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The problem of the relation between man and land in Latin America is assuming great importance. With a population increasing explosively, with 54 per cent of Latin-American manpower devoted to agriculture, and with a technological development which is barely incipient, agricultural land continues to be a factor of the highest productive and social significance. In Latin America land of potential agricultural use is still not scientifically surveyed and analyzed, and the present agrarian property system undeniably constitutes one of the most serious obstacles to economic development and social progress of the twenty Latin-American countries. The large estate and the very small farm operate hand-in-hand. The different forms of landholding--some introduced by the Spanish and Portuguese colonizers, others inherited from the Indians or recently incorporated into rural life as a result of European and Japanese immigration--bring to the problem a wealth of forces worthy of special consideration. This article examines the subject in summary form, concentrating on certain aspects of the problem based on personal observation and on statistical data which have not before been interpreted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]