---
title: "Living in Lusaka as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/lusaka
description: "Zambia's fast-growing capital and gateway to the Zambezi"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Lusaka, Zambia

Lusaka scores 47.4/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 916 of 1000 cities. There is no open cost-of-living figure yet; expect no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 6.2 Mbps.

Lusaka is a sprawling, friendly English-speaking capital with a growing cafe and coworking scene and flights to Livingstone for Victoria Falls in an hour. Power cuts from drought-hit hydro dams have been severe since 2024, and most travel is by car or ride-hailing.

Known for: Victoria Falls weekends, Friendly and English-speaking, Growing coworking scene, Severe power cuts.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 47.4 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 54 |
| Healthcare | 42 |
| Internet | 35 |
| Visa ease | 46 |
| Getting there & around | 29 |
| Climate | 83 |
| Air quality | 68 |
| Quality of life | 22 |

## 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) | 5.9 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 64.6 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 62 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 61 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 6.2 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 1.8 | 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 | 90 days / 90 days / 90 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (LUN) | 19 | city | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 34 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 1 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 10 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 19.5 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.595 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | — | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 22.4 | 207 | 81 | no |
| Feb | 22.1 | 149 | 82 | yes |
| Mar | 22.1 | 94 | 78 | yes |
| Apr | 21.4 | 28 | 67 | yes |
| May | 20 | 3 | 53 | yes |
| Jun | 17.9 | 1 | 49 | yes |
| Jul | 17.4 | 1 | 47 | yes |
| Aug | 20.3 | 0 | 39 | yes |
| Sep | 23.9 | 1 | 33 | yes |
| Oct | 26.6 | 11 | 36 | yes |
| Nov | 25.9 | 81 | 52 | yes |
| Dec | 23.3 | 205 | 75 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Kenneth Kaunda International Airport | LUN | 19 | 13 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 19, of which 13 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Livingstone](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/livingstone) (50.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/livingstone-vs-lusaka)
- [Arusha](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/arusha) (48.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/arusha-vs-lusaka)
- [Dar es Salaam](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/dar-es-salaam) (48.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/dar-es-salaam-vs-lusaka)
- [Harare](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/harare) (41.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/harare-vs-lusaka)
- [Moshi](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/moshi) (50.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/lusaka-vs-moshi)

## FAQ

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

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

### Is Lusaka safe for digital nomads?

Lusaka scores 54/100 on safety. Zambia records 5.9 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 64.6/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Zambia have a digital nomad visa?

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

### How fast is the internet in Lusaka?

Measured median download speed in Lusaka was 6.2 Mbps (upload 1.8 Mbps) across 5,938 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 Lusaka?

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

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

Lusaka is served by Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (LUN) with 19 nonstop destinations, of which 13 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

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

The most comfortable months are Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov. Mean temperatures range from 63°F (17°C) in Jul to 80°F (27°C) in Oct (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Lusaka or Livingstone: which is better for digital nomads?

Livingstone is the city with the closest factor profile to Lusaka 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 Lusaka](https://navoy.io/hotels/zambia/lusaka) 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/lusaka