---
title: "Living in Islamabad as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/islamabad
description: "Pakistan's planned capital against the Margalla Hills"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Islamabad, Pakistan

Islamabad scores 32.8/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 997 of 1000 cities. There is no open cost-of-living figure yet; expect no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 4.9 Mbps.

Islamabad is a green, grid-planned capital with hiking trails in the Margalla Hills, wide roads and very low costs. It is calmer and safer than Karachi or Lahore, but visas take effort, nightlife is almost nonexistent and the city needs a car.

Known for: Margalla Hills trails, Green planned city, Very low costs, Visa hurdles.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 32.8 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 33 |
| Healthcare | 46 |
| Internet | 34 |
| Visa ease | 42 |
| Getting there & around | 47 |
| Climate | 42 |
| Air quality | 0 |
| Quality of life | 19 |

## 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) | 4.33 | country | 2024 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 31.4 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 56 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 66 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 4.9 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 4.3 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Coming soon (Pending regulatory approval) | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | eTA required (online, before travel) / eTA required (online, before travel) / eTA required (online, before travel) | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (ISB) | 42 | city | 2026-10 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 108 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 5 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 85.3 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.544 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 10.9 | 40 | 46 | no |
| Feb | 13.2 | 90 | 53 | no |
| Mar | 18.4 | 88 | 52 | yes |
| Apr | 24.2 | 59 | 45 | yes |
| May | 30.3 | 62 | 32 | no |
| Jun | 33.6 | 112 | 33 | no |
| Jul | 31.7 | 220 | 57 | no |
| Aug | 29.5 | 184 | 67 | no |
| Sep | 27.4 | 80 | 59 | yes |
| Oct | 23.2 | 24 | 45 | yes |
| Nov | 17.5 | 18 | 40 | yes |
| Dec | 13.1 | 25 | 40 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Islamabad International Airport | ISB | 42 | 34 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 42, of which 34 international (Wikipedia, 2026-10).

## Similar cities

- [Lahore](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/lahore) (31.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/islamabad-vs-lahore)
- [Karachi](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/karachi) (34.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/islamabad-vs-karachi)
- [Mandalay](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/mandalay) (37.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/islamabad-vs-mandalay)
- [Dhaka](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/dhaka) (45.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/dhaka-vs-islamabad)
- [Varanasi](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/varanasi) (43.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/islamabad-vs-varanasi)

## FAQ

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

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

### Is Islamabad safe for digital nomads?

Islamabad scores 33/100 on safety. Pakistan records 4.33 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 31.4/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Pakistan have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Pakistan as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US need an electronic travel authorisation (eTA), bought online before the trip.

### How fast is the internet in Islamabad?

Measured median download speed in Islamabad was 4.9 Mbps (upload 4.3 Mbps) across 11,714 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Islamabad?

Not yet. Starlink's availability map lists Pakistan as coming soon (Pending regulatory approval) as of 2026-10. Roaming plans may work for short stays, but local rules on using them vary.

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

Islamabad is served by Islamabad International Airport (ISB) with 42 nonstop destinations, of which 34 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-10.

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

The most comfortable months are Mar, Apr, Sep, Oct, Nov. Mean temperatures range from 52°F (11°C) in Jan to 92°F (34°C) in Jun (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Islamabad or Lahore: which is better for digital nomads?

Lahore is the city with the closest factor profile to Islamabad 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

[Where to stay in Islamabad](https://navoy.io/hotels/pakistan/islamabad) 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]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^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/islamabad