The Global Law Firm Index 2026

01Key findings

Half of the world’s listed law firms are in 3 countries.

We counted every law firm listed on Global Law Lists on 11 October 2026: 142,287 firms in 210 countries and territories. The map is lopsided. United States, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany and Spain hold 65.1% of them.

This is a study of our own dataset, compiled from public sources and member submissions. It shows where listed law firms are, not a census of every firm on earth. The methodology sets out what is counted and what is not, and the full country table is free to download as CSV.

142,287Law firms listed

In 210 countries and territories and 12,351 cities and towns.

39.3%In the United States

55,902 firms, more than the next 8 countries combined.

65.1%In five countries

The top ten hold 78.6%.

42.3%In North America

Home to 4.7% of the world’s people.

189.9Firms per million people

Netherlands, the highest of any country over one million people. World: 17.5.

2,392In London

The most of any city, ahead of Paris (1,749).

02Countries

The 20 countries with the most listed law firms.

The United States alone accounts for 39.3% of the firms in the dataset, likely reflecting both the size of its legal market and how thoroughly public, English-language sources document it. Brazil is second, ahead of the United Kingdom.

United States 39.3%
Brazil 9.3%
United Kingdom 7.5%
Germany 5.3%
Spain 3.8%
Other 205 countries and territories 34.9%

Share of all 142,287 listed law firms, 11 October 2026.

Top 20 countries by number of listed law firms, with share of the total
#	Country	Law firms	Share
1	United States	55,902	39.3%
2	Brazil	13,239	9.3%
3	United Kingdom	10,692	7.5%
4	Germany	7,484	5.3%
5	Spain	5,362	3.8%
6	Australia	4,626	3.3%
7	Canada	4,297	3.0%
8	France	4,150	2.9%
9	Netherlands	3,417	2.4%
10	Italy	2,693	1.9%
11	India	2,499	1.8%
12	Turkey	2,325	1.6%
13	Poland	1,764	1.2%
14	Belgium	1,410	1.0%
15	Mexico	1,377	1.0%
16	South Africa	1,121	0.8%
17	Sweden	1,115	0.8%
18	Colombia	926	0.7%
19	Chile	840	0.6%
20	Switzerland	839	0.6%

Country names link to each country’s law firms on Global Law Lists. All 214 countries and territories are in the full table.

03Regions

North America has 42.3% of the firms and 4.7% of the people.

Share of listed law firms against share of world population, by World Bank region. Where the white bar outruns the grey one, listed firms are dense; where it falls short, firms are scarce or under-documented.

Share of listed law firms and share of world population by World Bank region, with firms per million people
Region	Share of law firms vs share of population	Firms	Per million
North America	42.3% of firms4.7% of people	60,210	157.9
Europe & Central Asia	33.7% of firms11.4% of people	48,019	51.7
Latin America & Caribbean	13.4% of firms8.1% of people	19,081	29.0
East Asia & Pacific	5.2% of firms29.1% of people	7,410	3.1
Sub-Saharan Africa	1.9% of firms15.9% of people	2,710	2.1
South Asia	1.9% of firms20.7% of people	2,685	1.6
Middle East & North Africa*	1.5% of firms10.0% of people	2,172	2.7

* World Bank region “Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan”. Population shares use the 207 countries and territories with a World Bank 2024 figure.

04Per million people

Netherlands leads on density.

Listed law firms per million inhabitants, for countries with at least one million people. Without that floor, small jurisdictions would top the list on tiny populations: Liechtenstein has 36 listed firms for 40,450 people, or 890 per million.

The world figure is 17.5 listed firms per million people. Every country in this top 15 has more than four times that.

Top 15 countries by listed law firms per million people (population at least one million)
#	Country	Per million	Firms
1	Netherlands	189.9	3,417
2	Australia	170.1	4,626
3	United States	164.4	55,902
4	Cyprus	159.0	216
5	United Kingdom	154.3	10,692
6	Belgium	118.9	1,410
7	Denmark	116.4	696
8	Spain	109.8	5,362
9	Sweden	105.5	1,115
10	Canada	104.1	4,297
11	Ireland	99.3	536
12	Switzerland	93.2	839
13	New Zealand	92.2	488
14	Germany	89.6	7,484
15	Norway	81.5	454

Population: World Bank, World Development Indicators, SP.POP.TOTL, 2024.

05Cities

London, Paris and Madrid lead the cities.

The 20 cities with the most listed law firms. Outside the United States, one city often dominates its country: Istanbul holds 45.8% of the listed firms in Turkey and Paris 42.1% in France. The American market is spread out: Chicago, its largest city here, holds 2.1% of US firms.

Top 20 cities by number of listed law firms
#	City	Law firms	Of country
1	LondonUnited Kingdom	2,392	22.4%
2	ParisFrance	1,749	42.1%
3	MadridSpain	1,381	25.8%
4	ChicagoIllinois, United States	1,181	2.1%
5	Los AngelesCalifornia, United States	1,158	2.1%
6	IstanbulTurkey	1,066	45.8%
7	HoustonTexas, United States	1,055	1.9%
8	TorontoCanada	990	23.0%
9	AtlantaGeorgia, United States	820	1.5%
10	WashingtonDistrict of Columbia, United States	715	1.3%
11	DallasTexas, United States	700	1.3%
12	San DiegoCalifornia, United States	653	1.2%
13	New DelhiIndia	651	26.1%
14	MiamiFlorida, United States	650	1.2%
15	San FranciscoCalifornia, United States	647	1.2%
16	MilanItaly	594	22.1%
17	BarcelonaSpain	530	9.9%
18	AustinTexas, United States	496	0.9%
19	SeattleWashington, United States	494	0.9%
20	DenverColorado, United States	460	0.8%

A firm counts toward the city its profile is filed under. Firms filed only at state or province level count toward their country but no city: 2,089 New York State and 1,395 São Paulo State profiles are filed that way, so New York City and São Paulo are understated here.

06Practice areas

Litigation leads. Each region has its own signature.

47.6% of listed firms name at least one practice area; the rest are listed as general practice. Among the 67,798 that do, litigation is the most common (31.8%). Shares below are of firms naming a practice area, and add up to more than 100% because most firms name several.

Share of firms naming each practice area, by region (%). The black cell in each row is that region’s signature: its most over-represented practice against the global mix.

Practice-area mix by region
Region	Litigation	Corporate	Real estate	Family	Trusts & estates	Employment	Criminal	Personal injury	IP	Tax	Immigration	Arbitration
North America	35.2	6.3	19.8	15.3	25.2	4.5	10.4	21.9 (signature practice)	5.9	2.7	7.2	8.3
Europe & Central Asia	22.4	16.4	15.2	18.3	22.6	20.0 (signature practice)	12.1	2.5	7.6	5.8	5.9	10.4
Latin America & Caribbean	24.6	17.7	11.8	8.4	13.7	20.3	6.2	0.2	9.8	12.7 (signature practice)	2.1	11.8
East Asia & Pacific	43.3	11.7	30.0	23.3	38.4 (signature practice)	3.6	6.8	4.0	8.7	2.6	7.8	10.3
Sub-Saharan Africa	63.0	23.5	38.1 (signature practice)	10.8	14.2	11.2	2.1	2.1	15.6	6.3	5.8	17.3
South Asia	54.4	12.0	20.6	9.4	6.1	3.0	5.1	0.7	28.7 (signature practice)	7.8	4.8	24.2
Middle East & North Africa	53.6	17.5	25.0	6.9	5.5	6.1	5.3	0.6	21.2	5.5	8.9	28.6 (signature practice)
All regions	31.8	11.6	18.6	15.6	23.1	11.0	9.9	11.4	7.8	5.0	6.2	10.2

Under 5%
5–10%
10–20%
20–35%
35% and over
Signature

01
North America
Personal injury: named by 21.9% of firms naming a practice area, against 11.4% worldwide (1.9 times the global share). Personal injury law firms
02
Europe & Central Asia
Employment: named by 20.0% of firms naming a practice area, against 11.0% worldwide (1.8 times the global share). Employment law firms
03
Latin America & Caribbean
Tax: named by 12.7% of firms naming a practice area, against 5.0% worldwide (2.5 times the global share). Tax law firms
04
East Asia & Pacific
Trusts & estates: named by 38.4% of firms naming a practice area, against 23.1% worldwide (1.7 times the global share). Trusts & estates law firms
05
Sub-Saharan Africa
Real estate: named by 38.1% of firms naming a practice area, against 18.6% worldwide (2.1 times the global share). Real estate law firms
06
South Asia
IP: named by 28.7% of firms naming a practice area, against 7.8% worldwide (3.7 times the global share). IP law firms
07
Middle East & North Africa
Arbitration: named by 28.6% of firms naming a practice area, against 10.2% worldwide (2.8 times the global share). Arbitration law firms

07Coverage gaps

Legal deserts, or gaps in the record?

46 countries and territories have five or fewer listed law firms, and 4 have none.

Low counts have two causes we cannot separate from listing data alone: some legal markets are genuinely small, and some are poorly documented in the public, largely English-language sources the dataset is compiled from. China is the clearest case: 198 listed firms for 1.4 billion people says more about the sources than about the profession. Read the low end of this table as a map of where the record is thin, not where lawyers are absent.

The 15 countries of one million people or more with the fewest listed law firms per million people
Country	Law firms	Population 2024	Per million
North Korea	0	26,498,823	0.0
Central African Republic	0	5,330,690	0.0
China	198	1,408,975,000	0.1
Ethiopia	16	132,059,767	0.1
DR Congo	12	109,276,265	0.1
Yemen	3	40,583,164	0.1
Niger	3	27,032,412	0.1
Chad	3	20,299,123	0.1
Mali	6	24,478,595	0.2
Tajikistan	2	10,590,927	0.2
Myanmar	16	54,500,091	0.3
Sudan	13	50,448,963	0.3
Madagascar	9	31,964,956	0.3
Turkmenistan	2	7,494,498	0.3
Eritrea	1	3,535,603	0.3

Five or fewer listed firms: Antigua and Barbuda (5), Gambia (5), Grenada (5), Laos (5), Lesotho (5), San Marino (5), Seychelles (5), Solomon Islands (5), Timor-Leste (5), Anguilla (4), Bhutan (4), Cape Verde (4), Comoros (4), Faroe Islands (4), Guernsey (4), Republic of the Congo (4), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (4), Chad (3), Equatorial Guinea (3), Guinea-Bissau (3), Liberia (3), Niger (3), Samoa (3), Tonga (3), Vanuatu (3), Yemen (3), Djibouti (2), Dominica (2), Eswatini (2), Greenland (2), Kiribati (2), Mauritania (2), Micronesia (2), New Caledonia (2), Palau (2), Tajikistan (2), Turkmenistan (2), Eritrea (1), Falkland Islands (1), Marshall Islands (1), Somaliland (1), Tuvalu (1), Central African Republic (0), Nauru (0), North Korea (0), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (0).

08All countries

Every country and territory, sortable.

Select a column heading to sort. The same table, with ISO codes and verified member counts, is in the CSV.

Listed law firms by country and territory, 11 October 2026
Rank	Country	Region	Law firms	Share	Per million	Name a practice	Most listed practice area
1	United States	North America	55,902	39.29%	164.4	52.5%	Litigation
2	Brazil	Latin America & Caribbean	13,239	9.30%	62.4	43.0%	Contract Law
3	United Kingdom	Europe & Central Asia	10,692	7.51%	154.3	34.4%	Trusts and Estates Law
4	Germany	Europe & Central Asia	7,484	5.26%	89.6	55.3%	Employment and Labor Law
5	Spain	Europe & Central Asia	5,362	3.77%	109.8	47.5%	Contract Law
6	Australia	East Asia & Pacific	4,626	3.25%	170.1	65.5%	Trusts and Estates Law
7	Canada	North America	4,297	3.02%	104.1	64.5%	Litigation
8	France	Europe & Central Asia	4,150	2.92%	60.5	54.9%	Litigation
9	Netherlands	Europe & Central Asia	3,417	2.40%	189.9	49.8%	Employment and Labor Law
10	Italy	Europe & Central Asia	2,693	1.89%	45.7	47.2%	Litigation
11	India	South Asia	2,499	1.76%	1.7	43.6%	Litigation
12	Turkey	Europe & Central Asia	2,325	1.63%	27.2	18.4%	Intellectual Property Law
13	Poland	Europe & Central Asia	1,764	1.24%	48.3	11.6%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
14	Belgium	Europe & Central Asia	1,410	0.99%	118.9	38.1%	Business and Corporate Law
15	Mexico	Latin America & Caribbean	1,377	0.97%	10.5	40.5%	Contract Law
16	South Africa	Sub-Saharan Africa	1,121	0.79%	17.5	55.1%	Litigation
17	Sweden	Europe & Central Asia	1,115	0.78%	105.5	10.0%	Immigration Law
18	Colombia	Latin America & Caribbean	926	0.65%	17.5	44.5%	Litigation
19	Chile	Latin America & Caribbean	840	0.59%	42.5	42.1%	Litigation
20	Switzerland	Europe & Central Asia	839	0.59%	93.2	65.6%	Litigation
21	Argentina	Latin America & Caribbean	743	0.52%	16.3	42.3%	Litigation
22	Denmark	Europe & Central Asia	696	0.49%	116.4	12.4%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
23	Austria	Europe & Central Asia	669	0.47%	72.9	43.5%	Trusts and Estates Law
24	Indonesia	East Asia & Pacific	579	0.41%	2.0	29.9%	Litigation
25	Ireland	Europe & Central Asia	536	0.38%	99.3	63.8%	Trusts and Estates Law
26	Peru	Latin America & Caribbean	534	0.38%	15.6	38.8%	Litigation
27	Nigeria	Sub-Saharan Africa	505	0.35%	2.2	49.1%	Litigation
28	Portugal	Europe & Central Asia	500	0.35%	46.8	50.4%	Litigation
29	New Zealand	East Asia & Pacific	488	0.34%	92.2	71.9%	Litigation
30	Norway	Europe & Central Asia	454	0.32%	81.5	6.8%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
31	Israel	Middle East & North Africa	430	0.30%	43.0	25.6%	Litigation
32	Czech Republic	Europe & Central Asia	410	0.29%	37.6	16.1%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
33	Hungary	Europe & Central Asia	385	0.27%	40.3	15.8%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
34	Malaysia	East Asia & Pacific	373	0.26%	10.5	46.6%	Litigation
35	United Arab Emirates	Middle East & North Africa	352	0.25%	32.0	57.4%	Litigation
36	Greece	Europe & Central Asia	330	0.23%	31.7	47.0%	Litigation
37	Romania	Europe & Central Asia	321	0.23%	16.8	40.5%	Litigation
38	Finland	Europe & Central Asia	302	0.21%	53.7	13.6%	Litigation
39	Ecuador	Latin America & Caribbean	300	0.21%	16.5	33.7%	Intellectual Property Law
40	Kenya	Sub-Saharan Africa	289	0.20%	5.1	31.5%	Litigation
41	Pakistan	Middle East & North Africa	277	0.19%	1.1	38.3%	Litigation
42	Saudi Arabia	Middle East & North Africa	259	0.18%	7.3	30.1%	Litigation
43	Ukraine	Europe & Central Asia	225	0.16%	5.9	26.2%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
44	Singapore	East Asia & Pacific	224	0.16%	37.1	64.3%	Litigation
45	Cyprus	Europe & Central Asia	216	0.15%	159.0	64.4%	Litigation
46	Egypt	Middle East & North Africa	211	0.15%	1.8	40.3%	Litigation
47	China	East Asia & Pacific	198	0.14%	0.1	22.7%	Litigation
48	Philippines	East Asia & Pacific	192	0.13%	1.7	34.9%	Litigation
49	Russia	Europe & Central Asia	186	0.13%	1.3	29.6%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
50	Vietnam	East Asia & Pacific	166	0.12%	1.6	41.6%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
51	Serbia	Europe & Central Asia	163	0.11%	24.7	38.0%	Litigation
52	Bulgaria	Europe & Central Asia	160	0.11%	24.8	39.4%	Litigation
53	Slovakia	Europe & Central Asia	141	0.10%	26.0	22.0%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
54	Panama	Latin America & Caribbean	140	0.10%	31.0	59.3%	Litigation
55	Costa Rica	Latin America & Caribbean	139	0.10%	27.1	45.3%	Litigation
56	Hong Kong	East Asia & Pacific	129	0.09%	17.1	46.5%	Litigation
57	Lithuania	Europe & Central Asia	115	0.08%	39.8	27.8%	Litigation
58	Dominican Republic	Latin America & Caribbean	114	0.08%	10.0	46.5%	Litigation
59	Luxembourg	Europe & Central Asia	111	0.08%	164.0	59.5%	Litigation
60	Slovenia	Europe & Central Asia	108	0.08%	50.8	13.0%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
61	Japan	East Asia & Pacific	104	0.07%	0.8	42.3%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
62	Lebanon	Middle East & North Africa	94	0.07%	16.2	46.8%	Litigation
63	Thailand	East Asia & Pacific	91	0.06%	1.3	57.1%	Litigation
64	Bangladesh	South Asia	87	0.06%	0.5	43.7%	Litigation
65	Bolivia	Latin America & Caribbean	86	0.06%	6.9	34.9%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
66	Tanzania	Sub-Saharan Africa	83	0.06%	1.2	51.8%	Litigation
66	Venezuela	Latin America & Caribbean	83	0.06%	2.9	43.4%	Business and Corporate Law
68	Ghana	Sub-Saharan Africa	82	0.06%	2.4	56.1%	Litigation
69	Guatemala	Latin America & Caribbean	77	0.05%	4.2	37.7%	Intellectual Property Law
70	Croatia	Europe & Central Asia	76	0.05%	19.7	27.6%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
71	Jordan	Middle East & North Africa	74	0.05%	6.4	51.4%	Litigation
71	Uruguay	Latin America & Caribbean	74	0.05%	21.9	52.7%	Litigation
73	Uganda	Sub-Saharan Africa	73	0.05%	1.5	53.4%	Litigation
74	Iran	Middle East & North Africa	64	0.04%	0.7	28.1%	Litigation
75	Estonia	Europe & Central Asia	61	0.04%	44.4	31.1%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
76	Zimbabwe	Sub-Saharan Africa	60	0.04%	3.6	20.0%	Real Estate Law
77	South Korea	East Asia & Pacific	58	0.04%	1.1	37.9%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
78	Malta	Middle East & North Africa	56	0.04%	98.4	62.5%	Litigation
79	Morocco	Middle East & North Africa	53	0.04%	1.4	47.2%	Litigation
80	Paraguay	Latin America & Caribbean	52	0.04%	7.5	46.2%	Litigation
81	Cameroon	Sub-Saharan Africa	51	0.04%	1.8	51.0%	Litigation
81	El Salvador	Latin America & Caribbean	51	0.04%	8.0	37.3%	Litigation
81	Latvia	Europe & Central Asia	51	0.04%	27.3	41.2%	Immigration Law
84	Armenia	Europe & Central Asia	50	0.04%	16.5	46.0%	Litigation
85	Georgia	Europe & Central Asia	48	0.03%	12.6	35.4%	Litigation
86	Kuwait	Middle East & North Africa	45	0.03%	9.2	51.1%	Litigation
87	Cambodia	East Asia & Pacific	40	0.03%	2.3	42.5%	Litigation
88	Sri Lanka	South Asia	39	0.03%	1.8	48.7%	Litigation
89	Azerbaijan	Europe & Central Asia	38	0.03%	3.7	34.2%	Litigation
89	Honduras	Latin America & Caribbean	38	0.03%	3.5	31.6%	Employment and Labor Law
89	Nepal	South Asia	38	0.03%	1.3	65.8%	Litigation
89	Oman	Middle East & North Africa	38	0.03%	7.2	36.8%	Litigation
93	Bahrain	Middle East & North Africa	36	0.03%	22.7	44.4%	Litigation
93	Iceland	Europe & Central Asia	36	0.03%	93.1	19.4%	Litigation
93	Liechtenstein	Europe & Central Asia	36	0.03%	890.0	41.7%	Litigation
93	Qatar	Middle East & North Africa	36	0.03%	12.6	52.8%	Litigation
93	Zambia	Sub-Saharan Africa	36	0.03%	1.7	41.7%	Litigation
98	Tunisia	Middle East & North Africa	34	0.02%	2.8	32.4%	Litigation
99	Botswana	Sub-Saharan Africa	33	0.02%	13.1	51.5%	Litigation
99	Kazakhstan	Europe & Central Asia	33	0.02%	1.6	48.5%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
99	North Macedonia	Europe & Central Asia	33	0.02%	18.1	42.4%	Litigation
99	Taiwan	East Asia & Pacific	33	0.02%	n/a	30.3%	Intellectual Property Law
103	Mauritius	Sub-Saharan Africa	32	0.02%	25.7	56.3%	Litigation
104	Iraq	Middle East & North Africa	31	0.02%	0.7	61.3%	Litigation
104	Senegal	Sub-Saharan Africa	31	0.02%	1.7	22.6%	Business and Corporate Law
106	Albania	Europe & Central Asia	30	0.02%	12.6	50.0%	Litigation
106	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe & Central Asia	30	0.02%	9.5	26.7%	Business and Corporate Law
108	Curacao	Latin America & Caribbean	27	0.02%	173.1	37.0%	Business and Corporate Law
108	Trinidad And Tobago	Latin America & Caribbean	27	0.02%	19.7	37.0%	Litigation
110	Angola	Sub-Saharan Africa	26	0.02%	0.7	26.9%	Business and Corporate Law
110	Isle of Man	Europe & Central Asia	26	0.02%	308.9	57.7%	Trusts and Estates Law
110	Jamaica	Latin America & Caribbean	26	0.02%	9.2	46.2%	Real Estate Law
113	Bahamas	Latin America & Caribbean	25	0.02%	62.3	52.0%	Litigation
113	Belarus	Europe & Central Asia	25	0.02%	2.7	48.0%	Mergers and Acquisitions Law
115	Mozambique	Sub-Saharan Africa	24	0.02%	0.7	33.3%	Employment and Labor Law
116	Andorra	Europe & Central Asia	22	0.02%	268.5	54.5%	Business and Corporate Law
116	Nicaragua	Latin America & Caribbean	22	0.02%	3.2	40.9%	Intellectual Property Law
116	Uzbekistan	Europe & Central Asia	22	0.02%	0.6	40.9%	Banking and Finance Law
119	Moldova	Europe & Central Asia	20	0.01%	8.3	25.0%	Restructuring and Insolvency Law
119	Namibia	Sub-Saharan Africa	20	0.01%	6.6	45.0%	Litigation
121	Monaco	Europe & Central Asia	19	0.01%	491.8	63.2%	Real Estate Law
121	Rwanda	Sub-Saharan Africa	19	0.01%	1.3	78.9%	Litigation
123	Afghanistan	Middle East & North Africa	18	0.01%	0.4	72.2%	Employment and Labor Law
123	Maldives	South Asia	18	0.01%	34.1	61.1%	Litigation
125	Algeria	Middle East & North Africa	17	0.01%	0.4	29.4%	Business and Corporate Law
125	Gibraltar	Europe & Central Asia	17	0.01%	432.3	47.1%	Litigation
125	Jersey	Europe & Central Asia	17	0.01%	n/a	76.5%	Litigation
125	Montenegro	Europe & Central Asia	17	0.01%	27.3	64.7%	Intellectual Property Law
129	Cuba	Latin America & Caribbean	16	0.01%	1.5	50.0%	Intellectual Property Law
129	Côte d'Ivoire	Sub-Saharan Africa	16	0.01%	0.5	18.8%	Business and Corporate Law
129	Ethiopia	Sub-Saharan Africa	16	0.01%	0.1	75.0%	Litigation
129	Libya	Middle East & North Africa	16	0.01%	2.2	68.8%	Litigation
129	Myanmar	East Asia & Pacific	16	0.01%	0.3	43.8%	Intellectual Property Law
134	Macau	East Asia & Pacific	15	0.01%	21.8	73.3%	Litigation
134	Mongolia	East Asia & Pacific	15	0.01%	4.3	46.7%	Business and Corporate Law
136	Belize	Latin America & Caribbean	14	0.01%	33.6	92.9%	Intellectual Property Law
136	Cayman Islands	Latin America & Caribbean	14	0.01%	188.0	71.4%	Litigation
136	Sao Tome and Principe	Sub-Saharan Africa	14	0.01%	59.4	57.1%	Real Estate Law
136	Syria	Middle East & North Africa	14	0.01%	0.6	35.7%	Business and Corporate Law
140	Sudan	Sub-Saharan Africa	13	0.01%	0.3	76.9%	Litigation
140	Suriname	Latin America & Caribbean	13	0.01%	20.5	46.2%	Business and Corporate Law
142	Burkina Faso	Sub-Saharan Africa	12	0.01%	0.5	58.3%	Business and Corporate Law
142	DR Congo	Sub-Saharan Africa	12	0.01%	0.1	50.0%	Business and Corporate Law
142	Fiji	East Asia & Pacific	12	0.01%	12.9	41.7%	Litigation
142	Malawi	Sub-Saharan Africa	12	0.01%	0.6	41.7%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
142	Palestine	Middle East & North Africa	12	0.01%	2.3	50.0%	Litigation
142	Somalia	Sub-Saharan Africa	12	0.01%	0.6	66.7%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
148	Barbados	Latin America & Caribbean	11	0.01%	38.9	81.8%	Real Estate Law
148	Bermuda	North America	11	0.01%	170.2	72.7%	Litigation
148	British Virgin Islands	Latin America & Caribbean	11	0.01%	278.7	54.5%	Litigation
148	Papua New Guinea	East Asia & Pacific	11	0.01%	1.0	27.3%	Banking and Finance Law
148	Sierra Leone	Sub-Saharan Africa	11	0.01%	1.3	81.8%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
153	Turks and Caicos Islands	Latin America & Caribbean	10	0.01%	214.9	60.0%	Litigation
154	Guinea	Sub-Saharan Africa	9	0.01%	0.6	66.7%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
154	Haiti	Latin America & Caribbean	9	0.01%	0.8	55.6%	Intellectual Property Law
154	Madagascar	Sub-Saharan Africa	9	0.01%	0.3	66.7%	Business and Corporate Law
154	Saint Lucia	Latin America & Caribbean	9	0.01%	50.1	33.3%	Real Estate Law
158	Benin	Sub-Saharan Africa	8	0.01%	0.6	37.5%	Business and Corporate Law
158	Kyrgyzstan	Europe & Central Asia	8	0.01%	1.1	62.5%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
158	Togo	Sub-Saharan Africa	8	0.01%	1.0	37.5%	Business and Corporate Law
161	Gabon	Sub-Saharan Africa	7	0.00%	2.8	57.1%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
161	Guyana	Latin America & Caribbean	7	0.00%	8.4	85.7%	Intellectual Property Law
163	Brunei	East Asia & Pacific	6	0.00%	13.0	100.0%	Business and Corporate Law
163	Burundi	Sub-Saharan Africa	6	0.00%	0.4	83.3%	Business and Corporate Law
163	Kosovo	Europe & Central Asia	6	0.00%	3.8	50.0%	Business and Corporate Law
163	Mali	Sub-Saharan Africa	6	0.00%	0.2	66.7%	Business and Corporate Law
163	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Latin America & Caribbean	6	0.00%	128.1	66.7%	Real Estate Law
163	South Sudan	Sub-Saharan Africa	6	0.00%	0.5	50.0%	Business and Corporate Law
169	Antigua and Barbuda	Latin America & Caribbean	5	0.00%	53.3	80.0%	Civil Law
169	Gambia	Sub-Saharan Africa	5	0.00%	1.8	60.0%	Banking and Finance Law
169	Grenada	Latin America & Caribbean	5	0.00%	42.7	80.0%	Business and Corporate Law
169	Laos	East Asia & Pacific	5	0.00%	0.6	80.0%	Banking and Finance Law
169	Lesotho	Sub-Saharan Africa	5	0.00%	2.1	60.0%	Business and Corporate Law
169	San Marino	Europe & Central Asia	5	0.00%	147.2	80.0%	Litigation
169	Seychelles	Sub-Saharan Africa	5	0.00%	41.2	80.0%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
169	Solomon Islands	East Asia & Pacific	5	0.00%	6.1	80.0%	Business and Corporate Law
169	Timor-Leste	East Asia & Pacific	5	0.00%	3.6	60.0%	Business and Corporate Law
178	Anguilla	Latin America & Caribbean	4	0.00%	n/a	25.0%	Banking and Finance Law
178	Bhutan	South Asia	4	0.00%	5.1	100.0%	Business and Corporate Law
178	Cape Verde	Sub-Saharan Africa	4	0.00%	7.6	50.0%	Environmental Law
178	Comoros	Sub-Saharan Africa	4	0.00%	4.6	75.0%	Business and Corporate Law
178	Faroe Islands	Europe & Central Asia	4	0.00%	73.2	0.0%	–
178	Guernsey	Europe & Central Asia	4	0.00%	n/a	100.0%	Litigation
178	Republic of the Congo	Sub-Saharan Africa	4	0.00%	0.6	75.0%	Business and Corporate Law
178	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Latin America & Caribbean	4	0.00%	39.8	100.0%	Litigation
186	Chad	Sub-Saharan Africa	3	0.00%	0.1	66.7%	Business and Corporate Law
186	Equatorial Guinea	Sub-Saharan Africa	3	0.00%	1.6	66.7%	Business and Corporate Law
186	Guinea-Bissau	Sub-Saharan Africa	3	0.00%	1.4	66.7%	Business and Corporate Law
186	Liberia	Sub-Saharan Africa	3	0.00%	0.5	66.7%	Business and Corporate Law
186	Niger	Sub-Saharan Africa	3	0.00%	0.1	100.0%	Business and Corporate Law
186	Samoa	East Asia & Pacific	3	0.00%	13.8	66.7%	Litigation
186	Tonga	East Asia & Pacific	3	0.00%	28.8	66.7%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
186	Vanuatu	East Asia & Pacific	3	0.00%	9.2	100.0%	Banking and Finance Law
186	Yemen	Middle East & North Africa	3	0.00%	0.1	66.7%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
195	Djibouti	Middle East & North Africa	2	0.00%	1.7	100.0%	Business and Corporate Law
195	Dominica	Latin America & Caribbean	2	0.00%	30.2	100.0%	Business and Corporate Law
195	Eswatini	Sub-Saharan Africa	2	0.00%	1.6	100.0%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
195	Greenland	Europe & Central Asia	2	0.00%	35.2	0.0%	–
195	Kiribati	East Asia & Pacific	2	0.00%	14.9	100.0%	Aviation Law
195	Mauritania	Sub-Saharan Africa	2	0.00%	0.4	100.0%	Business and Corporate Law
195	Micronesia	East Asia & Pacific	2	0.00%	17.7	50.0%	Administrative Law
195	New Caledonia	East Asia & Pacific	2	0.00%	6.8	50.0%	Business and Corporate Law
195	Palau	East Asia & Pacific	2	0.00%	113.0	100.0%	Business and Corporate Law
195	Tajikistan	Europe & Central Asia	2	0.00%	0.2	100.0%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
195	Turkmenistan	Europe & Central Asia	2	0.00%	0.3	100.0%	Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
206	Eritrea	Sub-Saharan Africa	1	0.00%	0.3	100.0%	Banking and Finance Law
206	Falkland Islands	Latin America & Caribbean	1	0.00%	n/a	0.0%	–
206	Marshall Islands	East Asia & Pacific	1	0.00%	26.6	100.0%	Banking and Finance Law
206	Somaliland	Sub-Saharan Africa	1	0.00%	n/a	0.0%	–
206	Tuvalu	East Asia & Pacific	1	0.00%	103.7	100.0%	Anti-Money Laundering Law
211	Central African Republic	Sub-Saharan Africa	0	0.00%	0.0	–	–
211	Nauru	East Asia & Pacific	0	0.00%	0.0	–	–
211	North Korea	East Asia & Pacific	0	0.00%	0.0	–	–
211	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	North America	0	0.00%	n/a	–	–

Download the CSV

09Methodology

What we counted, and what we didn’t.

01
The dataset
Every active law-firm profile on Global Law Lists on 11 October 2026: 142,287 firms. Profiles are compiled from public sources and from member submissions. Global Law Lists, founded in 2024, covers 240+ jurisdictions, 210+ countries and 175,000+ locations; this study uses law-firm profiles only, not individual lawyer profiles.
02
Not a census
The index measures the coverage of our dataset. It is not a count of every law firm in the world, and it will undercount markets that public, largely English-language sources document poorly. For an authoritative national figure, use the country’s bar association or law society register.
03
Verification
Only member firms are verified: 27 on the snapshot date. All other profiles are unverified until the firm claims them. See how verification works.
04
Where a firm is counted
Each firm is counted once, under the place its profile is filed under, and rolled up to that place’s country. Offices in other cities or countries are not counted separately, so international firms count once, at their listed location. 74.6% of firms are filed under a city or town, 9.4% under a state, province or region and 16.0% under the country only.
05
Cities
A city is the most specific place a profile can be filed under. Firms filed only at state, province or country level count toward the country but not toward any city, which understates some cities (see the note under the city chart).
06
Practice areas
A firm counts toward each practice area its profile names. Firms listed only as general practice or full service (74,489) are left out of the practice-area shares, which are calculated over the 67,798 firms naming at least one practice area. A region’s signature practice is the one with the highest ratio of regional to global share, among practices named by at least 25 firms in the region.
07
Population and regions
Population is the World Bank’s 2024 estimate (World Development Indicators, SP.POP.TOTL, data updated 8 October 2026), held as a static table in the study’s source. Regions are the World Bank’s seven. 7 territories without a separate World Bank figure (Taiwan, Jersey, Anguilla, Guernsey, Falkland Islands, Somaliland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon; 60 firms) are left out of per-capita figures. Per-capita rankings include only countries of one million people or more.
08
Snapshot and updates
Figures are a snapshot of 11 October 2026, built from counts the site recomputes every hour. Profiles are added, corrected and removed continuously, so live country pages may differ slightly from this snapshot. Country names follow common English usage and may differ from a country page’s title.

10Cite and embed

Use the figures, with a link.

The aggregate figures and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Please credit Global Law Lists and link to this page.

Suggested citation

Global Law Lists (2026). The Global Law Firm Index 2026: where the world's law firms are. Snapshot of 11 October 2026. https://globallawlists.org/research/global-law-firm-index-2026

Embed the top-15 chart

<a href="https://globallawlists.org/research/global-law-firm-index-2026"><img src="https://globallawlists.org/research/global-law-firm-index-2026-top-countries.svg" width="1200" height="840" alt="Bar chart: law firms listed on Global Law Lists in the top 15 countries. Source: The Global Law Firm Index 2026." style="max-width:100%;height:auto"></a>

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11Questions

The index, answered.

01How many law firms are there in the world?

Nobody publishes a complete global count. This study counts the 142,287 law firms listed on Global Law Lists on 11 October 2026, in 210 countries and territories. It measures coverage of our dataset, not a census: national bar and law society registers remain the authority for any single country.

02Which country has the most law firms?

In our data, the United States: 55,902 listed law firms, 39.3% of the total. Brazil (13,239) and the United Kingdom (10,692) follow.

03Which country has the most law firms per person?

Among countries with at least one million people, Netherlands has the most listed law firms per million inhabitants: 189.9, against a world figure of 17.5. Population is the World Bank's 2024 estimate.

04Which city has the most law firms?

London, with 2,392 listed law firms. City figures count firms filed under that city. Where firms are filed only at state or province level, as with many New York and São Paulo listings, the city is understated.

05Are all of these law firms verified?

No. Only member firms are verified, 27 on the snapshot date. Every other profile is compiled from public sources and member submissions, is unverified, and carries no badge until the firm claims it.

06Can I use these figures?

Yes. The aggregate figures and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Please cite "Global Law Lists, The Global Law Firm Index 2026" and link to this page. The population figures are the World Bank's, also CC BY 4.0.

07How often is the index updated?

This is the 2026 edition, a snapshot taken on 11 October 2026. The underlying counts are rebuilt every hour as profiles are added, corrected or removed; we plan to publish a new snapshot each year and will date every update on this page.

08My firm is missing or wrong. What can I do?

Search for it on Global Law Lists. If it is listed, you can claim the profile; if not, you can list it. Corrections and removal requests are free through our data rights page.

Is your firm in the index?

Find it, claim it, or add it.

Find your profile List your firm

The Global Law Firm Index 2026

Half of the world’s listed law firms are in 3 countries.

The 20 countries with the most listed law firms.

North America has 42.3% of the firms and 4.7% of the people.

Netherlands leads on density.

London, Paris and Madrid lead the cities.

Litigation leads. Each region has its own signature.

North America

Europe & Central Asia

Latin America & Caribbean

East Asia & Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

South Asia

Middle East & North Africa

Legal deserts, or gaps in the record?

Every country and territory, sortable.

What we counted, and what we didn’t.

The dataset

Not a census

Verification

Where a firm is counted

Cities

Practice areas

Population and regions

Snapshot and updates

Use the figures, with a link.

The index, answered.

Behind the numbers: the firms themselves.

Law firms by country

Law firms by practice area

Find it, claim it, or add it.