NavoyNostos

Harare vs Lusaka

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Lusaka edges it, 47 to 42, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Harare is stronger on nothing outright; Lusaka on climate, safety, visa ease. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 5.2 of 42 points (scores 42/100)Healthcare: 4.6 of 42 points (scores 37/100)Internet: 4.1 of 42 points (scores 33/100)Visa ease: 4.3 of 42 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 3.8 of 42 points (scores 30/100)Climate: 8.3 of 42 points (scores 67/100)Air quality: 8.8 of 42 points (scores 70/100)Quality of life: 2.9 of 42 points (scores 23/100)42
Harare
out of 100

Zimbabwe's leafy capital, friendly but economically fragile

Full Harare profile →Where to stay in Harare →
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)

MetricHarareLusaka
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety4254 ✓
Healthcare3742 ✓
Internet3335 ✓
Visa ease3446 ✓
Getting there & around30 ✓29
Climate6783 ✓
Air quality70 ✓68
Quality of life23 ✓22

Cost

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

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricHarareLusaka
Homicides per 100k6.765.9 ✓
Political stability (0–100)50.364.6 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)5962 ✓
Life expectancy58.5 yrs61 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricHarareLusaka
Download5.2 Mbps6.2 Mbps ✓
Upload2.1 Mbps ✓1.8 Mbps

Visa

MetricHarareLusaka
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

MetricHarareLusaka
Non-stop airport destinations1319 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)2 ✓1
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricHarareLusaka
Comfortable months per year810 ✓
Annual mean PM2.518.4 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, Harare or Lusaka?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Harare or Lusaka safer?
Lusaka scores higher on safety (54 vs 42), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Harare or Lusaka?
Lusaka: a measured median of 6.2 Mbps versus 5.2 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.