---
title: "Living in Zanzibar City as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/zanzibar-city
description: "Stone Town and the island beaches beyond"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Zanzibar City, Tanzania

Zanzibar City scores 32.1/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 305 of 309 cities. Expect about an unknown amount per month (country-level estimate), no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 2.6 Mbps.

Zanzibar City is the Stone Town gateway to an island whose east-coast villages have grown a kitesurfing and nomad scene. Costs are moderate for Africa, and the island is an hour's flight or ferry from Dar es Salaam.

Known for: UNESCO Stone Town, Beaches an hour away, Nomad community in Paje, Swahili culture.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 32.1 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 45 |
| Healthcare | 40 |
| Internet | 6 |
| Visa ease | 6 |
| Getting there & around | 20 |
| Climate | 50 |
| Air quality | 71 |
| 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) | 8.3 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 59.2 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 49 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 66.8 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 2.6 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 1.5 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | visa or e-visa required / visa or e-visa required / visa or e-visa required | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (ZNZ) | 32 | city | 2026-08 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 4 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 6 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 17.9 | city | 2023 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.555 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 28.1 | 62 | 77 | no |
| Feb | 28.4 | 51 | 76 | no |
| Mar | 28.6 | 119 | 76 | no |
| Apr | 28.2 | 256 | 79 | no |
| May | 27.2 | 186 | 79 | no |
| Jun | 26.2 | 29 | 76 | yes |
| Jul | 25.5 | 13 | 74 | yes |
| Aug | 25.5 | 14 | 74 | yes |
| Sep | 26 | 22 | 74 | yes |
| Oct | 26.9 | 64 | 74 | yes |
| Nov | 27.8 | 101 | 75 | yes |
| Dec | 28.3 | 92 | 76 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Abeid Amani Karume International Airport | ZNZ | 32 | 16 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 32, of which 16 international (Wikipedia, 2026-08).

## Similar cities

- [Addis Ababa](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/addis-ababa) (29.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/addis-ababa-vs-zanzibar-city)
- [Dar es Salaam](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/dar-es-salaam) (37.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/dar-es-salaam-vs-zanzibar-city)
- [Ubud (Bali)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/ubud) (50.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/ubud-vs-zanzibar-city)
- [Accra](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/accra) (39.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/accra-vs-zanzibar-city)
- [Mombasa](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/mombasa) (45.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/mombasa-vs-zanzibar-city)

## FAQ

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

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

### Is Zanzibar City safe for digital nomads?

Zanzibar City scores 45/100 on safety. Tanzania records 8.3 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 59.2/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Tanzania have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Tanzania as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay only with a visa, e-visa, eTA or visa on arrival days.

### How fast is the internet in Zanzibar City?

Measured median download speed in Zanzibar City was 2.6 Mbps (upload 1.5 Mbps) across 1,743 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 Zanzibar City and how many nonstop flights are there?

Zanzibar City is served by Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) with 32 nonstop destinations, of which 16 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-08.

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

The most comfortable months are Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov. Mean temperatures range from 78°F (26°C) in Jul to 83°F (29°C) in Mar (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Zanzibar City or Addis Ababa: which is better for digital nomads?

Addis Ababa is the city with the closest factor profile to Zanzibar City 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]: 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 2026-09-26)
[^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/zanzibar-city