press rank #65 · ~$900/mo

Can you live unwatched in Botswana?

Stable, sparse, and mostly unwatched.

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The privacy scorecard

State surveillance4/5
Facial recognition5/5
No national ID2/5
Data-protection law2/5
Encryption4/5
VPN freedom5/5
Democracy4/5
Free expression4/5
Cash still works4/5
Financial privacy3/5
Crypto freedom3/5
Easy to stay3/5
Off-grid living5/5
2 cameras / 1,000 people press rank #65 ~$900/mo national average

Childhood vaccines: compulsory by law

Compulsory, well funded and well covered: Botswana is the rare case where the law and the service match.

If you skip them: Fines up to 5.000 pula, and up to twelve months in jail.

Exemptions: Medical only.

Source: Georgetown AMP EID, survey of national legislation, 2024

Legal & financial exposure

Facts about the law, not a privacy score: whether each one helps or hurts depends on what you are trying to do.

Does not report your account balances abroad

No extradition treaty with the US

5 of 7 signals are unverified for this country: not shown, rather than guessed.

4 real places in Botswana

Facial recognition, Bitcoin friendliness and cost vary by city even inside the same country.

Gaborone

~$1,100/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Francistown

~$1,050/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Maun

~$1,250/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Kasane

~$1,250/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Weigh Botswana against your own threat model

Surveillance, speech, money: filter thousands of real places across every country and see where Botswana actually ranks.

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Not just privacy?

Arcadia matches the same real places against how you actually want to live: weather, cost, healthcare, schools, internet.

Find where to live on Arcadia

Country-level estimates for orientation, not legal advice. Surveillance law changes fast: verify anything you would act on.