NavoyNostos

Erbil vs Lagos

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Lagos edges it, 38 to 36, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Erbil is stronger on healthcare; Lagos on air quality. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

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 →
Cost of living: 7.0 of 38 points (scores 63/100)Safety: 2.2 of 38 points (scores 20/100)Healthcare: 4.1 of 38 points (scores 37/100)Internet: 5.2 of 38 points (scores 47/100)Visa ease: 3.6 of 38 points (scores 32/100)Getting there & around: 4.3 of 38 points (scores 39/100)Climate: 3.7 of 38 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 3.8 of 38 points (scores 34/100)Quality of life: 3.8 of 38 points (scores 35/100)38
Lagos
out of 100

Africa's biggest city and startup scene

Full Lagos profile →Where to stay in Lagos →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricErbilLagos
Cost of livingno data63
Safety21 ✓20
Healthcare59 ✓37
Internet49 ✓47
Visa ease34 ✓32
Getting there & around45 ✓39
Climate2533 ✓
Air quality2134 ✓
Quality of life3535

Cost

MetricErbilLagos
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$922
Central one-bedroom rentno data$532

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricErbilLagos
Homicides per 100k12.6 ✓15.75
Political stability (0–100)32.935.1 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)64 ✓47
Life expectancy71.5 yrs ✓63.4 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricErbilLagos
Download11.4 Mbps ✓11.2 Mbps
Upload7.9 Mbps ✓4.7 Mbps

Visa

MetricErbilLagos
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival ✓e-visa required
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrival ✓e-visa required
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrival ✓e-visa required

Getting there and around

MetricErbilLagos
Non-stop airport destinations3450 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)2 ✓1
Transit (1–5, editorial)2 ✓1

Climate and air

MetricErbilLagos
Comfortable months per year34 ✓
Annual mean PM2.540.6 µg/m³34.6 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Erbil or Lagos?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Erbil or Lagos safer?
Erbil scores higher on safety (21 vs 20), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Erbil or Lagos?
Erbil: a measured median of 11.4 Mbps versus 11.2 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); 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.