Shocking Data Shows How Much Illinois is Owned by Other Countries

I tend to be naive and I'd prefer to stay that way. That's probably why I was disturbed to see how much of Illinois is actually not owned by the state or America, but foreign entities who are calling the shots.

I realize that foreign countries and companies have the right to invest in land that's for sale. However, I think that having too much of American land owned by countries who have priorities that are not our own can be dangerous. That's why a new study from 24/7 Wall St that reveals the states that have the most land owned by foreign countries was alarming to me as Illinois is in the top percentiles of that list.

How much land in Illinois is owned by foreign countries?

Answer - 733,503 acres total

What countries own all of that Illinois acreage?

Here's the list shared by the study and it also includes some surprises:

• Canada
• Italy
• Portugal
• Germany
• United Kingdom
• Spain
• Netherlands
• Denmark
• Venezuela
• Brazil

I don't want to be an alarmist because even with foreign countries owning more than 700,000 acres, that's only around 2% of the land in the state of Illinois. However, the fact that almost all of the land owned by foreign countries is farmland should be an issue. Having non-American entities controlling the food supply can't be good.