Nairobi

Life quality score

City ranking

Housing

9
41/265
Details
Large apartment$920.00
Medium apartment$680.00
Rent index [score]0.93
Small apartment$440.00

Cost of Living

8
43/248
Details
5km taxi ride$7.60
A Cappuccino$3.00
A beer$1.60
A kilogram of Apples$3.00
Bread$0.39
Inflation [score]0.84
Lunch$6.10
Monthly fitness club membership$81.00
Monthly public transport$28.00
Movie ticket$7.90
Price of a meal at a restaurant$35.99

Startups

6
61/264
Details
Average monthly increase in number of startups8
Average monthly increase in number of startups [score]0.50
Coworking spaces [score]0.30
Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co3
Meetups [score]0.38
Meetups groups99
Meetups members41417
Number of investors27
Number of startup events in the last 12 months318
Number of upcoming meetup events13
Startup climate scene [score]0.52
Startup events37
Startup events [score]0.52
Startups [score]0.71
Total number of startups307

Venture Capital

5
49/192
Details
Funding accelerator names88mph - Kenya
Number of funding accelerators1
Venture capital [score]0.46

Travel Connectivity

2
161/266
Details
Airport hub72
Airport hub [score]0.36
Intercity train connectivity [score]0.10

Commute

4
212/255
Details
Human city pagehttp://cities.human.co/details/Kenya/Nairobi
Traffic handling [score]0.17

Business Freedom

3
254/264
Details
Business freedom48.60
Business freedom [score]0.12
Freedom from corruption25.00
Freedom from corruption [score]0.10
Lack of labor restrictions62.20
Lack of labor restrictions [score]0.49
Time to open a business22.00
Time to open a business [score]0.75

Safety

6
200/266
Details
Crime rate [score]0.23
Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year33
Guns per 100 residents6
Lack of gun related deaths [score]0.10
Lack of guns [score]0.97
Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score]0.53

Healthcare

2
261/265
Details
Healthcare expenditure [score]0.10
Healthcare quality [score]0.38
Life expectancy (years)63.37
Life expectancy [score]0.10

Education

1
232/240
Details
Best university in rankingUniversity of Nairobi
Best university ranking801
University quality [score]0.10

Environmental Quality

3
234/266
Details
Air quality [score]0.33
Cleanliness [score]0.18
Drinking water quality [score]0.21
Urban greenery [score]0.55

Economy

4
177/263
Details
Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area103.90
Currency for urban areaKES
GDP growth rate0.05
GDP growth rate [score]0.78
GDP per capita$3084.43
GDP per capita [score]0.10

Taxation

5
102/266
Details
Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score]0.66
Income tax level [score]0.36
Profit tax (% of profit)0.37
Time overhead to file company taxes196
VAT (Sales Tax)0.16

Internet Access

2
250/266
Details
Download speed (Mbps)10.32
Internet access (download) [score]0.19
Internet access (upload) [score]0.19
Upload speed (Mbps)4.32

Leisure & Culture

3
246/264
Details
Art galleries55
Art galleries [score]0.57
Cinemas93
Cinemas [score]0.41
Comedy clubs21
Comedy clubs [score]0.57
Concert venues85
Concerts [score]0.37
Historical sites20
Historical sites [score]0.18
Museums9
Museums [score]0.35
Performing art venues60
Performing arts [score]0.47
Sport venues28
Sports [score]0.53
Zoos5
Zoos [score]0.65

Tolerance

3
263/266
Details
Homosexuality acceptance (percent of the surveyed population in favor)0.08
LGBT Equality Index15.18
LGBT Equality Index [score]0.12
LGBT adoption rights✖ Illegal
LGBT age of consentN/A
LGBT blood donation regulations✔ Legal
LGBT conversion therapy regulations✖ Not banned
LGBT discrimination legality✖ No protections
LGBT employment discrimination legality✖ No protections
LGBT gender changing rights✔ Legal, but requires surgery
LGBT homosexuality rights✖ Illegal (imprisonment as punishment)
LGBT housing discrimination legality✖ No protections
LGBT marriage rights✖ Not legal
Tolerance towards minorities [score]0.40

Outdoors

4
185/266
Details
Elevation (hills or mountains) [score]0.71
Median peak in meters2441.00
Presence of hills in city1.00
Presence of mountains in city1.00
Urban area elevation (meters)1684.00
Water access [score]0.10
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Cost of living

Costs of living in Nairobi are in the least expensive 20 percent of all 248 Teleport cities. Average living expenses are significantly lower compared to other cities, especially in the housing market. Moving to Nairobi will very likely decrease your daily costs of living. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international  cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.

Housing costs (USD)

$270$610
$440
Median rent for
apartments in city center

Daily living costs (USD)

Monthly fitness club membership$81
Movie ticket$8
Broadband internet connection$40
Monthly public transport$28
Lunch$6
-58%
compared to
San Francisco
See more prices and detailed cost of living data in Nairobi

Job salary calculator

Software Engineer salaries in Nairobi are very low. For this job type, Nairobi ranks 241st for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in Nairobi.

Estimated annual salary (in USD)

$16,858
Median salary
See more details and salary rankings for all job types in Nairobi

Locals review Nairobi

Do locals recommend living in Nairobi?

What could Nairobi do better?#improveNairobi

How could Nairobi improve to make it a more liveable city? We will make sure that the local government will know about the suggestions that reach enough votes.
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something that can be improved about your city.

What makes Nairobi a special place?#praiseNairobi

Is Nairobi a great place to live? What makes it special for you? What makes it liveable? What should others know about? Why should they move here? Why do you love it?
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something nice about your city.

Taxation

Personal taxation

Effective income tax rate

29%
For annual salary of $40000
29%
For annual salary of $80000

Value added tax (VAT)

16%
Standard tax rate. Different rates might apply for certain product categories.

Compared to other cities

147/266

Corporate taxation

Compared to other cities

76/263
See more details on taxation in Nairobi
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Safety

Gun crimes & Ownership

6.40
Guns per 100 people
33
Gun deaths per 100k people / year
HIGH GUN CRIMELOW GUN CRIMEFEW GUNSMANY GUNS
North America
Europe
Asia
South America
Africa
Oceania

Overall crime rate city ranking

The overall crime rate puts Nairobi in position 242 of 266 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.

WORSTBEST
See more details on gun crime and safety in Nairobi

Visa

For visits up to 90 days

Required with citizenship of
Get more information about visas in Nairobi here
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People in Nairobi

Population of Nairobi

2,814,900
3,287 /km²
31/264
Density (people per unit of area)
14%
Growth in 2015-2020
Nairobi

Demographics of Kenya

Median age
20
Elderly people
3%
Life expectancy at birth
64
GDP per capita (in USD)
$3,084
261/263
Unemployment
40%
262/264

Languages

Common spoken languages
English

Friends living in Nairobi

Find out which of your friends are living in Nairobi. Nothing is better than knowing a local 😉

Teleport Users  X  Nairobi

Teleport users who are      Nairobi

Work in:

Founder
7.14%
Marketing Manager
4.76%
Web Developer
4.76%
Business Development
4.76%
Mobile Developer
2.38%
Attorney
2.38%
C Level Executive
2.38%
Other
71.43%

Come from:

Climate

Average day length (hours)

12.5

Climate type

Marine West Coast

Average daily maximum temperature

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On living in Nairobi


Nairobi, a city of nearly four million, is the capital and largest city in Kenya.

This city on the Nairobi River is not only the largest and fastest growing in Kenya but one of the largest in Africa.

The word Nairobi is derived from a water hole known in Maasai as Enkare Nyorobi, which means "cool waters". Nairobi, which had been a swamp area, was founded in 1899 as a railway camp for the Uganda Railway. By 1905, the city had become the capital of Kenya (then the British East Africa Protectorate), supplanting Mombasa and Machakos, the previous capitals. With the spread of plagues in the early 1900s, the town was burnt down and had to be rebuilt. Having a railway helped it to grow rapidly, becoming the second largest city in Kenya behind Mombasa. Nairobi also grew due to administration and tourism businesses (mostly big game hunting).

Read more

Good Country Index

Every city comes with a country. How is this one doing in terms of giving back to the global community? Our friends at The Good Country Index measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size.

Overall ranking

Kenya
83rd from a total of 163 countries

World Order

57th

Refugees hosted

Refugees generated

Charity giving

Birth rate

UN Treaties signed

International Peace & Security

70th

Dues in arrears to UN peace keeping budgets

International violent conflict

Peacekeeping troops

Arms exports

Internet security (2014)

Planet & Climate

144th

Ecological footprint

Reforestation since 1992

Hazardous pesticides exports

CO2 emissions

Ozone

Prosperity & Equality

110th

Development assistance

FDI outflows

Fairtrade market size

UN volunteers abroad

Open trading

Culture

129th

Freedom of movement

Press freedom

Creative services exports

UNESCO dues in arrears as % of contribution

Creative goods exports

Science & Technology

56th

Nobel prizes

Patents

Journal exports

International publications

International Students

Health & Wellbeing

68th

Pharmaceutical exports

Voluntary excess donations to the WHO

Food aid

Humanitarian aid donations

International Health Regulations Compliance

See details ▽

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