Enviro News Asia, Rome — A new global report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Land Coalition (ILC), and CIRAD reveals that progress in expanding secure land tenure remains slow, despite growing global recognition of its importance for climate action, biodiversity protection, and sustainable development.
The report finds that approximately 1.1 billion people — nearly one in four adults worldwide — believe they could lose rights to some or all of their land and housing within the next five years. This perception of insecurity has increased in recent years, signaling mounting pressure on land governance systems.
The study represents the first comprehensive global stocktake tracking how land is owned, used, and governed. It builds on two decades of international guidance, particularly the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT), and responds to growing calls to link land rights with climate mitigation, biodiversity conservation, gender equality, and rural transformation.
According to the report, states legally own more than 64 percent of the world’s land, including customary lands with designated tenure rights but without formal documentation. Slightly more than one-quarter of global land is privately owned by individuals, corporations, or collectives, while tenure status remains unknown for roughly 10 percent.
Private individuals and corporations own approximately 18 percent of the world’s land — equivalent to 2.4 billion hectares. When focusing on agricultural land, which accounts for about 37 percent of global land area, the top 10 percent of the largest landholders operate 89 percent of farmland in aggregate terms. Farms exceeding 1,000 hectares manage more than half of all farmland worldwide, while 85 percent of farmers cultivate less than two hectares, controlling only 9 percent of global agricultural land.
Regional disparities remain significant. In sub-Saharan Africa, 73 percent of land falls under customary tenure systems, yet only 1 percent is formally recognized, leaving most under undocumented arrangements or classified as state-owned. In Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, state ownership dominates at 51 percent, with only 9 percent of land privately held. Private ownership accounts for 32 percent of land in North America, 39 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 55 percent in Europe excluding the Russian Federation, where state ownership prevails.
The report highlights a major gap between customary occupation and legal recognition. Indigenous Peoples and other customary tenure holders occupy approximately 5.5 billion hectares — or 42 percent of global land — but only one billion hectares, representing 8 percent, enjoy clear ownership rights. As a result, more than one-third of the world’s stored carbon and 40 percent of intact forests remain vulnerable to legal uncertainty.
Gender inequality in land rights persists across most countries with available data. Men are significantly more likely than women to own land or hold secure tenure, with the gender gap exceeding 20 percentage points in nearly half of reporting countries.
The analysis also examines customary land systems in detail. These territories, stewarded by Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, and tribal communities, cover vast areas and play a critical role in biodiversity conservation and climate regulation. Approximately 77 percent of reported customary lands — about 4.2 billion hectares — have been mapped, although often only preliminarily. Thirty percent are located in North America and Europe, including large areas in the Russian Federation, 28 percent in Africa, 18 percent in Asia, and 12 percent each in Latin America and the Caribbean and Oceania.
Mapped customary lands contain an estimated 45 gigatons of irrecoverable carbon — roughly 37 percent of the global total — primarily in forest ecosystems. However, 19 percent of intact forest landscapes, 15 percent of irrecoverable carbon hotspots, and 7 percent of key biodiversity areas within mapped customary lands lack formal government recognition.
The report warns that growing demand for renewable energy, biofuels, conservation projects, and carbon offset initiatives — alongside urban expansion, infrastructure development, industrial agriculture, and extractive industries — increases pressure on customary territories, particularly where legal protections remain weak.
While reporting on land tenure indicators under the Sustainable Development Goals has accelerated, only 12 countries have submitted data covering all three land-related SDG indicators. The report underscores the need for stronger political commitment, inclusive land governance policies, and faster implementation to translate policy advances into tangible security on the ground. (*)
