Measuring global perceptions of land and property rights

A growing crisis in land and housing security

The 2024 Prindex Report reveals a sharp rise in insecurity around land and housing rights. Today, 1.1 billion adults—23% of the adult population in 108 countries surveyed—feel uncertain about their rights to property or land, with the situation worsening over the last four years, particularly in East Asia, the Pacific, and North America.

This global study from Global Land Alliance uncovers the root causes behind these fears and highlights the growing gap between policy goals, like the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 1.4), and the harsh reality faced by millions. Without action, securing equal land and housing rights by 2030 is increasingly at risk. The report calls for urgent global efforts to protect these rights.

Tracking global perceptions of tenure security

Prindex provides a clear view of how secure people feel about their land and homes, helping governments, organizations, and advocates identify vulnerable groups and guide policy reforms. When people are unsure about their property rights, it limits their ability to invest, plan, and contribute to society—widening inequalities and slowing economic progress.

How Prindex measures tenure security

With data from 108 countries and over 107,000 interviews, Prindex tracks changes in tenure insecurity between 2020 and 2024, representing 87% of the global adult population. This unique methodology goes beyond traditional surveys by including women, youth, and non-property owners, ensuring a diverse and inclusive picture of land and housing rights.

At the core is a simple yet powerful question: In the next five years, how likely or unlikely is it that you could lose the right to use this property, or part of this property, against your will? Those at risk are classified as having insecure tenure and asked to explain their concerns.

Prindex’s methodology, developed with leading academics and rigorously tested, provides reliable, actionable insights into the factors driving tenure insecurity worldwide.