---
title: "Living in Dili as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/dili
description: "Timor-Leste's small seaside capital, dollar-based and off the radar"
dataset: 2026.11.2 (2026-11-09)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Dili, Timor-Leste

Dili scores 48.4/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 1281 of 1501 cities. There is no open cost-of-living figure yet; expect no dedicated nomad visa, and no reliable internet measurement.

Dili is a small, low-rise capital strung along the waterfront, with the Cristo Rei statue at one end, reef diving close to shore and Atauro island's coral and passing whales a boat ride away. Timor-Leste uses the US dollar and joined ASEAN in 2025. Internet has long been slow and costly, flights mostly go via Bali or Darwin, and outside the NGO and embassy crowd English is limited.

Known for: Cristo Rei statue and beaches, Diving and whales off Atauro, US dollar currency, Slow internet, few flights.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 48.4 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 65 |
| Healthcare | 48 |
| Internet | — |
| Visa ease | 38 |
| Getting there & around | 11 |
| Climate | 58 |
| Air quality | 81 |
| Quality of life | 37 |

## 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) | 5.1 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 76.9 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 48 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 69.3 | country | 2023 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | — | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | — | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | visa on arrival / 90 days / visa on arrival | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (DIL) | 10 | city | 2026-10 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 96 | city | 2026-11 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 3 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 7 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 13.4 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.634 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | — | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 26.8 | 243 | 82 | no |
| Feb | 26.4 | 203 | 84 | no |
| Mar | 26.7 | 120 | 81 | yes |
| Apr | 27.2 | 54 | 75 | yes |
| May | 26.8 | 33 | 74 | yes |
| Jun | 26 | 21 | 71 | yes |
| Jul | 25.5 | 8 | 69 | yes |
| Aug | 25.8 | 4 | 65 | yes |
| Sep | 27.2 | 5 | 62 | yes |
| Oct | 28.6 | 13 | 61 | no |
| Nov | 29.2 | 54 | 64 | no |
| Dec | 27.8 | 166 | 76 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport | DIL | 10 | 6 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 10, of which 6 international (Wikipedia, 2026-10).

## Similar cities

- [Nusa Penida](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/nusa-penida) (57.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/dili-vs-nusa-penida)
- [Amed (Bali)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/amed) (58) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/amed-vs-dili)
- [Banda Aceh](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/banda-aceh) (56.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/banda-aceh-vs-dili)
- [Canggu (Bali)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/canggu) (58.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/canggu-vs-dili)
- [Seminyak (Bali)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/seminyak) (58.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/dili-vs-seminyak)

## FAQ

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

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

### Is Dili safe for digital nomads?

Dili scores 65/100 on safety. Timor-Leste records 5.1 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 76.9/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Timor-Leste have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Timor-Leste as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US get a visa on arrival.

### How fast is the internet in Dili?

M-Lab did not record enough speed tests in Dili in 2024 to publish a median.

### Is Starlink available in Dili?

Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Timor-Leste (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Dili. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

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

Dili is served by Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport (DIL) with 10 nonstop destinations, of which 6 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-10.

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

The most comfortable months are Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep. Mean temperatures range from 78°F (26°C) in Jul to 85°F (29°C) in Nov (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Dili or Nusa Penida: which is better for digital nomads?

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

## Plan a trip

[Plan a trip to Dili](https://dashboard.navoy.io/trip/new?utm_source=nostos&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=plan_trip&utm_content=dili&destination=Dili%2C+Timor-Leste) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## 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]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: 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)
[^12]: 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)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: 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)
[^18]: 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/dili