Benin, press rank #112 · ~$800/mo

Can you live unwatched in Porto-Novo?

Surveillance, facial recognition and crypto rules read here for the city itself, not the national average.

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The privacy scorecard

The six marked ° below are read for Porto-Novo itself. The rest are set by Benin’s national law, the same across every city in the country.

State surveillance °3/5
Facial recognition °5/5
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 freedom °2/5
Easy to stay °3/5
Off-grid living °4/5
press rank #112 (Benin) ~$800/mo, this city safety 3/5 geopolitical stability 4/5

Childhood vaccines: compulsory by law

One of the harshest penalties written into any vaccination law in the world, and one of the least enforced.

If you skip them: A fine of 25.000 to 250.000 CFA francs, and one month to two years in prison.

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

No extradition treaty with the US

ID required to buy a SIM card

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

See Porto-Novo against your own threat model

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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.

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City-level figures where marked °, national law otherwise. Estimates for orientation, not legal advice. Surveillance law changes fast: verify anything you would act on.