NavoyNostos

Kigali vs Luanda

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Kigali edges it, 48 to 45, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Kigali is stronger on safety, healthcare; Luanda on climate. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 7.5 of 48 points (scores 68/100)Safety: 6.8 of 48 points (scores 62/100)Healthcare: 5.6 of 48 points (scores 50/100)Internet: 3.7 of 48 points (scores 33/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 48 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 4.2 of 48 points (scores 38/100)Climate: 8.3 of 48 points (scores 75/100)Air quality: 5.6 of 48 points (scores 50/100)Quality of life: 2.6 of 48 points (scores 24/100)48
Kigali
out of 100

Africa's cleanest and safest capital

Full Kigali profile →Where to stay in Kigali →
Safety: 5.5 of 45 points (scores 44/100)Healthcare: 4.1 of 45 points (scores 33/100)Internet: 4.4 of 45 points (scores 36/100)Visa ease: 4.2 of 45 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 5.1 of 45 points (scores 41/100)Climate: 11.5 of 45 points (scores 92/100)Air quality: 7.1 of 45 points (scores 57/100)Quality of life: 2.9 of 45 points (scores 23/100)45
Luanda
out of 100

Angola's oil capital on a bay, with the Ilha beach strip and new visa-free entry

Full Luanda profile →Where to stay in Luanda →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricKigaliLuanda
Cost of living68no data
Safety62 ✓44
Healthcare50 ✓33
Internet3336 ✓
Visa ease34 ✓33
Getting there & around3841 ✓
Climate7592 ✓
Air quality5057 ✓
Quality of life24 ✓23

Cost

MetricKigaliLuanda
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$820no data
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricKigaliLuanda
Homicides per 100k3.61 ✓8.7
Political stability (0–100)67.7 ✓57.9
UHC service coverage (0–100)59 ✓44
Life expectancy67.5 yrs ✓62.1 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricKigaliLuanda
Download5.1 Mbps5.7 Mbps ✓
Upload2.6 Mbps3.2 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricKigaliLuanda
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrival ✓30 days
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrival ✓30 days
Entry, UK passport30 days30 days

Getting there and around

MetricKigaliLuanda
Non-stop airport destinations1636 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)2 ✓1

Climate and air

MetricKigaliLuanda
Comfortable months per year911 ✓
Annual mean PM2.527.5 µg/m³24.4 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Kigali or Luanda?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Kigali or Luanda safer?
Kigali scores higher on safety (62 vs 44), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Kigali or Luanda?
Luanda: a measured median of 5.7 Mbps versus 5.1 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); OpenFlights airports and routes; 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); Monitoring and Dispersion Modelling of PM2.5 in Rwanda (2019–2024); 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.