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Erbil vs Yangon

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Yangon edges it, 41 to 36, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Erbil is stronger on healthcare, quality of life; Yangon on air quality, 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: 7.5 of 41 points (scores 68/100)Safety: 3.5 of 41 points (scores 32/100)Healthcare: 5.1 of 41 points (scores 46/100)Internet: 4.9 of 41 points (scores 44/100)Visa ease: 3.6 of 41 points (scores 32/100)Getting there & around: 4.8 of 41 points (scores 43/100)Climate: 4.6 of 41 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 4.8 of 41 points (scores 43/100)Quality of life: 2.5 of 41 points (scores 22/100)41
Yangon
out of 100

Myanmar's largest city, now largely off-limits under an ongoing civil conflict

Full Yangon profile →Where to stay in Yangon →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricErbilYangon
Cost of livingno data68
Safety2132 ✓
Healthcare59 ✓46
Internet49 ✓44
Visa ease34 ✓32
Getting there & around45 ✓43
Climate2542 ✓
Air quality2143 ✓
Quality of life35 ✓22

Cost

MetricErbilYangon
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$820
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricErbilYangon
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)

MetricErbilYangon
Download11.4 Mbps ✓8.1 Mbps
Upload7.9 Mbps8 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricErbilYangon
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

MetricErbilYangon
Non-stop airport destinations34 ✓29
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricErbilYangon
Comfortable months per year35 ✓
Annual mean PM2.540.6 µg/m³30.7 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Erbil or Yangon?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Erbil or Yangon safer?
Yangon 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 Yangon?
Erbil: a measured median of 11.4 Mbps versus 8.1 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.