Camera Density by Country
The number of surveillance cameras relative to population varies enormously across countries. Here’s how countries compare.
Highest camera density (cameras per capita)
| Country | Estimated Cameras | Population | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 600M+ | 1.4B | 1:2.3 |
| UK | 5M | 67M | 1:13 |
| South Korea | 1.5M | 52M | 1:35 |
| Germany | 1.2M | 84M | 1:70 |
| Japan | 500K+ | 125M | 1:250 |
| Brazil | 1M+ | 214M | 1:214 |
| India | 2M+ | 1.4B | 1:700 |
What Sentinel covers
Sentinel’s 498,500+ records cover a fraction of the world’s cameras. Our coverage depends on data availability:
Best covered: Countries with open data, active OSM communities, and government transparency. UK, South Korea, France, Italy, US, Canada.
Least covered: Countries with classified surveillance data (China, Russia), limited open data infrastructure, or restricted mapping.
Coverage isn’t density: Low camera counts in our database don’t mean few cameras exist. They mean less public data is available.
Key observations
- Democracies can be heavily surveilled: UK and South Korea have among the highest camera densities while maintaining democratic governance
- Wealth correlates with cameras: Wealthier countries have more cameras per capita
- Transparency varies independently: Some heavily surveilled countries (UK) are transparent about camera locations; others (China) are not
- Urban vs. rural: Within every country, camera density is 10-100x higher in cities than rural areas
Using Sentinel for context
When you view camera density on Sentinel’s map, remember that our data represents the publicly visible fraction. In countries with strong transparency, we capture a high percentage. In others, we capture a tiny fraction.
The absence of cameras on our map is not evidence of absence in the real world.