Jakartavs
LimaJakarta vs Lima: cost, size & quality of life compared
Trying to decide between Jakarta and Lima? Here's the honest bottom line first — then the full, sourced breakdown on cost of living, salary, safety and quality of life.
Lima comes out ahead overall — by a narrow edge.
But the "winner" depends on what you care about. Here's who takes each dimension:
LimaJakartaJakartaLimaComposite scores
Overall: Lima wins by 0.5 points
Population & size
Is Jakarta bigger than Lima?
Jakarta and Lima are roughly the same size — about 11M and 9.6M people respectively.
City-proper / metro population estimates. Size is one input — scroll on for cost of living, salary equivalence and quality-of-life scoring.
National income
Is Jakarta richer than Lima?
Peru is the higher earner — income per capita (GNI, PPP) of $16,780 against $16,010 in Indonesia, about 5% more in purchasing-power terms.
Country-level figures — Jakarta is not Indonesia and Lima is not Peru, and both cities typically pay above their national average. Gross, before tax: see take-home pay by country for what lands in the account.
Distance
How far is Jakarta from Lima?
Jakarta is about 17,940 km (11,150 mi) from Lima in a straight line — roughly 21 h 50 m of nonstop flight time.
Great-circle distance, not a routed itinerary; flight estimate assumes ~850 km/h cruise plus 45 minutes of taxi, climb and descent.
Climate
Is Jakarta warmer than Lima?
Jakarta is the warmer city: January highs average 30°C vs 27°C, and July 32°C vs 19°C. Jakarta gets noticeably more sun — about 1,110 more sunshine hours per year.
| Month | Jakarta | Lima |
|---|---|---|
| January (high / low) | 30° / 24°C | 27° / 19°C |
| July (high / low) | 32° / 24°C | 19° / 14°C |
Tropical monsoon — hot and humid every day. Wet season Nov-Apr brings flooding rains; the 'dry' season is merely less wet.
Desert coast with a twist — almost zero rain ever, but May-Nov brings the garúa: persistent gray overcast and drizzle-mist. Summers (Dec-Mar) are sunny and warm.
Jakarta and Lima are separated by only a narrow margin, both hovering near the 5-point threshold, suggesting these megacities face remarkably similar structural challenges despite vastly different geographies and histories.
Lima's 0.5-point advantage places it marginally ahead, but the scores reveal neither city has cracked the 6-point barrier that typically signals more resilient urban systems.
If you're choosing between these two, focus on sector-specific comparisons—housing costs, transit reliability, or air quality—rather than the overall scores, which mask where each city actually underperforms.
Data signals
What separates Jakarta and Lima
How decisive
Lima comes out ahead by 0.5 composite points — a narrow edge.
Biggest difference
The widest gap is healthcare, where Lima leads by 2.2 points.
Where they match
They're most evenly matched on quality of life — within 0.0 points of each other.
Overall cost gap
Total monthly costs in Lima run about 49% higher than in Jakarta.
Where budgets split most
Transport is the line item that diverges most: roughly 118% pricier in Lima than Jakarta.
Home internet
Lima has the faster typical broadband (80 vs 50 Mbps median) — worth weighing if you work remotely or move large files.
Safety
Jakarta scores higher on safety (45 vs 30 / 100) — a common deciding factor for families.
Score-by-score, side-by-side
Each axis is scored independently with disclosed weights and a calculation string.
The exact scores and winners:
| Axis | Jakarta | Lima | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affordability | 8.7 | 8.2 | Jakarta +0.5 |
| Quality of life | 4.2 | 4.2 | Jakarta +0.0 |
| Remote-work friendliness | 5.6 | 5.8 | Lima +0.2 |
| Healthcare | 3.6 | 5.8 | Lima +2.2 |
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)16
- Rent index (weight 40%)9
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Jakarta: ((100 − 16)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 9)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 8.7.
Jakarta sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)45
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)52
- Air quality index (weight 25%)25
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Jakarta: (45/100 × 0.4 + 52/100 × 0.35 + 25/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 4.2.
Jakarta has a mixed quality profile. Safety: fair; healthcare: fair; air: poor. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)50 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)10.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)16
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Jakarta: (min(50/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.1) × 0.3 + (100 − 16)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.6.
Jakarta works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 50 Mbps, income tax 10%, cost index 16.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)52
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)583757
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Jakarta: (52/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 583757/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 3.6.
Jakarta has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is fair, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~583757 IDR/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)20
- Rent index (weight 40%)16
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Lima: ((100 − 20)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 16)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 8.2.
Lima sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)30
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)58
- Air quality index (weight 25%)40
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Lima: (30/100 × 0.4 + 58/100 × 0.35 + 40/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 4.2.
Lima has a mixed quality profile. Safety: fair; healthcare: good; air: fair. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)80 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)12.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)20
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Lima: (min(80/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.12) × 0.3 + (100 − 20)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.8.
Lima works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 80 Mbps, income tax 12%, cost index 20.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)58
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)216
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Lima: (58/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 216/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 5.8.
Lima has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is good, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~216 PEN/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Monthly cost delta: Jakarta vs Lima
Normalized to IDR at 1 PEN = 5037.2500 IDR.
| Category | Jakarta | Lima | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| housing | IDR 6,532,857 | PEN 2,581 | +99% |
| food | IDR 2,772,844 | PEN 734 | +33% |
| transport | IDR 210,000 | PEN 91 | +118% |
| utilities | IDR 1,959,852 | PEN 228 | -41% |
| leisure | IDR 3,283,632 | PEN 691 | +6% |
| healthcare | IDR 583,757 | PEN 216 | +86% |
Where each city's money goes
Two cities can have the same monthly total but very different shapes — one might burn 50% on housing while the other splits more evenly. The composition matters as much as the headline.
The biggest shape difference is housing: Lima spends 14.3 percentage points more of its budget on it (57% vs. 43%). If you're sensitive to that category, weight the per-axis scores accordingly.
Buying property
Apartment prices: Jakarta vs Lima
Approximate asking prices in EUR per square meter (as of 2025-01), central vs mid-distance neighborhoods.
Buying in central Lima runs about 13% cheaper per square meter (€2,700/m² vs €3,100/m²).
Midpoints of public listing ranges — a scoping number for rent-vs-buy thinking, not a valuation. Renting comparisons live in the cost table above.
Getting around
Public transport: Jakarta vs Lima
Monthly pass and casual-ride pricing in EUR (as of 2025-01) plus the modes each network runs.
TransJakarta BRT at a flat Rp 3,500 is the world's largest BRT network; MRT + LRT + KRL commuter lines stack on top. JakLingko cards integrate the lot.
Single ride: €0.23 · Modes: Bus, Metro, Light rail, Commuter rail
No monthly pass — Metropolitano BRT troncal rides at S/3.20 (figure reflects ~40 rides); Line 1 metro is a separate card. Most cross-town trips still mean combis or e-hailing.
Single ride: €0.8 · Modes: Bus, Metro
Salary equivalence: Jakarta ↔ Lima
What earning the same purchasing power costs in each city. Cost-adjusted using the local cost-of-living index (Jakarta = 16, Lima = 20); currency-converted at 1 PEN = 5037.2500 IDR. Tax differences are not modeled.
| Jakarta gross | Lima equivalent |
|---|---|
| IDR 40,000 | PEN 10 |
| IDR 75,000 | PEN 19 |
| IDR 120,000 | PEN 30 |
| Lima gross | Jakarta equivalent |
|---|---|
| PEN 40,000 | IDR 161,192,000 |
| PEN 75,000 | IDR 302,235,000 |
| PEN 120,000 | IDR 483,576,000 |
Equivalence here means same cost-of-living purchasing power, not same net take-home. Effective tax rates differ between countries; a salary equivalent on cost can still net more or less depending on the destination's tax regime. Use the calculator for tax-adjusted figures at a specific lifestyle tier.
Pros and cons
Why pick Jakarta
- Wins on affordability (+0.5 points vs Lima).
Why pick Lima
- Wins on healthcare (+2.2 points vs Jakarta).
Jakarta trade-offs
- Trails Lima on healthcare by 2.2 points.
Lima trade-offs
- Trails Jakarta on affordability by 0.5 points.
Remote work logistics
Time zones and language: Jakarta vs Lima
Jakarta (Asia/Jakarta) and Lima (America/Lima) sit 12 hours apart in standard time. A 9-to-5 in one overlaps the other's for 0 hours a day — fully asynchronous collaboration.
Official: Indonesian · English: Moderate · Local language: Useful
Bahasa Indonesia is famously easy to learn and unlocks the city. English is moderate in corporate Jakarta and malls, limited in street life and bureaucracy.
Official: Spanish · English: Limited · Local language: Recommended
Spanish is the daily language; Lima's accent is clear and learner-friendly. English usable in Miraflores/San Isidro corporate and tourist circuits, limited beyond.
Who should choose which
The composite winner doesn't always match what matters to you. These four reader profiles weigh the axes differently — find the closest fit.
Single, salaried remote worker, 25-40, optimizing for runway + bandwidth.
Axes scored: affordability, remoteWork
Couple with school-age children, prioritizing safety, healthcare, and air quality.
Axes scored: qualityOfLife, healthcare
Fixed income, healthcare-sensitive, prefers low cost and stable infrastructure.
Axes scored: healthcare, qualityOfLife, affordability
Salary stretch matters most. Cuts everything else if it lowers the burn rate.
Axes scored: affordability
Profiles use simple axis averaging — for a deeper read with your own weights, use the per-axis breakdown above.
Tools that work for either choice
Some links below are affiliate links — if you sign up we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
How this page is calculated
Data sources
- Mundevo per-city dataset. Cost basket, rent index, safety, healthcare, air quality and median internet for both cities. Reference date: 2026-06-10 (Jakarta) and 2026-06-10 (Lima).
- FX rate. 1 PEN = 5037.2500 IDR, used to normalize cost baskets.
- CityScoreCalculator. Four axes (Affordability, Quality of life, Remote work, Healthcare) computed with explicit weights and explanations. See per-axis calculation strings rendered on this page.
- ComparisonService. Per-category cost deltas (housing, food, transport, utilities, leisure, healthcare) normalized to the origin currency.
Update cadence
Data as of . Last reviewed .
Calculation
For each of the four axes we compute an independent 0–10 score using the formulas printed beside each axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes. The overall winner is the city with the higher composite, unless the margin is under 0.05 points — in which case Jakarta is shown first as a tiebreaker to keep results stable.
Limitations
- Climate is not scored — we don't yet hold a maintained climate dataset, so weather-driven preferences are not modeled.
- Tax differences between cities in the same country are not modeled (Spain and Germany don't have material regional differences for this dataset).
- Indices are population-level. Personal cost varies with neighborhood, employer benefits and family status.
- Quality-of-life axis weights (safety 0.4 / healthcare 0.35 / air 0.25) are editorial defaults — readers with strong preferences should re-weight manually.
Frequently asked questions
Jakarta vs Lima: which is cheaper?
Jakarta is roughly 49% cheaper than Lima on the monthly cost basket (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare). Jakarta has cost index 16 vs Lima at 20 (both with New York = 100).
Which city has better quality of life?
Jakarta scores 5.5/10 on the Mundevo composite versus Lima at 6.0/10. The composite weights safety (40%), healthcare (35%) and air quality (25%). Lima wins overall by 0.5 points.
Is Jakarta or Lima better for remote work?
Jakarta has 50 Mbps median internet vs Lima at 80 Mbps. The four-axis decision rubric on this page (affordability, quality of life, remote work, healthcare) gives a per-dimension breakdown rather than a single answer.
Is Jakarta bigger than Lima?
Jakarta and Lima are similar in size — about 10.5M and 9.6M people respectively.
Is Jakarta safer than Lima?
Jakarta scores higher on safety — 45 vs 30 / 100 on the Mundevo safety index (crime and personal-security signals).
Should I move to Jakarta or Lima?
It depends on what you weight. Lima wins the overall Mundevo composite by 0.5 points, but Jakarta is cheaper, and the two split differently across affordability, quality of life, remote work and healthcare. Use the per-axis table and the reader-profile section above to match the verdict to your own priorities.