How Much Of The US Is Federal Land Compared To Other Countries
Across the United States, the federal government owns roughly 640 million acres, or 28% of the country's land area, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report updated September 14, 2026. Nearly 80% of Nevada belongs to the federal government, including vast stretches of desert, mountain ranges, and public grazing land. In Connecticut and Iowa, federal agencies control just 0.3% of the land.
America's share is far larger than the property holdings of Germany's federal real estate agency, but comparisons with Canada, Australia, Russia, and China are more complicated. Each country divides ownership and management responsibilities differently, and changes to federal land policy remain an active issue in the United States as of October 2026.
Nevada, Alaska, And The Federal West
Nevada leads the country in federal land ownership, with 79.8% of its land administered by five major federal agencies as of September 30, 2024. Idaho follows at 61.9%, and Alaska ranks third at 60.8%. Across the 11 contiguous western states, federal land accounts for 45.9% of the combined land area, compared with just 4.1% in the remaining states outside Alaska.
Five agencies manage about 615.2 million acres, representing approximately 96% of the estimated federal estate. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees the largest share, at 244.4 million acres. Much of this land supports multiple uses, including livestock grazing, recreation, timber harvesting, mineral development, and energy production. The US Forest Service manages another 193.1 million acres, primarily within the National Forest System.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service administers 89.3 million acres, followed by the National Park Service at 80.1 million. The Department of Defense owns another 8.4 million acres, primarily for military installations, training, and testing. Other federal agencies manage the remaining acreage.
How The Public Domain Stayed Public
Between 1781 and 2024, approximately 1.29 billion acres of public domain land passed out of federal ownership. That is roughly twice the 640 million acres the federal government still owns. Most of the transfers occurred during the country's westward expansion. The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged settlement by allowing qualifying individuals to acquire public land. Homestead entries peaked in 1910, when approximately 18.3 million acres were entered under the system.
Of the 1.29 billion acres transferred, about 816 million went into private ownership, 328 million went to states generally, and another 144 million were transferred in Alaska through state and Native selection laws.
Public domain refers to land obtained through cessions from the original states or acquisitions from foreign sovereigns. Approximately 90% of the remaining federal estate originated as public domain. The other 10% consists of land acquired through purchases, exchanges, gifts, and similar transactions.
Status As Of October 2026
The amount of land retained by the federal government remains a contested policy issue, particularly in western states. Utah's Transfer of Public Lands Act of 2012 called for the transfer of certain federal lands to the state by the end of 2014. That transfer did not occur. Utah subsequently challenged federal ownership of public lands within its borders, but the US Supreme Court declined to hear the case on January 13, 2025.
Federal land sales returned to the legislative agenda in 2026. On April 30, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and three Democratic colleagues introduced the Public Lands Integrity Act. A bipartisan House version was introduced on June 4, 2026, by Rep. Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico, with Republican Juan Ciscomani and Democrats Joe Neguse and Dina Titus as co-sponsors.
The legislation would prevent provisions directing the sale, disposal, or transfer of federal lands from being included in expedited budget reconciliation legislation. As of October 2026, the legislation had been introduced but had not become law.
Over the longer term, the federal estate has contracted modestly. The five major agencies managed 31.7 million fewer acres in 2024 than in 1990, a decline of 4.9%. The BLM accounted for much of that reduction, losing approximately 27.6 million acres, largely through transfers to Alaska, Alaska Natives, and Alaska Native corporations.
Germany's Thin Federal Estate
Germany's federal property holdings are considerably smaller relative to its national territory. The country's main federal real estate agency, the Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben (BImA), owned approximately 453,000 hectares, or 1.12 million acres, according to Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance in August 2025. That amounts to about 1.3% of Germany's total land area, compared with approximately 28% federally owned in the United States.
Military installations account for a substantial portion of federal land use. Germany's federal forestry service, Bundesforst, manages forests, open landscapes, and natural areas associated with military properties and other federal facilities. In December 2022, the Finance Ministry reported that Bundesforst managed approximately 575,000 hectares, or 1.42 million acres, including land belonging to other owners.
Forests cover approximately one-third of Germany, but most are not federally owned. The country's fourth national forest inventory, based on 2022 data, found that 48% of forest land was privately owned, 29% belonged to Germany's states, and 20% to other public bodies, such as municipalities. The federal government owned approximately 3%.
Australia's States Manage The Crown Land
Australia has extensive publicly owned land, particularly across its arid interior. Unlike the United States, however, most public land administration is the responsibility of state and territory governments rather than the national government.
Australia's land tenure system distinguishes freehold property, Crown land, leased land, and land reserved for public purposes. Crown land generally refers to land held by the government. According to Australian government land tenure data for 2020-21, freehold land accounted for 30.8% of the country. Pastoral leases made up another enormous share. Perpetual pastoral leases covered 11.1% of Australia, while fixed-term pastoral leases accounted for 27.7%. Together, these pastoral lease categories occupied approximately 38.8% of the country.
Indigenous ownership also represents a significant share of Australia's territory. An updated Australian government dataset released on October 28, 2024, found that approximately 154 million hectares, or 20% of the country, was Indigenous owned. A larger area, approximately 25%, was subject to some form of Indigenous management or co-management. These categories overlap with other land tenure classifications.
Canada's Federal Crown Land Runs North
Canada has an extensive system of Crown land covering forests, lakes, tundra, and much of the sparsely populated northern territories. An often-cited estimate places Crown land at approximately 89% of Canada's territory, with 48% classified as provincial Crown land and 41% as federal Crown land.
Those figures, however, do not describe the same measurement as current federal land administration. In a March 31, 2026, announcement, the Canadian government reported that the federal government directly administered 6% of the country's land, while provinces and territories managed 76%. Indigenous peoples managed another 6%, and private owners accounted for 12%.
Yukon assumed responsibility for much of its public land and natural resources on April 1, 2003. The Northwest Territories followed on April 1, 2014. These transfers, known as devolution, shifted decision-making authority from the federal government to territorial governments.
Nunavut is scheduled to complete a similar transition, scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2027. The move will give Nunavut's government administration and control over extensive areas of Crown land and natural resources.
Russia Keeps Its Forests Federal
Russia counts more forest than any other country, according to UN forestry data for 2025. Its Forest Code, in force since January 1, 2007, makes forest parcels on forest estate lands federal property. Forest parcels outside the forest estate fall under general land legislation instead. Within the estate, the state leases public forests to users for a charge.
Russia shares the top tier of forest nations with Canada and the United States. With Brazil and China added, the five account for 54% of the world's forest area. World forest area stood at roughly 10.2 billion acres in 2025. The global figure equals nearly a third of the planet's land.
China Separates Ownership From Use
China takes a different approach to land ownership. Article 10 of the country's constitution establishes that urban land belongs to the state, while rural and suburban land generally belongs to collectives unless otherwise provided by law.
This arrangement means private individuals and companies can hold legally recognized land-use rights without owning the underlying land in the same way that American property owners do. Article 9 establishes state ownership of natural resources, including minerals, waters, forests, and grasslands, while allowing collective ownership of certain resources under the law.
How The US Compares
The United States retains roughly 28% of its land under federal ownership, with the greatest concentrations in Nevada, Idaho, Alaska, and the western states. Germany's federal property agency holds an area equal to about 1.3% of its national territory, while Australia places most Crown land administration with its states and territories. Canada's extensive Crown estate is divided among several levels of government, and its northern land management arrangements continue to change. Russia and China follow different ownership models that prevent a simple percentage-based comparison.
As Congress continues debating federal land sales and transfers, the geography of the American West remains central to a question that has shaped the country for more than two centuries: how much land should remain under national control?
