In Burundi, a small landlocked country in Africa's Great Lakes region, land is far more than an economic resource – it is the foundation of history, livelihood, and identity for millions. However, Burundi's turbulent past, marked by cycles of conflict, displacement, and return since the 1970s, has created a complex web of competing land claims that threaten efforts to build lasting peace and stability.

The challenges are immense. With one of Africa's highest population densities and over 90% of its people reliant on agriculture, competition for land in Burundi is intense. Decades of conflict have resulted in situations where multiple families often have legitimate claims to the same plots, creating a volatile landscape of overlapping rights and grievances. Read the story below. 

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This is the fourth in a series of data stories from the Land Portal Foundation as part of the the LAND-at-scale program. LAND-at-scale is a Dutch land governance support program, financed by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by RVO. Read previous data stories about the Sahel, land formalization in Africa, and measuring impacts of land projects.