NavoyNostos

Erbil vs Mandalay

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Mandalay edges it, 38 to 36, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Erbil is stronger on air quality, healthcare, quality of life; Mandalay on climate, safety. 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: 7.8 of 38 points (scores 70/100)Safety: 3.5 of 38 points (scores 32/100)Healthcare: 5.1 of 38 points (scores 46/100)Internet: 6.0 of 38 points (scores 54/100)Visa ease: 3.6 of 38 points (scores 32/100)Getting there & around: 4.0 of 38 points (scores 36/100)Climate: 4.6 of 38 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 0.7 of 38 points (scores 7/100)Quality of life: 2.5 of 38 points (scores 22/100)38
Mandalay
out of 100

Myanmar's second city and cultural heart, hit by war and the 2025 earthquake

Full Mandalay profile →Where to stay in Mandalay →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricErbilMandalay
Cost of livingno data70
Safety2132 ✓
Healthcare59 ✓46
Internet4954 ✓
Visa ease34 ✓32
Getting there & around45 ✓36
Climate2542 ✓
Air quality21 ✓7
Quality of life35 ✓22

Cost

MetricErbilMandalay
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$768
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricErbilMandalay
Homicides per 100k12.63.9 ✓
Political stability (0–100)32.9 ✓28.5
UHC service coverage (0–100)64 ✓52
Life expectancy71.5 yrs ✓67.8 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricErbilMandalay
Download11.4 Mbps14.9 Mbps ✓
Upload7.9 Mbps8.7 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricErbilMandalay
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

MetricErbilMandalay
Non-stop airport destinations34 ✓23
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)2 ✓1

Climate and air

MetricErbilMandalay
Comfortable months per year35 ✓
Annual mean PM2.540.6 µg/m³ ✓47 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Erbil or Mandalay?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Erbil or Mandalay safer?
Mandalay scores higher on safety (32 vs 21), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Erbil or Mandalay?
Mandalay: a measured median of 14.9 Mbps versus 11.4 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.