NavoyNostos

Dar es Salaam vs Lusaka

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Dar es Salaam edges it, 48 to 47, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Dar es Salaam is stronger on getting there & around; Lusaka on visa ease. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 6.9 of 48 points (scores 55/100)Healthcare: 5.4 of 48 points (scores 43/100)Internet: 5.4 of 48 points (scores 43/100)Visa ease: 4.3 of 48 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 5.5 of 48 points (scores 44/100)Climate: 9.4 of 48 points (scores 75/100)Air quality: 9.1 of 48 points (scores 72/100)Quality of life: 2.5 of 48 points (scores 20/100)48
Dar es Salaam
out of 100

Swahili coast city with Zanzibar next door

Full Dar es Salaam profile →Where to stay in Dar es Salaam →
Safety: 6.7 of 47 points (scores 54/100)Healthcare: 5.3 of 47 points (scores 42/100)Internet: 4.3 of 47 points (scores 35/100)Visa ease: 5.8 of 47 points (scores 46/100)Getting there & around: 3.6 of 47 points (scores 29/100)Climate: 10.4 of 47 points (scores 83/100)Air quality: 8.5 of 47 points (scores 68/100)Quality of life: 2.8 of 47 points (scores 22/100)47
Lusaka
out of 100

Zambia's fast-growing capital and gateway to the Zambezi

Full Lusaka profile →Where to stay in Lusaka →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricDar es SalaamLusaka
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety55 ✓54
Healthcare43 ✓42
Internet43 ✓35
Visa ease3446 ✓
Getting there & around44 ✓29
Climate7583 ✓
Air quality72 ✓68
Quality of life2022 ✓

Cost

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

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricDar es SalaamLusaka
Homicides per 100k3.3 ✓5.9
Political stability (0–100)57.364.6 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)4962 ✓
Life expectancy66.8 yrs ✓61 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricDar es SalaamLusaka
Download9.5 Mbps ✓6.2 Mbps
Upload3.2 Mbps ✓1.8 Mbps

Visa

MetricDar es SalaamLusaka
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival90 days ✓
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrival90 days ✓
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrival90 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricDar es SalaamLusaka
Non-stop airport destinations50 ✓19
Walkability (1–5, editorial)11
Transit (1–5, editorial)2 ✓1

Climate and air

MetricDar es SalaamLusaka
Comfortable months per year910 ✓
Annual mean PM2.517.4 µg/m³ ✓19.5 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Dar es Salaam or Lusaka?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Dar es Salaam or Lusaka safer?
Dar es Salaam scores higher on safety (55 vs 54), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Dar es Salaam or Lusaka?
Dar es Salaam: a measured median of 9.5 Mbps versus 6.2 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); 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.