NavoyNostos

Lilongwe vs Lusaka

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Lusaka edges it, 47 to 44, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Lilongwe is stronger on safety; Lusaka on climate, quality of life, visa ease. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 8.0 of 44 points (scores 64/100)Healthcare: 4.8 of 44 points (scores 38/100)Internet: 4.8 of 44 points (scores 39/100)Visa ease: 4.2 of 44 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 3.0 of 44 points (scores 24/100)Climate: 8.3 of 44 points (scores 67/100)Air quality: 9.6 of 44 points (scores 76/100)Quality of life: 1.1 of 44 points (scores 9/100)44
Lilongwe
out of 100

Malawi's spread-out garden capital, cheap and unhurried

Full Lilongwe profile →Where to stay in Lilongwe →
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)

MetricLilongweLusaka
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety64 ✓54
Healthcare3842 ✓
Internet39 ✓35
Visa ease3346 ✓
Getting there & around2429 ✓
Climate6783 ✓
Air quality76 ✓68
Quality of life922 ✓

Cost

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

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricLilongweLusaka
Homicides per 100k1.9 ✓5.9
Political stability (0–100)62.764.6 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)5262 ✓
Life expectancy62.5 yrs ✓61 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricLilongweLusaka
Download8.4 Mbps ✓6.2 Mbps
Upload1.6 Mbps1.8 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricLilongweLusaka
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passport30 days90 days ✓
Entry, EU passport30 days90 days ✓
Entry, UK passport30 days90 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricLilongweLusaka
Non-stop airport destinations1119 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)11
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricLilongweLusaka
Comfortable months per year810 ✓
Annual mean PM2.515.6 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, Lilongwe or Lusaka?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Lilongwe or Lusaka safer?
Lilongwe scores higher on safety (64 vs 54), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Lilongwe or Lusaka?
Lilongwe: a measured median of 8.4 Mbps versus 6.2 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; 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.