Reliable data is critical for tracking and accelerating progress toward gender equality in land ownership and control, a cornerstone of sustainable development and economic empowerment. While formal legal systems in the Western Balkans grant gender equality in access to land, conflicting laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance frequently undermine these rights, discriminating against women and daughters. Beyond legal frameworks, discriminatory social norms and practices further hinder women’s access to land and ownership. FAO’s National Gender Profiles on Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo (S/RES/1244, 1999) highlight persistent challenges: rural women often struggle to access credit and rural advisory services due to non-compliance with formal requirements, such as owning agricultural property or being registered as a farm owner or manager.
A critical obstacle lies in the lack of updated, sex-disaggregated data needed to monitor equitable land control and ownership. In the Western Balkans, collaboration between National Statistical Offices and Ministries of Agriculture remains insufficient, perpetuating data gaps and delaying the development of targeted, gender-responsive policies and programs.
To address these challenges, updated and accurate data on land ownership disaggregated by sex is essential. Tracking progress on SDG Target 5.a—which focuses on equal ownership and control over land and other properties—can drive gender-responsive policies that foster equity and development. Indicator 5.a.1 measures progress by assessing a) the percentage of people with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex and b) the share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by tenure type. Achieving this target aligns with the broader objectives of the 2030 Agenda, contributing to economic efficiency, poverty reduction (Goal 1), food security (Goal 2), and equitable communities (Goals 3, 10, 11, and 16).
Since 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) have worked together to provide technical support to Western Balkan countries in collecting the data necessary to measure SDG Indicator 5.a.1.
Through this partnership, support has been provided to the national statistical systems in the Western Balkans to develop the most appropriate data collection vehicle for SDG Indicator 5.a.1 following the internationally recommended methodology, and to formulate an action plan for regular data collection and reporting on SDG Indicator 5.a.1. FAO cooperated with GIZ under a regional partnership agreement to support Western Balkan countries in implementing SDG Indicator 5.a.1. In the frames of the partnership, FAO and GIZ collaborated both with the National Statistical Offices and Ministries of Agriculture in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo (S/RES/1244, 1999), North Macedonia and Serbia.
National Statistical Offices play a pivotal role in producing accurate and reliable data for SDG Indicator 5.a.1. To ensure precision, Statistical Offices use either household surveys or surveys of agricultural holdings to collect data. Ministries of Agriculture, as custodians of policies on agriculture and rural development, contribute by analyzing and managing agricultural registers and databases, highlighting the importance of closer cooperation between these institutions to bridge data gaps and improve statistical accuracy.
Key achievements from this partnership include:
Regional Roundtables. Stakeholders convened during events like the October 2023 roundtable at FAO Headquarters in Rome to review progress and align priorities for improving SDG Indicator 5.a.1 reporting. Representatives from Ministries of Agriculture and National Statistical Offices agreed on the priorities for advancing data collection and analysis.
Capacity Building. In 2024, targeted national capacity-building activities were conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo (S/RES/1244, 1999), Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. These efforts enhanced the understanding of SDG Indicator 5.a.1 methodologies and equipped national statistical systems with the skills to collect high-quality data.
Pilot Surveys. In September 2023, pilot surveys were launched in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo (S/RES/1244, 1999), North Macedonia and Serbia. In the frames of FAO/GIZ partnership, national gender statistics experts across the Western Balkans identified the most suitable survey methods for gathering the required data, ensuring alignment with internationally recommended methodologies.
As a result of the joint GIZ/FAO partnership, tailored methodologies and action plans have now been established to support data collection for SDG Indicator 5.a.1. The initiative facilitated enhanced cooperation between National Statistical Offices and Ministries of Agriculture, leading to improved data-sharing and analysis. By 2026, it is anticipated that Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo (S/RES/1244, 1999), Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia will have completed the data collection process for SDG Indicator 5.a.1, marking a critical milestone in advancing gender equality in land ownership.
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Palais des Nations, Geneva
