International land deals: who is investing and where - get the data
Explore the global database on more than 1,000 land deals covering an area roughly half the size of western Europe
World's largest public database of land deals launched
World's largest public database of land deals launched
Over the past few years, so-called "land grabs"
have become an increasingly hot topic. But reliable data has been hard
to find. Now, an international coalition of NGOs and research groups has published the world's largest database of deals struck since 2000, offering unprecedented detail on who's investing, where and what for.
The database, launched on Thursday, includes 1,006 deals covering 70.2m hectares (173m acres) – or roughly half the size of western Europe. Data on further deals will be added on an ongoing basis.
Some highlights from the database:
This makes it difficult to draw too many conclusions from the data. For example, there appears to be a sharp decline in deals since 2009 – but although this could correspond to a drop in investments, it could also be driven by a fall in media interest or an increasing reluctance to disclose information about deals.
Researchers warn that smaller deals are often harder to track and may be under-represented in the database. Data for deals struck after 2010 is still being collected, cross-checked and verified.
Researchers hope that releasing the data and inviting the public to crowdsource new information will help address some of these issues. The site lets users "report a land deal" or submit further details on deals already recorded. This information will be independently verified by researchers before being included in the database.
We have pulled out all the data on who's investing, where and what for. You can browse key figures below, or download the full dataset. What can you do with the data?
• Contact us at data@guardian.co.uk
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The database, launched on Thursday, includes 1,006 deals covering 70.2m hectares (173m acres) – or roughly half the size of western Europe. Data on further deals will be added on an ongoing basis.
Some highlights from the database:
• Eastern Africa has the largest number of recent investments, with 310 deals.The Land Matrix database is now the most comprehensive public source for information on international land deals – but it is not perfect. Some countries, for example, may be over-represented in the data simply because they are more transparent and routinely publish contract information. In other cases, the data may be skewed towards investors or countries that have featured in more media reports.
• Indonesia is the country with the largest area of land acquired by investors – 9.5m hectares. The Democratic Republic of the Congo comes second, with almost 8.1m hectares.
• The Indian government, Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE International and Indonesian company Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper are the top three investors, having acquired more than 10m hectares around the world between them.
• The vast majority of the deals are for agricultural projects (690 deals covering 50.2m hectares). Forestry is the next largest sector (94 deals covering 12.7m hectares).
• Of the agricultural deals, fewer than 30% are for food crops alone. Almost 20% are for non-food crops such as biofuels and livestock feed.
This makes it difficult to draw too many conclusions from the data. For example, there appears to be a sharp decline in deals since 2009 – but although this could correspond to a drop in investments, it could also be driven by a fall in media interest or an increasing reluctance to disclose information about deals.
Researchers warn that smaller deals are often harder to track and may be under-represented in the database. Data for deals struck after 2010 is still being collected, cross-checked and verified.
Researchers hope that releasing the data and inviting the public to crowdsource new information will help address some of these issues. The site lets users "report a land deal" or submit further details on deals already recorded. This information will be independently verified by researchers before being included in the database.
We have pulled out all the data on who's investing, where and what for. You can browse key figures below, or download the full dataset. What can you do with the data?
Data summary
Investor | Investor's Country | Hectares | Deals | Location of Investments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Indian Government | India | 4877419 | 9 | India, Ethiopia |
ZTE International | China | 2800000 | 1 | DRC |
Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper | Indonesia | 2388468 | 1 | Indonesia |
Wuhan Kaidi | Unknown | 2000000 | 1 | Zambia |
Tata Power | India | 2000000 | 1 | Indonesia |
Samling Group | Malaysia | 1838000 | 1 | Malaysia |
Al Ain National Wildlife | United Arab Emirates | 1680000 | 1 | Sudan |
Daewoo Logistics | Republic of Korea | 1600000 | 2 | Madagascar |
Sinar Mas Group | Indonesia | 1600000 | 2 | Indonesia |
Muting Hijau | Indonesia | 1100000 | 1 | Indonesia |
The Land Matrix
project draws on a wide variety of sources, including media reports,
information from companies and governments, and additional data from
NGOs, academic research, and investigations around the world.
Researchers are still in the process of verifying a large number of
reported deals, and say they will add to the database on an ongoing
basis. |
Country | Region | Hectares | Deals |
---|---|---|---|
Indonesia | South-East Asia | 9527760 | 24 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | Central Africa | 8051870 | 10 |
Ethiopia | Eastern Africa | 5345228 | 83 |
Philippines | South-East Asia | 5182021 | 45 |
Malaysia | South-East Asia | 4819483 | 20 |
India | South Asia | 4628578 | 113 |
Sudan | Northern Africa | 3923430 | 18 |
Brazil | South America | 3871824 | 61 |
Madagascar | Eastern Africa | 3779741 | 39 |
Zambia | Eastern Africa | 2273413 | 9 |
United Republic of Tanzania | Eastern Africa | 2194975 | 58 |
Mozambique | Eastern Africa | 1983127 | 92 |
Argentina | South America | 1505020 | 22 |
Cambodia | South-East Asia | 1154194 | 86 |
Russian Federation | Eastern Europe | 1113434 | 11 |
China | Eastern Asia | 1108396 | 12 |
Benin | Western Africa | 1040900 | 9 |
Cameroon | Central Africa | 710340 | 17 |
Liberia | Western Africa | 679000 | 6 |
Ghana | Western Africa | 669900 | 9 |
Ukraine | Eastern Europe | 662167 | 7 |
Kenya | Eastern Africa | 633500 | 13 |
Sierra Leone | Western Africa | 588950 | 11 |
Mali | Western Africa | 581891 | 27 |
Peru | South America | 571900 | 26 |
Lao People's Democratic Republic | South-East Asia | 478153 | 49 |
Colombia | South America | 420820 | 14 |
Australia | Australia and New Zealand | 400926 | 3 |
Nigeria | Western Africa | 362532 | 21 |
Malawi | Eastern Africa | 310147 | 7 |
Senegal | Western Africa | 234800 | 8 |
Côte d'Ivoire | Western Africa | 207200 | 5 |
Zimbabwe | Eastern Africa | 201171 | 2 |
Angola | Central Africa | 183000 | 4 |
Viet Nam | South-East Asia | 156540 | 7 |
Congo | Central Africa | 138000 | 2 |
Guatemala | Central America | 81006 | 10 |
Papua New Guinea | Melanesia | 79178 | 1 |
Uganda | Eastern Africa | 76512 | 4 |
Mexico | Central America | 56581 | 5 |
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | South America | 37156 | 4 |
Niger | Western Africa | 29969 | 3 |
Bangladesh | South Asia | 29456 | 2 |
Thailand | South-East Asia | 28912 | 3 |
South Africa | Southern Africa | 27124 | 3 |
Somalia | Eastern Africa | 21500 | 2 |
Swaziland | Southern Africa | 15124 | 2 |
Ecuador | South America | 8000 | 1 |
Costa Rica | Central America | 7658 | 5 |
Solomon Islands | Melanesia | 7577 | 1 |
Pakistan | South Asia | 5926 | 3 |
Turkey | Middle East | 4500 | 1 |
Rwanda | Eastern Africa | 3100 | 1 |
Chile | South America | 1400 | 2 |
Suriname | South America | 1073 | 2 |
Burkina Faso | Western Africa | 1000 | 1 |
The Land Matrix
project draws on a wide variety of sources, including media reports,
information from companies and governments, and additional data from
NGOs, academic research, and investigations around the world.
Researchers are still in the process of verifying a large number of
reported deals, and say they will add to the database on an ongoing
basis. |
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