---
title: "Lagos vs Yaoundé for digital nomads"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/lagos-vs-yaounde
description: "Under balanced weights Lagos edges it, 36 to 28, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Lagos is stronger on internet, quality of life; Yaoundé on safety. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you."
dataset: 2026.11.2 (2026-11-09)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Lagos vs Yaoundé for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Lagos edges it, 36 to 28, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Lagos is stronger on internet, quality of life; Yaoundé on safety. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

## Where they differ

- **Internet.** Lagos leads on internet, 47 to 25, against Yaoundé. Measured download: 11.2 Mbps vs 3.7 Mbps.
- **Quality of life.** Lagos leads on quality of life, 40 to 24, against Yaoundé.
- **Safety.** Yaoundé leads on safety, 31 to 20, against Lagos. Homicides per 100,000: 15.75 vs 6.76.

Where they are close: within five points on healthcare, air quality, visa ease.

**Pick Lagos if you want** faster internet (11.2 Mbps measured).

**Pick Yaoundé if you want** the safer country figures.

## Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

| Metric | Lagos | Yaoundé | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cost of living | 75 | no data | — |
| Safety | 20 | 31 | Yaoundé |
| Healthcare | 39 | 42 | Yaoundé |
| Internet | 47 | 25 | Lagos |
| Visa ease | 32 | 32 | tie |
| Getting there & around | 7 | 12 | Yaoundé |
| Climate | 33 | 25 | Lagos |
| Air quality | 34 | 33 | Lagos |
| Quality of life | 40 | 24 | Lagos |

## Cost

| Metric | Lagos | Yaoundé | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $991 | no data | — |
| Central one-bedroom rent | $523 | no data | — |

## Safety and health (country-level)

| Metric | Lagos | Yaoundé | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Homicides per 100k | 15.75 | 6.76 | Yaoundé |
| Political stability (0–100) | 35.1 | 36 | Yaoundé |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 47 | 48 | Yaoundé |
| Life expectancy | 62.9 yrs | 64.6 yrs | Yaoundé |

## Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

| Metric | Lagos | Yaoundé | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Download | 11.2 Mbps | 3.7 Mbps | Lagos |
| Upload | 4.7 Mbps | 1.2 Mbps | Lagos |

## Visa

| Metric | Lagos | Yaoundé | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed | tie |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data | — |
| Entry, US passport | e-visa required | e-visa required | tie |
| Entry, EU passport | e-visa required | e-visa required | tie |
| Entry, UK passport | e-visa required | e-visa required | tie |

## Getting there and around

| Metric | Lagos | Yaoundé | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Non-stop airport destinations | 50 | 17 | Lagos |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 1 | 2 | Yaoundé |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 1 | 2 | Yaoundé |

## Climate and air

| Metric | Lagos | Yaoundé | Better |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Comfortable months per year | 4 | 3 | Lagos |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 34.6 µg/m³ | 35.3 µg/m³ | Lagos |

## FAQ

### Which is cheaper, Lagos or Yaoundé?

We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.

### Is Lagos or Yaoundé safer?

Yaoundé scores higher on safety (31 vs 20), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

### Where is the internet faster, Lagos or Yaoundé?

Lagos: a measured median of 11.2 Mbps versus 3.7 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

City pages: [Lagos](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/lagos) · [Yaoundé](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/yaounde). 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.

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/lagos-vs-yaounde