Countries With the Lowest Property Rights

Every country with a figure for property rights, ranked from lowest to highest. The top three are Korea, Dem. People's Rep. (0.005), Eritrea (0.022) and Qatar (0.115). The middle country of the 176 has 0.772.

What this measures

Property rights index, in index (0-1). Source: V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg. For this measure, higher is better.

How far people have the right to own, buy, inherit and sell private property, including land, from 0 (virtually no one) to 1 (virtually everyone). It combines V-Dem's expert ratings for men and for women. Limits can come from the law, from the state failing to enforce it, or from custom and religion. It is about the right to property, not how much property people actually own.

The full ranking

Each country’s latest figure, from 2025–2025. The year beside each value says when it was measured.

More on property rights

• Countries With the Highest Property Rights
• Property rights by country: trend over time and what it goes with

Related rankings

• Countries With the Lowest Economic Freedom (Fraser)
• Countries With the Lowest Small Government (Fraser)
• Countries With the Lowest Sound Money (Fraser)
• Countries With the Lowest Freedom to Trade (Fraser)
• Countries With the Lowest Light Regulation (Fraser)
• Countries With the Lowest Public Social Spending
• Countries With the Lowest Family Benefits Spending
• Countries With the Lowest Old-age Spending

A ranking describes countries, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All country rankings.