NavoyNostos

Colombo vs Osh

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Colombo edges it, 55 to 53, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Colombo is stronger on quality of life; Osh on climate, visa ease. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 7.5 of 54 points (scores 68/100)Safety: 7.0 of 54 points (scores 63/100)Healthcare: 8.0 of 54 points (scores 72/100)Internet: 4.1 of 54 points (scores 37/100)Visa ease: 7.1 of 54 points (scores 64/100)Getting there & around: 5.5 of 54 points (scores 50/100)Climate: 2.8 of 54 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 6.5 of 54 points (scores 59/100)Quality of life: 5.8 of 54 points (scores 52/100)55
Colombo
out of 100

Sri Lanka's capital with the whole island within reach

Full Colombo profile →Where to stay in Colombo →
Safety: 7.1 of 53 points (scores 57/100)Healthcare: 8.3 of 53 points (scores 66/100)Internet: 5.2 of 53 points (scores 42/100)Visa ease: 9.3 of 53 points (scores 75/100)Getting there & around: 6.0 of 53 points (scores 48/100)Climate: 5.2 of 53 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 7.0 of 53 points (scores 56/100)Quality of life: 4.8 of 53 points (scores 38/100)53
Osh
out of 100

Kyrgyzstan's southern bazaar city at the edge of the Fergana Valley

Full Osh profile →Where to stay in Osh →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricColomboOsh
Cost of living68no data
Safety63 ✓57
Healthcare72 ✓66
Internet3742 ✓
Visa ease6475 ✓
Getting there & around50 ✓48
Climate2542 ✓
Air quality59 ✓56
Quality of life52 ✓38

Cost

MetricColomboOsh
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$820no data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricColomboOsh
Homicides per 100k2.51 ✓4.7
Political stability (0–100)64.965.3 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)7274 ✓
Life expectancy77.2 yrs ✓72.2 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricColomboOsh
Download7.2 Mbps ✓7.1 Mbps
Upload2 Mbps7.3 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricColomboOsh
Nomad visaDigital nomad visaDigital Nomad status (DN visa)
Minimum income for the visa$2,000/mo$417/mo ✓
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival60 days ✓
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrival60 days ✓
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrival60 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricColomboOsh
Non-stop airport destinations55 ✓28
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricColomboOsh
Comfortable months per year35 ✓
Annual mean PM2.523.6 µg/m³ ✓25 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Colombo or Osh?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Colombo or Osh safer?
Colombo scores higher on safety (63 vs 57), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Colombo or Osh?
Colombo: a measured median of 7.2 Mbps versus 7.1 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; 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); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.