Property rights and land governance under global pressure
More than one billion people worldwide, nearly one in four adults, fear they could lose property rights to part or all of their land and homes within the next five years. The finding comes from a joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Land Coalition and France’s agricultural research organization CIRAD.
The report calls for more inclusive land policies at a time when climate change, biodiversity protection, gender equality and rural transformation are central to global development agendas.
Customary land systems and climate risk
The study provides a detailed analysis of customary land systems and the climate risks they face. These lands are held by Indigenous communities under traditions, unwritten rules and customary practices rather than formal legal titles. They are largely managed by Indigenous peoples, pastoralists and tribal groups, and include forests, grasslands, wetlands and fishing areas.
Once dismissed as outdated, customary land governance is now recognized as critical for both people and the planet, given its significant contribution to biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation.
Land insecurity as a form of inequality
“Land insecurity is one of the most harmful forms of inequality, with costs reflected in lower productivity, reduced resilience and poorer nutrition. Secure land tenure enables sustainable investment and can mean the difference between short-term survival and long-term food security,” said Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist at FAO.
“Too many people still live with the fear of losing their land and homes, with women and youth among the most excluded. This reality undermines food security, climate action and biodiversity protection, and shows why secure property rights are the foundation for achieving all three goals,” said Marcy Vigoda, Director of the International Land Coalition.
Who owns the world’s land
The report, titled The Status of Land Tenure and Governance, provides the first comprehensive global inventory of how land is owned, used and governed. It finds that states hold legal ownership of more than 64% of the world’s land, although this figure includes customary lands with recognized use rights but without documented ownership.
Only about one quarter of global land is privately owned by individuals, companies or collectives, while 10% remains of unknown status. In total, 2.4 billion hectares are privately owned by individuals and corporations. When focusing on agricultural land, which accounts for nearly 37% of the Earth’s land surface, the largest 10% of landholders control almost 90% of all cultivated land.
Geographic disparities and vulnerable groups
Land tenure systems vary widely across regions. In sub-Saharan Africa, 73% of land is held under customary systems, yet only 1% is formally recognized as such. Most of this land is undocumented and legally under state ownership.
In North America, 32% of land is privately owned. The share rises to 39% in Latin America and 55% in Europe, excluding Russia where state ownership prevails.
Although Indigenous peoples and other customary rights holders occupy 5.5 billion hectares, representing 42% of global land, only about one billion hectares are documented with clear property rights. The report also shows that in nearly all countries, women are less likely than men to own land or hold secure property rights for housing or agriculture.
Customary lands and irreplaceable carbon stocks
Globally, 4.2 billion hectares are classified as customary lands, accounting for nearly 32% of the Earth’s total landmass excluding Antarctica. These mapped territories store an estimated 50.63 gigatons of irrecoverable carbon, or 37% of the global total, according to FAO.
Irrecoverable carbon refers to carbon stocks that, once released, cannot be restored within timeframes compatible with preventing severe climate damage. Most of these reserves are found in forest biomes. The report highlights that Indigenous management plays a critical role in long-term carbon storage, water regulation and broader climate processes.
Forests absorb up to 30% of annual global CO2 emissions and function as stable carbon reservoirs. Natural and semi-natural grasslands, vital to the livelihoods of many pastoral communities, also serve as major carbon sinks, holding 12% of terrestrial carbon despite relatively low levels of protection. Customary lands include 80% of the world’s peatlands, which account for 29% of irrecoverable carbon under customary tenure systems.
The United Nations agency warns that these lands are increasingly threatened by urbanization, large-scale industrial agriculture, oil and gas extraction and mining activities.