Spouses have equal rights to manage their own and joint assets by country

In marriage, women and men keep control over the property they bring in or acquire, and both have equal rights to manage joint assets, with consent required only for major transactions like selling or pledging property.

Countries reporting
185
Highest
1 (1=yes; 0=no)
Afghanistan
Lowest
0 (1=yes; 0=no)
Samoa
Median
1 (1=yes; 0=no)
Years covered
54
1970–2023
Data points
10,152

What the numbers show

Spouses have equal rights to manage their own and joint assets is currently reported for 185 countries. The highest value is 1 (1=yes; 0=no) in Afghanistan; the lowest is 0 (1=yes; 0=no) in Samoa.

The median across all reporting countries is 1 (1=yes; 0=no), and the mean is 0.9027 (1=yes; 0=no).

Spouses have equal rights to manage their own and joint assets: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Afghanistan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Angola 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Albania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 United Arab Emirates 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Argentina 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Armenia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Antigua and Barbuda 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Australia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Austria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Azerbaijan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Burundi 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Belgium 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Benin 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Burkina Faso 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Bangladesh 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bulgaria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bahrain 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bahamas 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Belarus 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Belize 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bolivia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Brazil 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Barbados 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Brunei 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Bhutan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Botswana 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Central African Republic 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Canada 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Switzerland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 China 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Cote d'Ivoire 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 volatile
1 Colombia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Comoros 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Cape Verde 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Costa Rica 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Cyprus 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Czechia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Germany 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Djibouti 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Dominica 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Denmark 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Dominican Republic 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Algeria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Ecuador 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Egypt 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Eritrea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Spain 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Estonia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Ethiopia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Finland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Fiji 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 France 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Gabon 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 volatile
1 United Kingdom 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Georgia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Ghana 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Guinea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Gambia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Greece 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Grenada 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Guatemala 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Guyana 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Hong Kong 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Honduras 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Croatia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Hungary 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Indonesia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 India 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Iran 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Iraq 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Iceland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Israel 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Italy 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Jamaica 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Jordan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Japan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Kazakhstan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Kenya 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Kyrgyzstan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Cambodia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 South Korea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Kuwait 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Laos 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Lebanon 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Liberia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Libya 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Saint Lucia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Sri Lanka 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Lesotho 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Lithuania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Latvia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Morocco 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Moldova 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Madagascar 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Maldives 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Mexico 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 North Macedonia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Mali 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Myanmar 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Montenegro 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Mongolia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Mozambique 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Mauritius 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Malawi 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Malaysia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Namibia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Nigeria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Nicaragua 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Netherlands 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Norway 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Nepal 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 New Zealand 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Oman 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Pakistan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Panama 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Peru 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Papua New Guinea 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Poland 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Puerto Rico 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Portugal 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Paraguay 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Palestine 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Qatar 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Romania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Russia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Rwanda 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Saudi Arabia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Sudan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Senegal 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Singapore 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Solomon Islands 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Sierra Leone 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 El Salvador 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 San Marino 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Somalia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Serbia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Sao Tome and Principe 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Suriname 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Slovakia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Slovenia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Sweden 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Eswatini 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Seychelles 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Syria 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Togo 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged rising
1 Thailand 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Tajikistan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 East Timor 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Tonga 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Trinidad and Tobago 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Tunisia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Turkey 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Tanzania 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Uganda 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Ukraine 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Uruguay 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 United States 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Uzbekistan 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Venezuela 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Vietnam 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Yemen 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 South Africa 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged volatile
1 Zambia 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
1 Zimbabwe 1 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 unchanged flat
171 Chile 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Cameroon 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Democratic Republic of Congo 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Congo 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Micronesia (country) 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Guinea-Bissau 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Equatorial Guinea 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Haiti 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Kiribati 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Marshall Islands 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Mauritania 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Niger 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Philippines 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Palau 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 South Sudan 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Chad 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Vanuatu 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat
171 Samoa 0 (1=yes; 0=no) 2023 flat

About this data

Indicator
Spouses have equal rights to manage their own and joint assets
Unit
(1=yes; 0=no)
Source
Women, Business and the Law; World Bank – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
188 places, 10,152 data points, 1970–2023
Last refreshed

In marriage, women and men keep control over the property they bring in or acquire, and both have equal rights to manage joint assets, with consent required only for major transactions like selling or pledging property.