NavoyNostos

Baku vs Xiamen

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Baku edges it, 57 to 56, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Baku is stronger on visa ease; Xiamen on healthcare, safety. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 8.1 of 57 points (scores 65/100)Healthcare: 7.9 of 57 points (scores 63/100)Internet: 6.4 of 57 points (scores 51/100)Visa ease: 4.0 of 57 points (scores 32/100)Getting there & around: 9.1 of 57 points (scores 73/100)Climate: 6.3 of 57 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 9.3 of 57 points (scores 74/100)Quality of life: 6.0 of 57 points (scores 48/100)57
Baku
out of 100

Caspian capital of oil money and old stone

Full Baku profile →Where to stay in Baku →
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)

MetricBakuXiamen
Cost of livingno data36
Safety6576 ✓
Healthcare6381 ✓
Internet51 ✓49
Visa ease32 ✓15
Getting there & around73 ✓71
Climate5050
Air quality74 ✓69
Quality of life4855 ✓

Cost

MetricBakuXiamen
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)

MetricBakuXiamen
Homicides per 100k1.990.5 ✓
Political stability (0–100)6466 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)6785 ✓
Life expectancy72.9 yrs77.6 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricBakuXiamen
Download11.4 Mbps ✓10.8 Mbps
Upload13.6 Mbps ✓9.2 Mbps

Visa

MetricBakuXiamen
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passporte-visa required ✓visa required
Entry, EU passporte-visa required30 days ✓
Entry, UK passporte-visa required ✓visa required

Getting there and around

MetricBakuXiamen
Non-stop airport destinations76 ✓60
Walkability (1–5, editorial)44
Transit (1–5, editorial)44

Climate and air

MetricBakuXiamen
Comfortable months per year66
Annual mean PM2.516.5 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, Baku or Xiamen?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Baku or Xiamen safer?
Xiamen scores higher on safety (76 vs 65), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Baku or Xiamen?
Baku: a measured median of 11.4 Mbps versus 10.8 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.