press rank #133 · ~$893/mo

Can you live unwatched in Sri Lanka?

Mixed civil liberties, ranked #133 for press freedom. Not individually assessed beyond public indices.

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The privacy scorecard

State surveillance3/5
Facial recognition3/5
No national ID2/5
Data-protection law2/5
Encryption3/5
VPN freedom4/5
Democracy2/5
Free expression2/5
Cash still works4/5
Financial privacy3/5
Crypto freedom3/5
Easy to stay3/5
Off-grid living5/5
8 cameras / 1,000 people press rank #133 ~$893/mo national average

Childhood vaccines: compulsory by law

The only compulsion on the books is the Vaccination Ordinance of 1886, and it is about smallpox, eradicated in 1980. The modern schedule is free, largely given at school, and runs on parental consent.

If you skip them: A fine of up to ten rupees, which is a few cents.

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

Extradition treaty with the US

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

15 real places in Sri Lanka

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

Colombo

~$850/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Kandy

~$900/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Trincomalee

~$900/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Galle

~$1,000/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Batticaloa

~$750/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Jaffna

~$750/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Matara

~$950/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Tangalle

~$900/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Anuradhapura

~$700/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Nuwara Eliya

~$900/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Bentota

~$1,000/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Weligama

~$1,000/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 2/5

Weigh Sri Lanka against your own threat model

Surveillance, speech, money: filter thousands of real places across every country and see where Sri Lanka 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.