← Jurisdiction Protection

Property Rights Security

Heritage Foundation Property Rights Index 2024 (0–100). Measures the degree to which a country's laws protect private property rights and the degree to which those laws are respected in practice. Covers: legal ability to acquire, hold, and divest property; security against arbitrary seizure or nationalization by the state; effectiveness of the judicial system in enforcing property contracts and resolving disputes; absence of corruption in land registries and title administration. For investors and long-term residents, this is the fundamental security layer: even if buying is easy and prices are low, weak property rights mean you could lose your investment to corruption, politically-motivated expropriation, court manipulation, or fraudulent title chains. Venezuela, Zimbabwe and North Korea score near the bottom — countries where property was literally confiscated by the state.

#↑ Country↕ Raw Value↕ Score↕
1 Finland95 95 94
2 Denmark90 90 89
2 Norway90 90 89
2 Singapore90 90 89
2 Monaco90 90 89
2 Liechtenstein90 90 89
2 Switzerland90 90 89
8 England85 85 84
8 Sweden85 85 84
8 Luxembourg85 85 84
8 Netherlands85 85 84
8 Hong Kong85 85 84
13 Germany83 83 82
14 Wales80 80 79
14 Northern Ireland80 80 79
14 Scotland80 80 79
14 United States80 80 79
14 Faroe Islands80 80 79
14 Macau80 80 79
14 Bermuda80 80 79
14 Austria80 80 79
14 Gibraltar80 80 79
14 Cayman Islands80 80 79
14 Iceland80 80 79
25 Australia75 75 75
25 Belgium75 75 75
25 San Marino75 75 75
25 Turks and Caicos Islands75 75 75
25 British Virgin Islands75 75 75
25 New Zealand75 75 75
25 Japan75 75 75
32 Ireland70 70 70
32 Estonia70 70 70
32 Malta70 70 70
32 Canada70 70 70
32 Aruba70 70 70
32 Curacao70 70 70
32 United Arab Emirates70 70 70
32 Andorra70 70 70
32 Spain70 70 70
32 Barbados70 70 70
32 Portugal70 70 70
32 Anguilla70 70 70
44 Czech Republic65 65 65
44 Uruguay65 65 65
44 French Guiana65 65 65
44 Poland65 65 65
44 Saint Pierre and Miquelon65 65 65
44 Mauritius65 65 65
44 Qatar65 65 65
44 Bahrain65 65 65
44 Korea Republic65 65 65
44 France65 65 65
44 Bahamas65 65 65
44 Réunion65 65 65
44 Tahiti65 65 65
44 Slovenia65 65 65
44 Cyprus65 65 65
44 U.S. Virgin Islands65 65 65
44 American Samoa65 65 65
44 Sint Maarten65 65 65
44 Saint-Martin65 65 65
44 Antigua and Barbuda65 65 65
44 Israel65 65 65
44 Puerto Rico65 65 65
44 Mayotte65 65 65
44 Montserrat65 65 65
44 Saint Kitts and Nevis65 65 65
44 Guam65 65 65
44 Northern Mariana Islands65 65 65
44 New Caledonia65 65 65
44 Martinique65 65 65
44 Guadeloupe65 65 65
44 Chile65 65 65
75 Slovakia60 60 60
75 Panama60 60 60
75 Croatia60 60 60
75 Grenada60 60 60
75 Saint Lucia60 60 60
75 Chinese Taipei60 60 60
81 Latvia55 55 55
81 Lithuania55 55 55
81 Botswana55 55 55
81 Seychelles55 55 55
81 Kuwait55 55 55
81 South Africa55 55 55
81 Brunei55 55 55
81 Malaysia55 55 55
81 Oman55 55 55
81 Belize55 55 55
81 Morocco55 55 55
81 Bulgaria55 55 55
81 Trinidad and Tobago55 55 55
81 Mexico55 55 55
81 Romania55 55 55
81 Cook Islands55 55 55
81 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines55 55 55
81 Niue55 55 55
81 Dominican Republic55 55 55
81 Georgia55 55 55
81 Italy55 55 55
81 Dominica55 55 55
81 Costa Rica55 55 55
104 Brazil50 50 50
104 Thailand50 50 50
104 Cape Verde50 50 50
104 Serbia50 50 50
104 Montenegro50 50 50
104 Wallis and Futuna50 50 50
104 Jamaica50 50 50
104 Colombia50 50 50
104 Peru50 50 50
113 Namibia45 45 45
113 Paraguay45 45 45
113 Saudi Arabia45 45 45
113 Hungary45 45 45
113 India45 45 45
113 Palau45 45 45
113 Fiji45 45 45
113 Albania45 45 45
113 Armenia45 45 45
113 Turkey45 45 45
113 Ecuador45 45 45
113 Greece45 45 45
113 El Salvador45 45 45
126 Ghana40 40 40
126 Senegal40 40 40
126 Maldives40 40 40
126 Guyana40 40 40
126 Sri Lanka40 40 40
126 Tunisia40 40 40
126 Kenya40 40 40
126 Rwanda40 40 40
126 Jordan40 40 40
126 North Macedonia40 40 40
126 Samoa40 40 40
126 Bosnia and Herzegovina40 40 40
126 Azerbaijan40 40 40
126 Guatemala40 40 40
126 Indonesia40 40 40
126 Philippines40 40 40
126 Vanuatu40 40 40
143 Kosovo35 35 35
143 Ivory Coast35 35 35
143 Suriname35 35 35
143 Uganda35 35 35
143 Tanzania35 35 35
143 Kazakhstan35 35 35
143 Honduras35 35 35
143 Algeria35 35 35
143 Bolivia35 35 35
143 Nicaragua35 35 35
153 Gambia30 30 30
153 Burkina Faso30 30 30
153 Nigeria30 30 30
153 Benin30 30 30
153 Gabon30 30 30
153 Cambodia30 30 30
153 Lesotho30 30 30
153 Swaziland30 30 30
153 Russia30 30 30
153 Cameroon30 30 30
153 Zambia30 30 30
153 Egypt30 30 30
153 Zanzibar30 30 30
153 Bangladesh30 30 30
153 Ukraine30 30 30
153 Moldova30 30 30
153 Argentina30 30 30
153 Vietnam30 30 30
153 Pakistan30 30 30
153 Tonga30 30 30
153 Bhutan30 30 30
174 Madagascar25 25 26
174 Mali25 25 26
174 Togo25 25 26
174 Nauru25 25 26
174 Marshall Islands25 25 26
174 São Tomé and Príncipe25 25 26
174 Malawi25 25 26
174 Mongolia25 25 26
174 Micronesia25 25 26
174 Djibouti25 25 26
174 Kyrgyzstan25 25 26
174 Papua New Guinea25 25 26
174 Solomon Islands25 25 26
174 Nepal25 25 26
188 Belarus20 20 21
188 Niger20 20 21
188 Angola20 20 21
188 Mauritania20 20 21
188 Congo20 20 21
188 Liberia20 20 21
188 Equatorial Guinea20 20 21
188 Sierra Leone20 20 21
188 Guinea20 20 21
188 Laos20 20 21
188 Tuvalu20 20 21
188 Burundi20 20 21
188 Uzbekistan20 20 21
188 Kiribati20 20 21
188 Ethiopia20 20 21
188 China20 20 21
188 Mozambique20 20 21
188 Comoros20 20 21
188 Lebanon20 20 21
188 Timor-Leste20 20 21
188 Haiti20 20 21
209 Guinea-Bissau15 15 16
209 Zimbabwe15 15 16
209 Congo DR15 15 16
209 Libya15 15 16
209 Iraq15 15 16
209 Myanmar15 15 16
209 Tajikistan15 15 16
209 Iran15 15 16
217 Yemen10 10 11
217 Western Sahara10 10 11
217 Chad10 10 11
217 Central African Republic10 10 11
217 Sudan10 10 11
217 Cuba10 10 11
217 Turkmenistan10 10 11
217 Venezuela10 10 11
217 Palestine10 10 11
226 Syria5 5 6
226 South Sudan5 5 6
226 Somalia5 5 6
226 Eritrea5 5 6
226 Afghanistan5 5 6
231 Korea DPR1 1 2