Property rights - Country rankings
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
Property rights index (0-100), 2026:
The average for 2026 based on 47 countries was 37 points. The highest value was in Mauritius: 84 points and the lowest value was in Somalia: 1 points. The indicator is available from 1995 to 2026. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.Measure: points; Source: The Heritage Foundation
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* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Countries | Property rights, 2026 | Global rank | Available data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mauritius | 84 | 1 | 1999 - 2026 |
| Seychelles | 83 | 2 | 2009 - 2026 |
| Cape Verde | 73 | 3 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Botswana | 72 | 4 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Namibia | 63 | 5 | 1997 - 2026 |
| Rwanda | 60 | 6 | 1997 - 2026 |
| Senegal | 57 | 7 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Gambia | 55 | 8 | 1997 - 2026 |
| S.T.&Principe | 55 | 9 | 2009 - 2026 |
| Ghana | 50 | 10 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Malawi | 50 | 11 | 1995 - 2026 |
| South Africa | 49 | 12 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Benin | 46 | 13 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Tanzania | 45 | 14 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Ivory Coast | 44 | 15 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Togo | 44 | 16 | 1999 - 2026 |
| Zambia | 44 | 17 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Swaziland | 43 | 18 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Lesotho | 42 | 19 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Uganda | 42 | 20 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Kenya | 40 | 21 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Liberia | 40 | 22 | 2009 - 2026 |
| Madagascar | 40 | 23 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Angola | 37 | 24 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Mauritania | 33 | 25 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Sierra Leone | 33 | 26 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Gabon | 30 | 27 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Mozambique | 30 | 28 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Nigeria | 30 | 29 | 1995 - 2026 |
| R. of Congo | 29 | 30 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Cameroon | 28 | 31 | 1995 - 2026 |
| G.-Bissau | 28 | 32 | 1999 - 2026 |
| Burundi | 27 | 33 | 1997 - 2026 |
| Comoros | 25 | 34 | 2009 - 2026 |
| Ethiopia | 22 | 35 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Guinea | 21 | 36 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Zimbabwe | 19 | 37 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Burkina Faso | 18 | 38 | 1996 - 2026 |
| Chad | 17 | 39 | 1997 - 2026 |
| Eq. Guinea | 17 | 40 | 1999 - 2026 |
| Niger | 17 | 41 | 1996 - 2026 |
| DR Congo | 15 | 42 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Mali | 14 | 43 | 1995 - 2026 |
| Sudan | 7 | 44 | 1995 - 2026 |
| C.A. Republic | 6 | 45 | 2002 - 2026 |
| Eritrea | 5 | 46 | 2009 - 2026 |
| Somalia | 1 | 47 | 2017 - 2026 |
Definition: The property rights index measures the degree to which a country’s laws protect private property rights and the degree to which its government enforces those laws. It also assesses the likelihood that private property will be expropriated and analyzes the independence of the judiciary, the existence of corruption within the judiciary, and the ability of individuals and businesses to enforce contracts. Higher index values denote more certain legal protection of property.
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84
83
73
72
63
60
57
55
55
50
50
49
46
45
44
44
44
43
42
42
40
40
40
37
33
33
30
30
30
29
28
28
27
25
22
21
19
18
17
17
17
15
14
7
6
5
1
0
21
42
63
84
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