States have legal ownership of 64% of land worldwide

• States have legal ownership of more than 64 per cent of land worldwide, according to a new report titled ‘Status of Land Tenure and Governance’.

• Just over a quarter of all land is known to be privately owned — whether by individuals, companies or collectives.

• Tenure status regarding the remaining 10 per cent or so is unknown.  

• The UN-backed report reveals that more than a billion people worldwide  fear they could lose the rights to some or all of their land and housing within the next five years.

Status of Land Tenure and Governance

• The Status of Land Tenure and Governance is described as the first comprehensive global stocktake designed to track how land is owned, used and governed. 

• The report is the knowledge product of the Global Land Observatory (GLO), an FAO initiative in partnership with the International Land Coalition (ILC) and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD).

• The report provides innovative, disaggregated data and analysis on land tenure systems, land distribution, governance frameworks, women’s land rights, and the role of customary tenure in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. 

• Drawing on evidence from governments, civil society, and academia at local to global levels, it establishes a robust evidence base to inform policy, support the achievement of land-related SDGs, and advance the implementation of the VGGT and other relevant international frameworks.

Types of land tenure systems 

The land that States have legal ownership includes:

i) Public land.

ii) Customary land with designated tenure rights or legal recognition but without documented ownership.

iii) Unrecognised customary land.

iv) States’ private asset arrangements. 

• In addition to land under states’ legal ownership, 26 per cent is known to be owned privately by individuals, companies or collectives. 

• For the remaining approximately 10 per cent of the world’s lands, tenure status is unknown.

• In practice, the picture changes significantly, as state lands may be assigned, even permanently, to others (for example, State land used privately under leasehold or concession agreements, or customary land under state ownership). 

The main types of land tenure systems in practice around the world can be summarised as follows:

i) 28 per cent (3.7 billion hectares) of the world’s land is public land, owned and managed by States.

ii) 42 per cent (5.5 billion ha) is customary land.

iii) 18 per cent (2.4 billion ha) is owned by private individuals and corporations.

iv) 2 percent (0.2 billion ha) operates under States’ private asset arrangements.

• Worldwide, when combining documented customary lands, documented public lands, and private lands, just over 35 percent of land can be considered formally  documented. 

• This leaves 55 per cent of the land undocumented, in addition to 10 per cent of land with an unclear status.

People living with fear of losing land and homes

• Land tenure is central to multiple dimensions of resilient and inclusive agrifood systems transformation, including access to healthy diets, equal prosperity, addressing climate change and maintaining biodiversity. 

• Land is also fundamental to assuring peace, stability and security.

• Above all, land tenure is about belonging, identity, cultural values and meanings, all grounded in lived experience and distinct ways of knowing.

• Some 1.1 billion people, almost one in four of all adults, consider it likely they could lose the rights to some or all of their land and housing within the next five years.

• Tenure security is a crucial catalyst of responsible land governance, and rights over the control of land and decision-making about its use enables better productive and environmentally sustainable decisions, fosters stability and peace and gives people the confidence to invest. 

• While there has been some progress in establishing and expanding land tenure security and governance at the international and national policy levels, it has been slow, and its impact on the ground even slower, underscoring the need for stronger political commitment and inclusive policies.

• Land insecurity is one of the most damaging forms of inequality, paid for in lower productivity, weaker resilience, and poorer nutrition. 

• Secure land tenure enables sustainable investment and is the difference between short-term survival and long-term food security.