Only 40% of Countries Show Positive Progress towards Land Degradation Neutrality

Land degradation threatens climate stability, biodiversity and food systems, making land degradation neutrality (LDN) a central international policy target for sustainable land governance. Yet no globally comparable assessment has evaluated national progress towards LDN and its drivers, leaving the magnitude and causes of cross-country divergence unclear. Using a harmonized assessment framework, we find that achievement of LDN remains fragile and uneven. Only ~40% of countries worldwide have shown positive progress over the past decade. with marked disparities among populous upper-middle-income countries. We find marked disparities in LDN progress among countries, with China and Russia accounted for 41% of the global positive change, whereas Brazil and Kazakhstan contributed 27% of the total negative change. Recent degradation affects 9–10% of the global land area and undermines LDN, with major concentrations in the Global South. Grassland degradation hinders LDN, with an affected area approximately 4.5 times that of forests, particularly in Central Asia and South America. Climate change had 3–4 times the influence of human activities on LDN outcomes, with aridity and moisture conditions emerging as the dominant drivers. Cultivation, livestock production, and forest dynamics also contributed to regional differences in LDN. We advocate targeted global and regional action pathways to reverse degradation, together with locally tailored restoration and protection in degradation hotspots.