Indicator 5.a.2 - Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control
The indicator collects all existing national policy objectives, draft provisions, legal provisions and implementing legislation that reflect good practices in guaranteeing women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control. This is a de jure indicator which will measure progress towards SDG Target 5.a.
Target 5.a
Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.
Indicator 5.a.2: Progress Assessment
Impact
Indicator 5.a.2 measures the extent of women’s disadvantages in ownership of and rights to land, as well as equal legal rights to land ownership. Together with indicator 5.a.1, it provides a basis for policy measures aimed at securing equal opportunities and access to rights and resources.
Key results
Strengthening women’s land rights: legal and policy reforms for inclusive, sustainable development.
Secure land tenure for women and men and women’s participation in land governance help create more resilient, equitable agrifood systems that can better withstand challenges like climate change, migration, economic downturns and food insecurity.
While most of the 84 countries reviewed globally have broad constitutional guarantees of gender equality and property rights, their legal frameworks often do not ensure them equal rights to own, use, manage, inherit or register land. Only 17 percent of surveyed countries offer high or very high levels of protection of women’s land rights; 24 percent of countries offer medium levels of protection; while a staggering 59 percent of countries provide low, very low or not protection at all.
Legal protections for women’s land rights vary significantly by region. While Europe, Latin America and Asia have generally strong inheritance laws and spousal consent requirements, regions such as Western Asia and sub-Saharan Africa lag behind. For example, legal safeguards as promoted by SDG 5.a.2 are scarce in Western Asia, while sub-Saharan Africa has seen some success with quotas for women’s participation in land administration, despite slow implementation. Joint registration of matrimonial property is more common in Asia and Latin America, while financial allocations aimed at increasing women’s land ownership or tenure security are still rare globally. Thirteen countries have reported having statistical data showing that at least 40 percent of those with ownership or secure rights to land are women, with half of these countries located in Europe.Highlights
Elearning
SDG Indicator 5.a.2 - Ensuring women’s legal rights to land ownership and/or control
01/11/2020
This course focuses on
Multimedia
SDG 5 – Indicators of women’s ownership of agricultural land and equal rights to land ownership
01/01/2019
An overview of SDG indicators 5.a.1 and 5.a.2, measuring women’s ownership of agricultural.
Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators (2022)
01/09/2022
Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators offers detailed analyses and trends on selected indicators for which...
Capacity development
Virtual Event
Regional Capacity Development Workshop on Gender Statistics
17/11/2020 - 19/11/2020
The Regional Capacity Development Workshop drew on FAO's knowledge and experience in gender, agriculture, and statistics to provide in-depth...
Amman (Jordan)
5th meeting of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Gender Statistics in the Arab Countries
15/10/2018 - 16/10/2018
The Gender Statistics meeting gathered experts from National Statistical Offices, Women Machineries, regional and international experts to review...
