KATHMANDU, March 16: Female land ownership has been increasing in Kathmandu Valley and other urban areas. However, rural areas have not experienced the same rise in female landowners compared to urban regions.
Ganesh Bhatta, spokesperson for the Ministry of Land Management and Poverty Alleviation, said the government has provided revenue incentives to encourage men to transfer land ownership to women and register land under joint ownership. These measures have steadily increased the number of female landowners in urban areas each year.
The Department of Land Management reports that the total number of landowners across the country has reached 11.47 million. Among them, 6.98 million are male landowners, accounting for 61 percent, while 4.48 million are female landowners, making up 39 percent.
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However, Balaram Kafle, IT Officer at the department, notes that in urban areas, female landowners make up nearly 50 percent. The department's data shows a steady increase in land transactions registered under women's names each year.
Statistics from the fiscal year 2023/24 reveal nearly equal land transactions by men and women. While men still own 61 percent of the land and women 39 percent, 402,241 women participated in land transactions, just slightly fewer than the 403,451 men involved in the same period.
Kafle stated, "The equal presence of women and men in land transactions during the fiscal year 2023/24 confirms the steady rise in female land ownership each year." He added, "urban areas experience more land transactions, which is why the number of female landowners is increasing there. However, in remote areas, land transactions remain limited, so the number of female landowners in rural and remote regions has not increased significantly."
The department's data reveals that the country holds a total of 32.847 million plots of land. Of these, 22.25 million plots are registered in men's names, while 9.8 million plots are in women's names.
Bhatta, the spokesperson for the Ministry, explained that the government offers a 25 percent revenue discount when transferring land to women's names to boost female land ownership. He also mentioned that if a couple wants to register land in both spouses' names, they only need to pay a revenue fee of 100 rupees if the land is in the husband's name. However, if the land is in the wife's name and they want to register it in both spouses' names, they must pay the full revenue fee.
The government also requires full payment of the revenue fee when transferring land from a female owner to a male owner. To further encourage female land ownership, the Landless Squatters Commission issues "Lalpurja" (land ownership certificates) in joint names (husband and wife). According to the ministry, this has helped increase the percentage of land owned by women.
The department's data shows that revenue from land transactions has increased this fiscal year compared to the previous year. From July 17, 2023, to March 13, 2024, the government collected Rs 25.44 billion in revenue from land transactions. From July 16, 2024 to March 13, 2025, the revenue from land transactions rose to Rs 28.49 billion.
