NavoyNostos

Algiers vs Xiamen

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Xiamen edges it, 56 to 52, winning 6 of the 9 factors. Algiers is stronger on nothing outright; Xiamen on safety, healthcare. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 7.6 of 52 points (scores 61/100)Healthcare: 8.7 of 52 points (scores 69/100)Internet: 4.9 of 52 points (scores 40/100)Visa ease: 0.8 of 52 points (scores 6/100)Getting there & around: 8.1 of 52 points (scores 65/100)Climate: 6.3 of 52 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 9.7 of 52 points (scores 77/100)Quality of life: 6.3 of 52 points (scores 50/100)52
Algiers
out of 100

White Mediterranean capital with a UNESCO casbah

Full Algiers profile →Where to stay in Algiers →
Cost of living: 4.0 of 56 points (scores 36/100)Safety: 8.4 of 56 points (scores 76/100)Healthcare: 9.0 of 56 points (scores 81/100)Internet: 5.4 of 56 points (scores 49/100)Visa ease: 1.7 of 56 points (scores 15/100)Getting there & around: 7.8 of 56 points (scores 71/100)Climate: 5.6 of 56 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 7.7 of 56 points (scores 69/100)Quality of life: 6.1 of 56 points (scores 55/100)56
Xiamen
out of 100

China's cleanest coastal city, with Gulangyu island

Full Xiamen profile →Where to stay in Xiamen →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricAlgiersXiamen
Cost of livingno data36
Safety6176 ✓
Healthcare6981 ✓
Internet4049 ✓
Visa ease615 ✓
Getting there & around6571 ✓
Climate5050
Air quality77 ✓69
Quality of life5055 ✓

Cost

MetricAlgiersXiamen
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$1,850
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricAlgiersXiamen
Homicides per 100k1.380.5 ✓
Political stability (0–100)5466 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)7085 ✓
Life expectancy76 yrs77.6 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricAlgiersXiamen
Download9.4 Mbps10.8 Mbps ✓
Upload1.2 Mbps9.2 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricAlgiersXiamen
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa requiredvisa required
Entry, EU passportvisa required30 days ✓
Entry, UK passportvisa requiredvisa required

Getting there and around

MetricAlgiersXiamen
Non-stop airport destinations93 ✓60
Walkability (1–5, editorial)34 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)34 ✓

Climate and air

MetricAlgiersXiamen
Comfortable months per year66
Annual mean PM2.515.2 µg/m³ ✓18.8 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Algiers or Xiamen?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Algiers or Xiamen safer?
Xiamen scores higher on safety (76 vs 61), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Algiers or Xiamen?
Xiamen: a measured median of 10.8 Mbps versus 9.4 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); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); 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); Official entry rules that changed after the Passport Index snapshot; OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.