NavoyNostos

Dakar vs Dhaka

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Dhaka edges it, 45 to 36, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Dakar is stronger on visa ease; Dhaka on quality of life, healthcare. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 6.1 of 36 points (scores 49/100)Healthcare: 5.5 of 36 points (scores 44/100)Internet: 4.3 of 36 points (scores 35/100)Visa ease: 5.8 of 36 points (scores 46/100)Getting there & around: 5.5 of 36 points (scores 44/100)Climate: 6.3 of 36 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 36 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 2.1 of 36 points (scores 17/100)36
Dakar
out of 100

West Africa's cultural capital on the Atlantic

Full Dakar profile →Where to stay in Dakar →
Cost of living: 11.1 of 45 points (scores 100/100)Safety: 6.1 of 45 points (scores 55/100)Healthcare: 6.2 of 45 points (scores 55/100)Internet: 4.3 of 45 points (scores 39/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 45 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 4.7 of 45 points (scores 43/100)Climate: 4.6 of 45 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 45 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 4.3 of 45 points (scores 39/100)45
Dhaka
out of 100

Megacity on the delta with energy and gridlock

Full Dhaka profile →Where to stay in Dhaka →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricDakarDhaka
Cost of livingno data100
Safety4955 ✓
Healthcare4455 ✓
Internet3539 ✓
Visa ease46 ✓34
Getting there & around44 ✓43
Climate50 ✓42
Air quality00
Quality of life1739 ✓

Cost

MetricDakarDhaka
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$359
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricDakarDhaka
Homicides per 100k7.91.76 ✓
Political stability (0–100)62.7 ✓49.1
UHC service coverage (0–100)4854 ✓
Life expectancy67.8 yrs73.1 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricDakarDhaka
Download5.5 Mbps5.5 Mbps
Upload2.8 Mbps8.3 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricDakarDhaka
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passport90 days ✓visa on arrival
Entry, EU passport90 days ✓visa on arrival
Entry, UK passport90 days ✓visa on arrival

Getting there and around

MetricDakarDhaka
Non-stop airport destinations31 ✓27
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricDakarDhaka
Comfortable months per year6 ✓5
Annual mean PM2.553.1 µg/m³ ✓89.8 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Dakar or Dhaka?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Dakar or Dhaka safer?
Dhaka scores higher on safety (55 vs 49), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Dakar or Dhaka?
Dakar: a measured median of 5.5 Mbps versus 5.5 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; 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); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.