World Inequality Lab Report Maps Land Inequality

A report titled “Land inequality in India: Nature, history, and markets” presents findings on rural land distribution across ten major states. The report highlights high land inequality and key structural drivers.

Land Inequality in India Report:

Dimension	Key Details
Coverage	Provides for data from ten major Indian states covering about 75% of rural population.
Land Ownership Concentration	Provides for top 10% of rural households owning 44% of total land area.
Landlessness	Provides for about 46% of rural households being entirely landless.
Gini Coefficient	Provides for village-level land Gini coefficient of about 71.1.
Dominant Landholder	Provides for largest landholder in a village controlling about 12.4% of land.
Regional Inequality	Comprises Kerala with highest inequality at Gini 90 and Karnataka and Rajasthan with lowest below 65.
Landlessness Variation	Provides for Punjab having highest landlessness at 73%.
Nature Factor	Provides for high agricultural productivity facilitating large landholdings and increasing landlessness.
Historical Factor	Provides for higher inequality in regions under zamindari system compared to princely states.
Social Factor	Provides for higher inequality in villages with larger Scheduled Caste population due to historical landlessness.
Market Factor	Provides for proximity to towns, highways, railways, banks, and mandis increasing land inequality through land consolidation.
Land Reforms	Comprises abolition of intermediaries, land ceiling laws, and tenancy reforms.
Voluntary Redistribution	Provides for Bhoodan and Gramdan movements led by Vinoba Bhave in 1951.
Land Record Modernisation	Provides for Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme including initiatives such as Bhoomi project.
Legal Measures	Comprises Forest Rights Act 2006 and Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act 2013.