Land Tenure internal - Rights + Resources - Supporting Forest Tenure, Policy, and Market Reforms

Tenure Data:

Who owns the world’s forests, how has the legal recognition of communities’ Forest Tenure rights shifted over time, and what is the strength of communities’ and community women’s legally recognized forest rights?

Drawing on over 15 years of data, RRI’s quantitative Forest Tenure Database and qualitative Depth of Rights and Gender databases provide global evidence responding to these critical questions.

Explore the available datasets:

Forest Tenure Data

Land Area Data

Water Tenure Data

Explore land area data for:

Select Country

Algeria

Angola

Argentina *

Australia *

Bolivia *

Botswana

Brazil *

Cambodia *

Cameroon *

Canada *

Central African Republic *

Chad

Chile *

China *

Colombia *

Democratic Republic of Congo *

Congo, Republic of the *

Costa Rica *

Ecuador *

Egypt

Ethiopia

Finland *

Gabon *

Ghana *

Guatemala *

Guyana *

Honduras *

India *

Indonesia *

Iraq *

Kazakhstan

Kenya *

Kyrgyzstan

Lao PDR *

Liberia *

Libya

Madagascar *

Mali

Mexico *

Mongolia

Morocco *

Mozambique *

Myanmar *

Namibia *

Nepal *

Nicaragua *

Norway *

Oman

Panama *

Papua New Guinea

Peru *

Philippines *

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

South Sudan

Sudan *

Suriname *

Sweden *

Tajikistan

Tanzania *

Thailand *

Timor-Leste *

Tunisia

Turkmenistan

Uganda *

United States

Uzbekistan

Venezuela *

Vietnam *

Yemen

Zambia *

Zimbabwe

Only countries with an "*" symbol next to their name have unrecognized land data available.

Africa Asia Latin America Global

Related Materials

REPORT | Who Own’s the World’s Land? Second Edition (2023)
FACT SHEET | Global Land Area Findings (2023)
FACT SHEET | Latin America and Mesoamerica Land Area (2023)
PRESS RELEASE | Who Owns the World’s Land? (2023)

Land Area Methodology

Submit Data

Do you have new land area data to share with RRI? Click the link to go to the submission form.

RRI’s Land Area data tracks the distribution of land tenure going back to 2015. Between 2015 and 2020, the best available data indicates the land area in designated for or owned by Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples and local communities

Under RRI’s typology, all of the land area in an analyzed country is classified as either: (1) Designated for Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples and local communities; (2) Owned by Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples and local communities; or (3) Owned by government, private individuals, or firms. Read more about the methodology underpinning this data.

The “current data” used in Land Area charts and tables on the Tenure Tool is the latest available as of December 2020, unless otherwise noted as coming from a more recent update. To keep the Land Area Database as up to date as possible, we welcome you to submit updates to Community-Based Tenure Regime (CBTR) land area. Use this form to submit new data.

Status of land designated for and owned by Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples and local communities in

By % of land
By amount of land, in Mha

"Current data" for reflects latest data available as of December 2020.

Source RRI. 2020. Who Owns the World’s Land? Global State of Indigenous, Afro-descendant and Local Community Land Rights Recognition from 2015-2020

Area designated for and owned by Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples and local communities in

By % of land
By amount of land, in Mha

"Current data" for reflects latest data available as of December 2020.

n.d. = No data
Source RRI. 2020. Who Owns the World’s Land? Global State of Indigenous, Afro-descendant and Local Community Land Rights Recognition from 2015-2020

Unrecognized lands in

In addition to collecting data on the extent of communities’ legally recognized tenure rights, RRI sought out expert estimates of the areas where Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples and local communities have customary or historic claims, but where their rights are not yet recognized.

"Current data" for reflects latest data available as of December 2020.

n.d. = No data
Source RRI. 2020. Who Owns the World’s Land? Global State of Indigenous, Afro-descendant and Local Community Land Rights Recognition from 2015-2020

Submit Data

Do you have new land area data to share with RRI? Please fill out the form below to share the data you have so RRI can review and consider for inclusion in future updates of the database.