Global perceptions of land and property rights

Property rights are a cornerstone of economic development and are crucial to the well being of individuals and communities. 

We know that people who lack a secure, safe place to call home struggle to plan for the future, make productive investments, or get an education. This has a dire impact on economic growth and individual well-being, and inhibits the development of strong, vibrant communities.

There has never been a globally comparable measure of property rights. Until now.

Prindex findings show that almost 1 billion people around the world feel insecure in their rights to their land or home. 

Although land and property rights are essential to economic growth and social development, there has never been an accurate picture of who is most affected, where, or why. With data for 140 countries covering 96% of the global population, Prindex is the first ever measure of land and property rights that is comparable between countries and truly global.

What gets measured gets changed. It receives visibility; targets can be developed and resources prioritised where they have the most impact. Land and property rights can benefit from a global “race to the top” of incentivising positive competition among countries and within countries. We want to build momentum on the area by revealing the full extent of the issues and building stronger constituencies for change linked to the big drivers of urbanisation, environment, poverty alleviation and human rights/women’s rights.

Almost 1 billion people around the world feel it is likely or very likely that they will lose their land or home within the next five years.

Insecure property rights are a problem across every region and in every country of the world. Yet in certain places and among certain groups the problem is urgent.

Prindex data allows us to explore where insecurity is highest, who is most affected, and why.

Over half of the people who feel insecure across all properties live in two regions: East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia. Yet the proportion of people who feel insecure is highest in Middle East and North Africa and in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Within most regions, levels of insecurity for all properties vary widely from country to country for example:

There may be lessons we can learn from countries where insecurity is much lower than average, while those with much higher levels of insecurity show us where attention is urgently needed.  

Renters are more likely to feel insecure than owners in many parts of the world.

The maps that follow show comparisons of insecurity by main property (or home) for the captioned household/population type:

Prindex data identifies three age groups: younger than 25, 25 to 54 and over 55.

Urban populations feel slightly more insecure than rural populations and Africa has higher levels of insecurity than the global average:

Women feel far more insecure than men in certain countries, while in others it is men who feel more insecure.

Men and women have different reasons for feeling insecure, and insecurity may be triggered by different events. For example women’s confidence in their property rights plummets when they are faced with divorce or the death of their spouse in both the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The countries highlighted below exhibit some of the greatest differences in gender insecurity for a population's main property within each region:

Understanding the scale of the problem is just the first step. 

For the first time, we have a clear, replicable and comparable measurement of security of land and property rights at a global level. Now we can utilise Prindex to help support and accelerate the movement for secure property rights worldwide by monitoring progress, helping to set targets and encouraging a 'race to the top' among governments based on what is working

This movement goes beyond land and property rights: it is linked to many of the major development challenges of our time, including poverty alleviation, inclusive urbanisation, sustainable environmental management and human rights.

We believe that what gets measured gets changed. Using Prindex as a comparable indicator of progress over time can help this movement to hold governments and their partners accountable for progress. We seek to support and empower this movement not only with repeated global datasets, but also by spreading the Prindex methodology for use by local and sub-national actors, and contributing to the numerous collaborative partnerships around the world promoting secure rights to land and property.

Citizen-generated data is a powerful tool to monitor progress, set targets and understand what is working. With better data in the hands of a growing movement of people and organisations working for change, we can build a world where everyone has a secure place to call home.