press rank #21 · ~$1,500/mo

Can you live unwatched in Uruguay?

Stable, discreet, the quiet democracy of South America.

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The privacy scorecard

State surveillance4/5
Facial recognition4/5
No national ID2/5
Data-protection law4/5
Encryption4/5
VPN freedom5/5
Democracy5/5
Free expression5/5
Cash still works4/5
Financial privacy4/5
Crypto freedom4/5
Easy to stay4/5
Off-grid living5/5
6 cameras / 1,000 people press rank #21 ~$1,500/mo national average

Childhood vaccines: compulsory by law

Compulsory since 1982, with one of the oldest and best kept vaccination registries in the region.

If you skip them: No school enrolment, and no sport or after-school activity, without the Child Health Card.

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.

12 real places in Uruguay

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

Montevideo

~$1,700/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

Salto

~$1,050/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

Rivera

~$1,000/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

Mercedes (UY)

~$1,300/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

Colonia del Sacramento

~$1,500/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

Punta del Este

~$1,800/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

Piriápolis

~$1,350/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

La Paloma

~$1,450/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

Punta del Diablo

~$1,250/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

Villa Serrana

~$1,200/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

José Ignacio

~$1,900/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

Cabo Polonio

~$1,300/mo facial recognition unlikely₿ crypto 4/5

Weigh Uruguay against your own threat model

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