World Bank Land Conference 2024—Research Track

Land Policies for Resilient and Equitable Growth in Africa

Read the report here. A report launch event will take place on May 13, 2024 at 3:30 - 5:00 PM in MC 13-121. A live stream of the launch event will be available on this webpage.

Land institutions and policies will be critical to help African countries respond to challenges of climate change, urban expansion, structural transformation, and gender equality. Together, they affect urban dwellers’ ability to access productive jobs, live in decent housing, and breathe clean air; farmers’ and women entrepreneurs’ capacity to insure against shocks, increase productivity, and diversify income sources; and governments’ ability to plan, tax property to provide services, and manage public land in a way that provides sustained local benefits by attracting investment, including via climate finance. Yet, many African land registries command little trust due to poor performance and wealth bias in service delivery.

Land Policies for Resilient and Equitable Growth in Africa draws on a wealth of data, examples, and studies from Africa and beyond to show that regulatory and institutional reforms can harness this potential by improving quality, coverage, usefulness, and sustainability of documented land rights. In doing so, these reforms create the informational foundation for sectoral policies to support job growth, structural transformation, and climate resilience.