press rank #26 · ~$1,500/mo

Can you live unwatched in Costa Rica?

No army, strong civil liberties, rising prices.

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The privacy scorecard

State surveillance4/5
Facial recognition4/5
No national ID3/5
Data-protection law4/5
Encryption4/5
VPN freedom5/5
Democracy5/5
Free expression5/5
Cash still works4/5
Financial privacy3/5
Crypto freedom4/5
Easy to stay4/5
Off-grid living5/5
5 cameras / 1,000 people press rank #26 ~$1,500/mo national average

Childhood vaccines: compulsory by law

The National Vaccination Law makes the schedule compulsory and free for everyone living in the country, residents or not.

If you skip them: Registration at school requires an up to date vaccination record.

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.

Reports your account balances abroad (CRS)

Extradition treaty with the US

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

22 real places in Costa Rica

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

San José

~$1,400/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Liberia (CR)

~$1,550/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Grecia

~$1,450/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

La Fortuna

~$1,350/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Puerto Jiménez

~$1,450/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Atenas (Costa Rica)

~$1,350/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Nosara

~$1,950/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Tamarindo

~$1,750/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Monteverde

~$1,550/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Nosara (Guiones)

~$1,500/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Puerto Viejo (CR)

~$1,300/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Samara (CR)

~$1,350/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 3/5

Weigh Costa Rica against your own threat model

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

Browse every place

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.