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 69°F (21°C) in Feb to 83°F (28°C) in Oct (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Dakar or Marrakech: which is better for digital nomads?

Marrakech is the city with the closest factor profile to Dakar in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/estimates-of-rates-of-homicides-per-100-000-population (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^12]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^13]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8), World Health Organization. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-ambient-air-quality-database-(update-jun-2026) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^16]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/dakar