The study urges stronger political commitment to secure land rights as countries grapple with climate change, biodiversity loss, gender inequality and rural transformation.
The report, produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Land Coalition and France’s agricultural research institute CIRAD, reveals that only 35% of land worldwide has formally documented ownership, tenure or use rights. Despite more than 70 countries undertaking land reforms since the early 2000s, progress remains patchy and slow.
More than 1.1 billion adults worldwide consider it likely or very likely that they will lose their homes or property in the coming years. The authors warn that such widespread “land insecurity” undermines productivity, weakens resilience and aggravates poverty and malnutrition.
“Land insecurity is one of the most damaging forms of inequality, paid for in lower productivity, weaker resilience and poorer nutrition,” said Maximo Torero Cullen, FAO Chief Economist. “Secure land tenure enables sustainable investment and is the difference between short‑term survival and long‑term food security.”
The report, The Status of Land Tenure and Governance, is the first comprehensive global stocktake of how land is owned, used and governed. It finds that States legally own more than 64% of the world’s land, including customary land administered under traditional systems without formal documentation. Just over 25% is known to be privately owned by individuals, companies or collectives, while the tenure status of roughly 10% remains unknown.
Private individuals and corporations own around 2.4 billion hectares, equivalent to 18% of global land. When agricultural land is analysed separately, the inequalities become starker: the top 10% of the world’s largest landholders operate nearly 90% of all cultivated land.
The report warns that without stronger protections, inequality will worsen as demand for land intensifies and climate pressures grow. It urges governments to adopt inclusive, transparent and gender‑responsive land‑governance systems to ensure land remains a foundation for development rather than a driver of insecurity.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
