NavoyNostos

Jakarta vs Samarkand

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Jakarta edges it, 53 to 49, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Jakarta is stronger on visa ease; Samarkand on healthcare. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 6.2 of 53 points (scores 55/100)Safety: 7.4 of 53 points (scores 67/100)Healthcare: 6.2 of 53 points (scores 56/100)Internet: 6.0 of 53 points (scores 54/100)Visa ease: 6.0 of 53 points (scores 54/100)Getting there & around: 6.2 of 53 points (scores 56/100)Climate: 5.6 of 53 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 4.0 of 53 points (scores 36/100)Quality of life: 5.0 of 53 points (scores 45/100)53
Jakarta
out of 100

Indonesia's megacity, cheap and chaotic

Full Jakarta profile →Where to stay in Jakarta →
Safety: 8.8 of 49 points (scores 70/100)Healthcare: 8.6 of 49 points (scores 69/100)Internet: 7.2 of 49 points (scores 58/100)Visa ease: 4.1 of 49 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 6.0 of 49 points (scores 48/100)Climate: 5.2 of 49 points (scores 42/100)Air quality: 4.0 of 49 points (scores 32/100)Quality of life: 5.1 of 49 points (scores 41/100)49
Samarkand
out of 100

Timurid Silk Road city with the Registan at its heart

Full Samarkand profile →Where to stay in Samarkand →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricJakartaSamarkand
Cost of living55no data
Safety6770 ✓
Healthcare5669 ✓
Internet5458 ✓
Visa ease54 ✓33
Getting there & around56 ✓48
Climate50 ✓42
Air quality36 ✓32
Quality of life45 ✓41

Cost

MetricJakartaSamarkand
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,127no data
Central one-bedroom rent$550no data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricJakartaSamarkand
Homicides per 100k0.41 ✓1.4
Political stability (0–100)52.767.4 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)6779 ✓
Life expectancy68.3 yrs72.2 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricJakartaSamarkand
Download15.8 Mbps16.3 Mbps ✓
Upload8.3 Mbps18.5 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricJakartaSamarkand
Nomad visaRemote worker visa (E33G) ✓none listed
Minimum income for the visa$5,000/mono data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival ✓e-visa required
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrival ✓30 days
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrival ✓30 days

Getting there and around

MetricJakartaSamarkand
Non-stop airport destinations98 ✓28
Walkability (1–5, editorial)13 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)3 ✓2

Climate and air

MetricJakartaSamarkand
Comfortable months per year6 ✓5
Annual mean PM2.533.8 µg/m³ ✓35.8 µg/m³

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Jakarta or Samarkand?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Jakarta or Samarkand safer?
Samarkand scores higher on safety (70 vs 67), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Jakarta or Samarkand?
Samarkand: a measured median of 16.3 Mbps versus 15.8 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); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); 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); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.