The Atlas of Legal Needs Survey is an interactive map and directory of all publicly available legal needs surveys conducted since 1991. The Atlas includes more than 250 studies conducted in 110 countries and jurisdictions.
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About the Atlas of Legal Needs Surveys
Billions of people around the world face unmet justice needs. Justice data are needed to provide insight into how these problems materialize, who they impact, and how they can be resolved equitably and efficiently.[1] Legal needs surveys are uniquely suited to provide data on these questions, which is vital for decisionmakers to design and deliver an effective policy response to people’s justice needs. The Atlas of Legal Needs Surveys provides a one-stop resource for decisionmakers, advocates, and researchers seeking this information.
The Atlas of Legal Needs Surveys is an interactive map and directory of all publicly available legal needs surveys conducted since 1991. The Atlas features legal needs surveys conducted by a number of data producers, including governments, civil society, foundations, and other research institutions. The Atlas of Legal Needs Surveys currently covers 110 countries and jurisdictions, including 70 subnational surveys, and serves as the largest global repository of people-centered justice data.
The Atlas builds on efforts by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Open Society Foundations to document all legal needs surveys conducted between 1993 and 2017 in its “Legal Needs Surveys and Access to Justice” methodological guidance.[2] The Atlas has been updated to include links to survey findings and methodological information where available, as well as new legal needs surveys conducted since 2018. WJP intends to continually update the Atlas as new legal needs surveys become available, and to build out additional functionality that can help users identify surveys covering particular populations or data points of interest.
The Atlas of Legal Needs Surveys was developed with the generous support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
The Atlas is updated semi-regularly with new research. Publicly available legal needs surveys that are available online and not yet included in the Atlas can be proposed via email to [email protected]. All inquiries regarding the Atlas of Legal Needs Surveys can be sent to this address.
Download the Atlas as an Excel file:
Atlas of Legal Needs Surveys (Excel)
[1] World Justice Project and Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, “Grasping the Justice Gap: Opportunities and Challenges for People-Centered Justice Data,” Discussion Draft, 2021, 4.
https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/publications/working-papers/grasping-justice-gap
[2] See: OECD and Open Society Foundations, “Legal Needs Surveys and Access to Justice”, 2019, Table 1.1 “National legal needs surveys conducted in the last 25 years,” 26. https://doi.org/10.1787/g2g9a36c-en.