NavoyNostos

Islamabad vs Mandalay

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Mandalay edges it, 38 to 33, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Islamabad is stronger on getting there & around, visa ease; Mandalay on internet. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 4.1 of 33 points (scores 33/100)Healthcare: 5.8 of 33 points (scores 46/100)Internet: 4.3 of 33 points (scores 34/100)Visa ease: 5.3 of 33 points (scores 42/100)Getting there & around: 5.9 of 33 points (scores 47/100)Climate: 5.2 of 33 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 0.0 of 33 points (scores 0/100)Quality of life: 2.3 of 33 points (scores 19/100)33
Islamabad
out of 100

Pakistan's planned capital against the Margalla Hills

Full Islamabad profile →Where to stay in Islamabad →
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)

MetricIslamabadMandalay
Cost of livingno data70
Safety33 ✓32
Healthcare4646 ✓
Internet3454 ✓
Visa ease42 ✓32
Getting there & around47 ✓36
Climate4242
Air quality07 ✓
Quality of life1922 ✓

Cost

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

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricIslamabadMandalay
Homicides per 100k4.333.9 ✓
Political stability (0–100)31.4 ✓28.5
UHC service coverage (0–100)56 ✓52
Life expectancy66 yrs67.8 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricIslamabadMandalay
Download4.9 Mbps14.9 Mbps ✓
Upload4.3 Mbps8.7 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricIslamabadMandalay
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passporteTA required (online, before travel) ✓e-visa required
Entry, EU passporteTA required (online, before travel) ✓e-visa required
Entry, UK passporteTA required (online, before travel) ✓e-visa required

Getting there and around

MetricIslamabadMandalay
Non-stop airport destinations42 ✓23
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)2 ✓1

Climate and air

MetricIslamabadMandalay
Comfortable months per year55
Annual mean PM2.585.3 µg/m³47 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Islamabad or Mandalay?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Islamabad or Mandalay safer?
Islamabad scores higher on safety (33 vs 32), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Islamabad or Mandalay?
Mandalay: a measured median of 14.9 Mbps versus 4.9 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); 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.