NavoyNostos

Luanda vs Lusaka

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Lusaka edges it, 47 to 45, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Luanda is stronger on getting there & around; Lusaka on visa ease, air quality. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

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 →
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)

MetricLuandaLusaka
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety4454 ✓
Healthcare3342 ✓
Internet36 ✓35
Visa ease3346 ✓
Getting there & around41 ✓29
Climate92 ✓83
Air quality5768 ✓
Quality of life23 ✓22

Cost

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

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricLuandaLusaka
Homicides per 100k8.75.9 ✓
Political stability (0–100)57.964.6 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)4462 ✓
Life expectancy62.1 yrs ✓61 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricLuandaLusaka
Download5.7 Mbps6.2 Mbps ✓
Upload3.2 Mbps ✓1.8 Mbps

Visa

MetricLuandaLusaka
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

MetricLuandaLusaka
Non-stop airport destinations36 ✓19
Walkability (1–5, editorial)2 ✓1
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricLuandaLusaka
Comfortable months per year11 ✓10
Annual mean PM2.524.4 µg/m³19.5 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Luanda or Lusaka?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Luanda or Lusaka safer?
Lusaka scores higher on safety (54 vs 44), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Luanda or Lusaka?
Lusaka: a measured median of 6.2 Mbps versus 5.7 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); OpenFlights airports and routes; 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.