press rank #133 · ~$1,000/mo

Can you live unwatched in El Salvador?

Bitcoin legal tender, safer streets, state of exception politics.

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The privacy scorecard

State surveillance2/5
Facial recognition3/5
No national ID2/5
Data-protection law2/5
Encryption4/5
VPN freedom5/5
Democracy2/5
Free expression2/5
Cash still works5/5
Financial privacy3/5
Crypto freedom5/5
Easy to stay4/5
Off-grid living4/5
6 cameras / 1,000 people press rank #133 ~$1,000/mo national average

Childhood vaccines: compulsory by law

Childhood vaccination is required by national law here. We have the rule and the penalty, not the official count of how many vaccines the law covers.

If you skip them: No nursery or school place until the child is up to date.

Exemptions: The law names none.

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

No ID required to buy a SIM card

No tax on crypto capital gains

No tax on capital gains, income or property from crypto since the 2023 "technological innovation" law.

Crypto mining is a recognised industry here

State-backed volcano geothermal mining, part of the national Bitcoin strategy.

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

8 real places in El Salvador

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

San Salvador

~$1,150/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 5/5

Santa Ana

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

Ataco

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

Suchitoto

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

Juayúa

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

Apaneca

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

El Tunco

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

El Zonte

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

Weigh El Salvador against your own threat model

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