Land reforms by country

Updated: 5/20/2026, 8:11:20 PM Wikipedia source

Agrarian reform and land reform have been a recurring theme of enormous consequence in world history. They are often highly political and have been achieved (or attempted) in many countries.

Tables

· Summary table

Middle East: Egypt

Region/place

Middle East: Egypt

Reformer

Joseph

Year

−1500

Ideology / motivations

Monarchism Strengthen the Pharaoh

Actions

Nationalization Joseph bought all lands for Pharaoh

Outcomes

Egyptian peasants became serfs of Pharaoh

Middle East: Egypt

Region/place

Middle East: Egypt

Reformer

Bakenranef

Year

−720

Ideology / motivations

Social Justice Help the peasants

Actions

Freedom to peasants Land alienability Debt annulment

Outcomes

Bakenranef murdered, reforms undone

Europe: Greece / Athens

Region/place

Europe: Greece / Athens

Reformer

Solon

Year

−575

Ideology / motivations

Stabilization Help the poor Prevent an uprising

Actions

Freedom to peasants Debt annulment Forbid slavery of Athenians

Outcomes

poverty somewhat alleviated

Europe: Greece / Athens

Region/place

Europe: Greece / Athens

Reformer

Peisistratos

Year

−560

Ideology / motivations

Centralization Help the poor strengthening the tyrant

Actions

Land redistribution from rich to poor

Outcomes

Athenian aristocracy weakened, poverty somewhat reduced

Europe: Greece / Sparta

Region/place

Europe: Greece / Sparta

Reformer

Agis IV, Cleomenes III

Year

−244– −227

Ideology / motivations

Centralization Help the poor strengthening the army

Actions

Land redistribution Debt annulment

Outcomes

Reformer kings murdered by opponents, reforms undone

Europe: Italy / Rome

Region/place

Europe: Italy / Rome

Reformer

Gracchi brothers

Year

−133– −121

Ideology / motivations

Social Justice Help the landless soldiers

Actions

Land redistribution Enforcement of land ceiling law

Outcomes

Reformer tribunes murdered by Senate, reforms undone

Europe: Austria / Habsburg monarchy

Region/place

Europe: Austria / Habsburg monarchy

Reformer

Maria Theresa and Joseph II

Year

1680–1790

Ideology / motivations

Enlightenment Liberate peasants increase tax revenues

Actions

Freedom to peasants Abolish serfdom duties

Outcomes

nobles did not cooperate and laws were not enforced

Europe: France / Savoy

Region/place

Europe: France / Savoy

Reformer

Victor Amadeus II, National Assembly

Year

1720–1793

Ideology / motivations

Economics Increase royal income Enlightenment Weaken the nobility Liberate peasants

Actions

Freedom to peasants Abolish serfdom duties Abolish feudal rents Confiscate lands from lords

Outcomes

Royalty executed. All estates were at least partially emancipated. Most peasant populations refused to respect state confiscation and demanded the land themselves.

Europe: Prussia

Region/place

Europe: Prussia

Reformer

various

Year

1763–1850

Ideology / motivations

Economics Modernize the state by improving the peasants' conditions

Actions

Freedom to peasants from serfdom duties Enable serfs to become free landlords

Outcomes

nobles bought much more land than peasants

Europe: Italy / Sicily

Region/place

Europe: Italy / Sicily

Reformer

various

Year

1773–1865

Ideology / motivations

Enlightenment Liberate the peasants and strengthen the king

Actions

Nationalize noble lands Reduce duties of peasants to landlords Abolish private landlord armies Distribute common lands to poor peasants.

Outcomes

The rich bought most lands and became richer; the Sicilian Mafia was born.

Europe: Austria / Austrian empire

Region/place

Europe: Austria / Austrian empire

Reformer

Constituent Assembly

Year

1849

Ideology / motivations

Enlightenment Liberate peasants

Actions

Freedom to peasants; subsidized purchase of their lands

Outcomes

feudal law abolished, but most land remained concentrated with the nobles

Latin America: Mexico

Region/place

Latin America: Mexico

Reformer

Miguel Lerdo, Porfirio Díaz

Year

1856–1910

Ideology / motivations

Liberalism and economics

Actions

Forced sale of corporately held property, specifically lands held by the Catholic Church and indigenous communities.

Outcomes

Changed the nature of land tenure in Mexico. Most native-owned land was acquired by large estates. 95% of villages lost their lands.

Europe: Russia / Russian empire

Region/place

Europe: Russia / Russian empire

Reformer

Alexander II

Year

1861

Ideology / motivations

Enlightenment Liberate peasants

Actions

Freedom to peasants; subsidized purchase of their lands

Outcomes

More than 23 million people received their liberty, but many of them received land insufficient for survival and became proletariat

Europe: Britain / Ireland

Region/place

Europe: Britain / Ireland

Reformer

William Ewart Gladstone, UK government

Year

1870–1922

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Historic justice to Irish natives

Actions

Land transfer from large English landlords to their Irish tenants, funded by UK government

Outcomes

By 1922, over 90% of lands had been transferred

Europe: Russia / Russian empire

Region/place

Europe: Russia / Russian empire

Reformer

Stolypin

Year

1906–1916

Ideology / motivations

Economics Encourage private property and capitalism

Actions

Liquidize communal villages Divide lands to individual peasants.

Outcomes

Private land holdings increased, but reforms were reversed after Soviet revolution

Latin America: Mexico (after revolution)

Region/place

Latin America: Mexico (after revolution)

Reformer

Álvaro Obregón, Lázaro Cárdenas

Year

1910–1940

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Decentralization Lessening inequality

Actions

Allocate land to peasants in need of it

Outcomes

Reversed the process of land concentration, reduced the power and legitimacy of the landlord class. Much land was allocated to peasants. Production increased.

Europe: Russia / Soviet union

Region/place

Europe: Russia / Soviet union

Reformer

Lenin

Year

1917

Ideology / motivations

Communism Abolish private property

Actions

Private ownership of land was prohibited

Outcomes

Private land holdings increased, but reforms were reversed after Soviet revolution

Europe: Albania / Albania

Region/place

Europe: Albania / Albania

Reformer

Post-WW2 government

Year

1946

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Lessening inequality

Actions

Constitutional Reforms Land to the tiller Disallowed large estates

Outcomes

By 1954, more than 90% of land was held in small and mid-sized farms.

Southeast Asia: Philippines

Region/place

Southeast Asia: Philippines

Reformer

various

Year

1946–2014

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Lessening inequality

Actions

Land redistribution laws

Outcomes

Some lands were distributed to landless peasants, but agricultural production suffered.

East Asia: Taiwan

Region/place

East Asia: Taiwan

Reformer

Chiang Monlin, Y . James Yen

Year

1950s

Ideology / motivations

Modernization Community development

Actions

Established the JCRR Agricultural development programs Co-operative formation Rural credit programs

Outcomes

The JCRR is credited with laying the agricultural basis for Taiwan's outstanding economic growth in the following decades

Middle East: Egypt

Region/place

Middle East: Egypt

Reformer

Nasser

Year

1952–1961

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Lessening inequality

Actions

Land redistribution

Outcomes

15% of arable land redistributed; reforms undone after change of government

Southeast Asia: Vietnam / North

Region/place

Southeast Asia: Vietnam / North

Reformer

Hồ Chí Minh

Year

1953–1956

Ideology / motivations

Communism Break the power of the traditional village elite

Actions

Landlords were murdered by government Land redistributed to peasants

Outcomes

Thousands were killed, and 1 million people fled to the South

Latin America: Guatemala

Region/place

Latin America: Guatemala

Reformer

Juan José Arévalo, Jacobo Árbenz

Year

1953–1954

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Lessening inequality

Actions

Expropriation of land Redistribution to peasants

Outcomes

The reform itself was successful, but a later US-backed coup reversed it entirely.

Latin America: Bolivia

Region/place

Latin America: Bolivia

Reformer

Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Evo Morales

Year

1953–2006

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Expanding indigenous rights

Actions

Abolished forced peasantry labor Distribute rural property of traditional landlords to indigenous peasants Organized peasants into armed militias.

Outcomes

By 1970, 45% of peasant families had received title to land. The reform goes on.

Europe: Albania / Albania

Region/place

Europe: Albania / Albania

Reformer

Enver Hoxha

Year

1958–1962

Ideology / motivations

Communism Collectivization drive

Actions

Most agricultural lands were shifted to Soviet-style collective and state farms.

Outcomes

By 1971, independent family farms had virtually disappeared

Latin America: Cuba

Region/place

Latin America: Cuba

Reformer

Che Guevara

Year

1959–1963

Ideology / motivations

Communism

Actions

Nationalization of large estates Redistribution to peasants Land ceiling

Outcomes

Peasants were given land rights, but these rights are constrained by government production quotas and a prohibition of real estate transactions

South Asia: India

Region/place

South Asia: India

Reformer

Hare Krishna Konar, E. M. S. Namboodiripad and others

Year

1961–

Ideology / motivations

Economics Modernize the agriculture End the exploitation of the poor

Actions

Abolition of rent-collectors Secure land-tenure Land ceiling Consolidate disparate holdings.

Outcomes

In parts of India redistribution of land became more equitable; in other parts, people found loopholes in ceiling laws.

Latin America: Chile

Region/place

Latin America: Chile

Reformer

Jorge Alessandri

Year

1962–1973

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Lessening Inequality

Actions

Nationalization of large estates Redistribution to peasants

Outcomes

After the 1973 coup the process was halted and somewhat reversed by the coup

Southeast Asia: Vietnam / South

Region/place

Southeast Asia: Vietnam / South

Reformer

Nguyen Van Thieu

Year

1970

Ideology / motivations

Social welfare Gain support from rural population during the Vietnam War.

Actions

Land ceiling Land redistribution with compensation to previous landlords

Outcomes

Land was redistributed, but law became meaningless 5 years later at the fall of Saigon.

Africa: Ethiopia

Region/place

Africa: Ethiopia

Reformer

DERG

Year

1975

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Lessening inequality

Actions

Nationalization of large estates Redistribution to peasants abolished tenancy

Outcomes

End of feudal law, strengthening of peasants

Oceania: Australia

Region/place

Oceania: Australia

Reformer

various

Year

1976–2004

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Historic justice to Indigenous Australians

Actions

Several laws giving land rights to Aboriginals

Outcomes

Large lands have been returned to Aboriginals

Europe: Albania / Albania

Region/place

Europe: Albania / Albania

Reformer

Post-communist government

Year

1991

Ideology / motivations

Privatization Allow private property

Actions

Arable land held in cooperatives State-owned farms were equally distributed among rural households.

Outcomes

Land was privatized.

Europe: Russia / Russian Federation

Region/place

Europe: Russia / Russian Federation

Reformer

GorbachevYeltsinPutin

Year

1989–2001

Ideology / motivations

Privatization Allow private property

Actions

Private ownership of land was re-allowed in several stages

Outcomes

Private ownership gradually increased, but became centralized into the hands of Russian oligarchs

Latin America: Venezuela

Region/place

Latin America: Venezuela

Reformer

Hugo Chávez

Year

2001–2003

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Lessening inequality

Actions

Redistribute government and unused private land to campesinos in need

Outcomes

60K families received land title

Europe: Britain / Scotland

Region/place

Europe: Britain / Scotland

Reformer

Scottish Parliament

Year

2003

Ideology / motivations

Social justice Freedom to farmer communities

Actions

Farmer communities can buy their lands without landlord consent

Outcomes

End of feudal law

Region/place	Reformer	Year	Ideology / motivations	Actions	Outcomes
Middle East: Egypt	Joseph	−1500	Monarchism Strengthen the Pharaoh	Nationalization Joseph bought all lands for Pharaoh	Egyptian peasants became serfs of Pharaoh
Middle East: Egypt	Bakenranef	−720	Social Justice Help the peasants	Freedom to peasants Land alienability Debt annulment	Bakenranef murdered, reforms undone
Europe: Greece / Athens	Solon	−575	Stabilization Help the poor Prevent an uprising	Freedom to peasants Debt annulment Forbid slavery of Athenians	poverty somewhat alleviated
Europe: Greece / Athens	Peisistratos	−560	Centralization Help the poor strengthening the tyrant	Land redistribution from rich to poor	Athenian aristocracy weakened, poverty somewhat reduced
Europe: Greece / Sparta	Agis IV, Cleomenes III	−244– −227	Centralization Help the poor strengthening the army	Land redistribution Debt annulment	Reformer kings murdered by opponents, reforms undone
Europe: Italy / Rome	Gracchi brothers	−133– −121	Social Justice Help the landless soldiers	Land redistribution Enforcement of land ceiling law	Reformer tribunes murdered by Senate, reforms undone
Europe: Austria / Habsburg monarchy	Maria Theresa and Joseph II	1680–1790	Enlightenment Liberate peasants increase tax revenues	Freedom to peasants Abolish serfdom duties	nobles did not cooperate and laws were not enforced
Europe: France / Savoy	Victor Amadeus II, National Assembly	1720–1793	Economics Increase royal income Enlightenment Weaken the nobility Liberate peasants	Freedom to peasants Abolish serfdom duties Abolish feudal rents Confiscate lands from lords	Royalty executed. All estates were at least partially emancipated. Most peasant populations refused to respect state confiscation and demanded the land themselves.
Europe: Prussia	various	1763–1850	Economics Modernize the state by improving the peasants' conditions	Freedom to peasants from serfdom duties Enable serfs to become free landlords	nobles bought much more land than peasants
Europe: Italy / Sicily	various	1773–1865	Enlightenment Liberate the peasants and strengthen the king	Nationalize noble lands Reduce duties of peasants to landlords Abolish private landlord armies Distribute common lands to poor peasants.	The rich bought most lands and became richer; the Sicilian Mafia was born.
Europe: Austria / Austrian empire	Constituent Assembly	1849	Enlightenment Liberate peasants	Freedom to peasants; subsidized purchase of their lands	feudal law abolished, but most land remained concentrated with the nobles
Latin America: Mexico	Miguel Lerdo, Porfirio Díaz	1856–1910	Liberalism and economics	Forced sale of corporately held property, specifically lands held by the Catholic Church and indigenous communities.	Changed the nature of land tenure in Mexico. Most native-owned land was acquired by large estates. 95% of villages lost their lands.
Europe: Russia / Russian empire	Alexander II	1861	Enlightenment Liberate peasants	Freedom to peasants; subsidized purchase of their lands	More than 23 million people received their liberty, but many of them received land insufficient for survival and became proletariat
Europe: Britain / Ireland	William Ewart Gladstone, UK government	1870–1922	Social justice Historic justice to Irish natives	Land transfer from large English landlords to their Irish tenants, funded by UK government	By 1922, over 90% of lands had been transferred
Europe: Russia / Russian empire	Stolypin	1906–1916	Economics Encourage private property and capitalism	Liquidize communal villages Divide lands to individual peasants.	Private land holdings increased, but reforms were reversed after Soviet revolution
Latin America: Mexico (after revolution)	Álvaro Obregón, Lázaro Cárdenas	1910–1940	Social justice Decentralization Lessening inequality	Allocate land to peasants in need of it	Reversed the process of land concentration, reduced the power and legitimacy of the landlord class. Much land was allocated to peasants. Production increased.
Europe: Russia / Soviet union	Lenin	1917	Communism Abolish private property	Private ownership of land was prohibited	Private land holdings increased, but reforms were reversed after Soviet revolution
Europe: Albania / Albania	Post-WW2 government	1946	Social justice Lessening inequality	Constitutional Reforms Land to the tiller Disallowed large estates	By 1954, more than 90% of land was held in small and mid-sized farms.
Southeast Asia: Philippines	various	1946–2014	Social justice Lessening inequality	Land redistribution laws	Some lands were distributed to landless peasants, but agricultural production suffered.
East Asia: Taiwan	Chiang Monlin, Y . James Yen	1950s	Modernization Community development	Established the JCRR Agricultural development programs Co-operative formation Rural credit programs	The JCRR is credited with laying the agricultural basis for Taiwan's outstanding economic growth in the following decades
Middle East: Egypt	Nasser	1952–1961	Social justice Lessening inequality	Land redistribution	15% of arable land redistributed; reforms undone after change of government
Southeast Asia: Vietnam / North	Hồ Chí Minh	1953–1956	Communism Break the power of the traditional village elite	Landlords were murdered by government Land redistributed to peasants	Thousands were killed, and 1 million people fled to the South
Latin America: Guatemala	Juan José Arévalo, Jacobo Árbenz	1953–1954	Social justice Lessening inequality	Expropriation of land Redistribution to peasants	The reform itself was successful, but a later US-backed coup reversed it entirely.
Latin America: Bolivia	Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Evo Morales	1953–2006	Social justice Expanding indigenous rights	Abolished forced peasantry labor Distribute rural property of traditional landlords to indigenous peasants Organized peasants into armed militias.	By 1970, 45% of peasant families had received title to land. The reform goes on.
Europe: Albania / Albania	Enver Hoxha	1958–1962	Communism Collectivization drive	Most agricultural lands were shifted to Soviet-style collective and state farms.	By 1971, independent family farms had virtually disappeared
Latin America: Cuba	Che Guevara	1959–1963	Communism	Nationalization of large estates Redistribution to peasants Land ceiling	Peasants were given land rights, but these rights are constrained by government production quotas and a prohibition of real estate transactions
South Asia: India	Hare Krishna Konar, E. M. S. Namboodiripad and others	1961–	Economics Modernize the agriculture End the exploitation of the poor	Abolition of rent-collectors Secure land-tenure Land ceiling Consolidate disparate holdings.	In parts of India redistribution of land became more equitable; in other parts, people found loopholes in ceiling laws.
Latin America: Chile	Jorge Alessandri	1962–1973	Social justice Lessening Inequality	Nationalization of large estates Redistribution to peasants	After the 1973 coup the process was halted and somewhat reversed by the coup
Southeast Asia: Vietnam / South	Nguyen Van Thieu	1970	Social welfare Gain support from rural population during the Vietnam War.	Land ceiling Land redistribution with compensation to previous landlords	Land was redistributed, but law became meaningless 5 years later at the fall of Saigon.
Africa: Ethiopia	DERG	1975	Social justice Lessening inequality	Nationalization of large estates Redistribution to peasants abolished tenancy	End of feudal law, strengthening of peasants
Oceania: Australia	various	1976–2004	Social justice Historic justice to Indigenous Australians	Several laws giving land rights to Aboriginals	Large lands have been returned to Aboriginals
Europe: Albania / Albania	Post-communist government	1991	Privatization Allow private property	Arable land held in cooperatives State-owned farms were equally distributed among rural households.	Land was privatized.
Europe: Russia / Russian Federation	GorbachevYeltsinPutin	1989–2001	Privatization Allow private property	Private ownership of land was re-allowed in several stages	Private ownership gradually increased, but became centralized into the hands of Russian oligarchs
Latin America: Venezuela	Hugo Chávez	2001–2003	Social justice Lessening inequality	Redistribute government and unused private land to campesinos in need	60K families received land title
Europe: Britain / Scotland	Scottish Parliament	2003	Social justice Freedom to farmer communities	Farmer communities can buy their lands without landlord consent	End of feudal law

References

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