SDG Indicator 5.a.1: (a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure
1. Key features and metadata
Definition: The indicator consists of two sub-indicators: (a) measures the prevalence of people in the agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, disaggregated by sex; and (b) tracks the extent to which women are disadvantaged in ownership or secure rights over agricultural land.
| Sub-indicator | Disaggregated by |
|---|---|
|
SP_LGL_LNDAGSEC Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex (%) |
Sex(Male/Female) |
|
SP_GNP_WNOWNS Share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure (%) |
No current data disaggregationavailable. |
Sources of information:National Statistical Offices and the organization responsible for agricultural surveys or censuses in the country (usually the Ministry of Agriculture) if agricultural surveys or censuses are used.
Related SDG Indicator: 1.4.2 (Proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, with legally recognized documentation and who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and by type of tenure).
2. Data availability by region, SDG Global Database, as of 02 July 2025
3. Proposed disaggregation, links to policymaking and its impact
| Proposed disaggregation | Link to policymaking | Impact |
|---|---|---|
|
Share of women with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by tenure system (%)(FAO, WB and UN-Habitat 2019):
Applies to:
|
The aim of this disaggregation is to give detailed information on the different categories of recognized documentation or mechanisms provided to female agricultural landowners based on legal and institutional context. It also enables a comprehensive understanding of the status of agricultural land tenure security for women. Access to regular and qualitative data on the nature and type of documents (i.e. nature of the right, individual/collective ownership, related mechanisms to ensure enforcement, and security level) or arrangements as well as assessing to what extent a country’s legal and institutional frameworks recognize and support different land tenure categories is essential for monitoring policies and interventions aimed at improving agricultural land tenure security and for promoting responsible and equitable agricultural land governance. This also allows for the assessment of system strengths and weaknesses to ensure equity between men and women in land rights. Although relying on an individual-level approach – versus a parcel-level approach – for data collection might mask rights over multiple parcels of agricultural lands. This disaggregation is aligned with the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the context of National Food SecurityFAO 2022c). |
Women's agricultural land ownership is significatively lower than that of men, placing women in a clearly disadvantaged position (FAO 2023d; FAO 2023g).Women’s unique family and social roles and economic contribution is also central in uplifting agriculture activities and food value chains, from on-site agricultural production to transformation and distribution processes and the final preparation or marketing of food and agricultural products. Therefore, securing legally recognized rights on agricultural land ownership is key to both women’s economic empowerment and emancipation, along with ensuring equal wages, and for the sustainability and inclusiveness of economic development, food security and livelihoods deliveryFAO 2022c; FAO 2023d). |
[1]Tenure systems are diverse depending on countries’ specificities. The proposed categorization could change according to the tenure systems of countries.