NavoyNostos

Luanda vs Maputo

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Maputo edges it, 46 to 45, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Luanda is stronger on quality of life; Maputo on 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: 5.0 of 46 points (scores 40/100)Healthcare: 3.8 of 46 points (scores 30/100)Internet: 5.2 of 46 points (scores 41/100)Visa ease: 4.2 of 46 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 5.0 of 46 points (scores 40/100)Climate: 11.5 of 46 points (scores 92/100)Air quality: 10.2 of 46 points (scores 81/100)Quality of life: 1.4 of 46 points (scores 11/100)46
Maputo
out of 100

Indian Ocean capital with Portuguese flavour

Full Maputo profile →Where to stay in Maputo →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricLuandaMaputo
Cost of livingno datano data
Safety44 ✓40
Healthcare33 ✓30
Internet3641 ✓
Visa ease3333
Getting there & around41 ✓40
Climate9292
Air quality5781 ✓
Quality of life23 ✓11

Cost

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

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricLuandaMaputo
Homicides per 100k8.73.3 ✓
Political stability (0–100)57.9 ✓36.6
UHC service coverage (0–100)4450 ✓
Life expectancy62.1 yrs ✓57.7 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricLuandaMaputo
Download5.7 Mbps8.3 Mbps ✓
Upload3.2 Mbps3.2 Mbps

Visa

MetricLuandaMaputo
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passport30 days30 days
Entry, EU passport30 days30 days
Entry, UK passport30 days30 days

Getting there and around

MetricLuandaMaputo
Non-stop airport destinations36 ✓20
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)12 ✓

Climate and air

MetricLuandaMaputo
Comfortable months per year1111
Annual mean PM2.524.4 µg/m³13.4 µg/m³ ✓

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

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Luanda or Maputo?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Luanda or Maputo safer?
Luanda scores higher on safety (44 vs 40), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Luanda or Maputo?
Maputo: a measured median of 8.3 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.