Land litigation remains one of the biggest pressures on Ghana’s justice system, with available data showing that land-related cases account for a significant share of matters before the courts nationwide.
Although there is no single, up-to-date official figure on the exact number of active land litigation cases, recent reports and legal commentary consistently point to the scale of the problem. Estimates suggest that between 50 and 90 percent of cases in Ghanaian courts are land-related, highlighting how deeply land disputes dominate civil litigation.
Some legal experts place the figure even higher. Reports from lawyer workshops and legal forums indicate that about 90 percent of court cases involve land disputes, while other assessments suggest around 70 percent of cases nationwide are tied to land litigation. These figures, though varied, all point to the same conclusion: land conflicts remain a central feature of Ghana’s legal landscape.
Court filing data further underscores the pressure. In the 2022–2023 legal year alone, 3,744 new land cases were filed, according to a legal primer on land litigation. Resolution rates, however, remain low, leaving many cases pending and contributing to growing backlogs across the court system.
Older research, which is still frequently cited in legal and academic discussions, suggests that tens of thousands of land cases have accumulated across Ghana’s courts over the years. While these figures have not been recently updated in a comprehensive national report, they continue to reflect the long-standing nature of the challenge.
In practical terms, the absence of a precise “current number” does not diminish the reality on the ground. Land disputes continue to overwhelm court dockets, slow down the delivery of justice, and increase litigation costs for individuals, families and businesses.
Legal analysts say the persistent backlog reinforces the need for alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, stronger land administration systems, and clearer land documentation processes to reduce conflicts before they reach the courts.
As Ghana continues to urbanise and land values rise, experts warn that without decisive reforms, land litigation will remain a major burden on the judiciary, with thousands of cases still entering the system every year.