NavoyNostos

Abidjan vs Addis Ababa

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Addis Ababa edges it, 40 to 38, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Abidjan is stronger on internet; Addis Ababa on air quality, getting there & around, climate. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 4.7 of 38 points (scores 38/100)Healthcare: 4.5 of 38 points (scores 36/100)Internet: 5.5 of 38 points (scores 44/100)Visa ease: 5.3 of 38 points (scores 42/100)Getting there & around: 5.8 of 38 points (scores 47/100)Climate: 5.2 of 38 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 5.1 of 38 points (scores 41/100)Quality of life: 2.3 of 38 points (scores 18/100)38
Abidjan
out of 100

West Africa's francophone business hub on the lagoon

Full Abidjan profile →Plan a trip with Navoy →
Safety: 3.6 of 39 points (scores 29/100)Healthcare: 4.4 of 39 points (scores 35/100)Internet: 2.1 of 39 points (scores 17/100)Visa ease: 4.3 of 39 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 8.1 of 39 points (scores 65/100)Climate: 7.3 of 39 points (scores 58/100)Air quality: 8.2 of 39 points (scores 66/100)Quality of life: 1.5 of 39 points (scores 12/100)40
Addis Ababa
out of 100

Africa's diplomatic capital at altitude

Full Addis Ababa profile →Where to stay in Addis Ababa →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricAbidjanAddis Ababa
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety38 ✓29
Healthcare36 ✓35
Internet44 ✓17
Visa ease42 ✓34
Getting there & around4765 ✓
Climate4258 ✓
Air quality4166 ✓
Quality of life18 ✓12

Cost

MetricAbidjanAddis Ababa
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno datano data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricAbidjanAddis Ababa
Homicides per 100k116.7 ✓
Political stability (0–100)53.1 ✓33.1
UHC service coverage (0–100)46 ✓33
Life expectancy63.5 yrs67.8 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricAbidjanAddis Ababa
Download8.6 Mbps ✓2.2 Mbps
Upload5.6 Mbps ✓1.1 Mbps

Visa

MetricAbidjanAddis Ababa
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passporteTA required (online, before travel) ✓visa on arrival
Entry, EU passporteTA required (online, before travel) ✓visa on arrival
Entry, UK passporteTA required (online, before travel) ✓visa on arrival

Getting there and around

MetricAbidjanAddis Ababa
Non-stop airport destinations41149 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)23 ✓

Climate and air

MetricAbidjanAddis Ababa
Comfortable months per year57 ✓
Annual mean PM2.531.6 µg/m³20.5 µg/m³ ✓

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Abidjan or Addis Ababa?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Abidjan or Addis Ababa safer?
Abidjan scores higher on safety (38 vs 29), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Abidjan or Addis Ababa?
Abidjan: a measured median of 8.6 Mbps versus 2.2 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.