Half of Scotland is in the hands of 420 property owners

"A status symbol, it denotes power and implies economic dominance, but behind its exclusive privilege lies one of the most disparate ownership models in the Western world. The concentration of land in the hands of a small group of owners is an anomaly in the United Kingdom, and generates a profoundly unequal structure that causes tension and can lead to abuse of power."

"The Scottish system of land registration is the oldest in the world, and a recent attempt to modernize it, with an integral registry meant to be completed in 2024, has been abandoned on the premise that the plan lacked viability. Despite successive reforms promoted by the Scottish government the most recent was approved this month half of private land in Scotland belongs to just 420 property owners."

"Perhaps most concerning is that trends over time, which once pointed towards less concentration of land ownership, has reversed course in the last two decades, leading to the accumulation of property in fewer hands, according to the project Who Owns Scotland, which is run by analyst and writer Andy Wightman, who has dedicated the last 20 years to investigating the phenomenon. His platform is updated every year, and currently covers more than 76% of Scottish rural areas."

Land ownership in Scotland is highly concentrated and functions as a status symbol that denotes power and economic dominance. The concentration places half of private land in the hands of just 420 owners, producing profound inequality, social tension, and scope for abuse. The Scottish land registration system is the oldest globally, and a planned modernization for 2024 was abandoned as unviable. Historical feudal structures, British centralization, and limited autonomy until 1999 shaped the current imbalance. Recent decades have seen a reversal toward greater concentration, documented extensively by the Who Owns Scotland project across rural areas.

Read at english.elpais.com