Land Matrix

Welcome to the Land Matrix public database on land deals

Demand for land and natural resources has significantly accelerated in the last decade, and is likely to continue, leading to a surge in large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) in a phenomenon which has been dubbed the “rush for land”. Unfortunately, decision-making processes over land and natural resources often lack transparency, which, together with weak and deficient governance, commonly create conditions which negatively impact local stakeholders. To overcome these challenges and ensure fairness, inclusiveness, and accountability in LSLAs, the availability of reliable, up-to-date data is crucial.

The Land Matrix is an independent land monitoring initiative that promotes transparency and accountability in decisions over LSLAs in low- and middle-income countries by capturing and sharing data about these deals at global, regional, and national level.

Explore our open access platform to find detailed information about deals in almost 100 countries, including intended, concluded, and failed attempts to acquire land through purchase, lease or concession for a wide range of intended uses, from agricultural production, timber extraction, and renewable energy production, to carbon trading, industry, conservation, and tourism.

Find out more about our four Regional Focal Points (RFPs) in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America and five National Land Observatories (NLOs) in Argentina, Cameroon, Philippines, Senegal, and Uganda, which play an important role in capturing the rich local context of LSLAs and improving our overall data quality.

Contribute!

Help us make our database more accurate and comprehensive by adding a deal, providing feedback on existing data, or contacting us with any other queries or suggestions.

Browse our frequently asked questions to find out more about what land deals are and how data is captured, analysed, and used.

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Map

Use customisable filters to explore the web-based geographic information systems (GIS) map for information about land deals from global down to regional and country level.

Data

Search the dataset through pre-configured entry points where deals have been grouped by common shared attributes (such as nature of investment, region, or investor), filter information according to your line of interest, or drill down to single deals where you can provide feedback and start a discussion through comments.

Charts

Generate your own infographics using a wide selection of charts to illustrate information about deals, such as the global flow of transnational land acquisitions, the total size and number of deals, and a breakdown of deals according to sector and interest.

GLOBAL

The Global Observatory illustrates the magnitude of the phenomenon of large-scale land acquisitions across the world. It provides an overview of the number and aggregated area size of concluded, intended and failed deals at the global level. Discover more about inbound and outbound deals in each country through our interactive map, dataset, and web of transnational deals. Where available, we also show investor networks and the source and source documents for each deal.

REGIONAL

Decentralisation is essential in improving data quality and promoting transparency and accountability in decisions over land and investments. To support this process, the Land Matrix has four Regional Focal Points in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America which assist with data collection, research, advocacy, networking, and communication, as well as the establishment of National Land Observatories in selected countries.

NATIONAL

Our country pages provide maps, data, and charts in almost 100 countries in our four Regional Focus Points, five National Land Observatories (NLOs) in Argentina, Cameroon, Philippines, Senegal, and Uganda, and beyond. NLOs initiate decentralised activities at country level and strive for more inclusive participation of local partners in collecting, managing, and reviewing land data, thereby promoting transparency and accountability in decision-making processes over land and investments in their countries.