NavoyNostos

Baghdad vs Erbil

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Erbil edges it, 36 to 35, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Baghdad is stronger on nothing outright; Erbil on internet. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 2.7 of 35 points (scores 21/100)Healthcare: 7.4 of 35 points (scores 59/100)Internet: 3.2 of 35 points (scores 25/100)Visa ease: 4.3 of 35 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 6.1 of 35 points (scores 49/100)Climate: 4.2 of 35 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 2.5 of 35 points (scores 20/100)Quality of life: 4.3 of 35 points (scores 35/100)35
Baghdad
out of 100

The Tigris capital reopening to visitors, still under travel advisories

Full Baghdad profile →Where to stay in Baghdad →
Safety: 2.7 of 36 points (scores 21/100)Healthcare: 7.4 of 36 points (scores 59/100)Internet: 6.2 of 36 points (scores 49/100)Visa ease: 4.3 of 36 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 5.6 of 36 points (scores 45/100)Climate: 3.1 of 36 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 2.6 of 36 points (scores 21/100)Quality of life: 4.3 of 36 points (scores 35/100)36
Erbil
out of 100

Kurdistan's capital: an ancient citadel and the calmest corner of Iraq

Full Erbil profile →Where to stay in Erbil →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricBaghdadErbil
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety2121
Healthcare5959
Internet2549 ✓
Visa ease3434
Getting there & around49 ✓45
Climate33 ✓25
Air quality2021 ✓
Quality of life3535

Cost

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

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricBaghdadErbil
Homicides per 100k12.612.6
Political stability (0–100)32.932.9
UHC service coverage (0–100)6464
Life expectancy71.5 yrs71.5 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricBaghdadErbil
Download2.5 Mbps11.4 Mbps ✓
Upload6 Mbps7.9 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricBaghdadErbil
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival

Getting there and around

MetricBaghdadErbil
Non-stop airport destinations49 ✓34
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricBaghdadErbil
Comfortable months per year4 ✓3
Annual mean PM2.540.8 µg/m³40.6 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Baghdad or Erbil?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Baghdad or Erbil safer?
Baghdad scores higher on safety (21 vs 21), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Baghdad or Erbil?
Erbil: a measured median of 11.4 Mbps versus 2.5 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); 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.