Data and analysis
Data and analysis
Good decision-making relies on credible, timely data.
UNHCR is enhancing the availability and quality of data and evidence on refugees, displaced persons, stateless populations, and host communities to optimize resource distribution and develop evidence-based policies.
UNHCR is enhancing the availability and quality of data and evidence on refugees, displaced persons, stateless populations, and host communities to optimize resource distribution and develop evidence-based policies.
© UNHCR
UNHCR and its partners actively collect and analyze socioeconomic data to inform responses that enhance protection, inclusion and solutions for forcibly displaced persons.
Our efforts are concentrated in forced displacement settings with identified knowledge gaps and high demand for data and evidence, supporting effective engagement with government officials and development partners.
Our priorities include:
- Promote the inclusion of forcibly displaced persons in national surveys, including those that measure poverty;
- Generate socioeconomic data and evidence and increase their systemic use to better inform programming, policy and advocacy;
- Leverage data and evidence as entry points to build for more sustainable support to displaced populations;
- Identify critical knowledge gaps and strengthen analytical initiatives with development partners and researchers to fill these gaps for policymaking and programming.
For more information regarding UNHCR’s socioeconomic research on forcibly displaced populations, please email Craig Loschman at [email protected] and Ibrahima Sarr at [email protected].
Latest publications
Policy brief: Rapid needs assessment supports Mauritania's development and humanitarian actors' response to the fast-changing humanitarian crisis.
After two years of war in Ukraine, a UNHCR-Deloitte study examines the economic impact of Ukrainian refugees on Poland’s labour supply, productivity, and GDP.
![Kenya. Marking 10 years of the iBelong Campaign.](/sites/default/files/RF1384876.jpg "Azariah Samuel, 27-year-old father of two during a follow-up socioeconomic study on the Shona community in Kenya.
"Getting a national ID has really helped me. I can now move freely without fear of getting arrested. I have acces to better job opportunities too because of the access the ID has been able to give me," says Azariah. "My kids can now pursue their education comfortably because I know I can support them with access to more work opportunities."
The post-citizenship experiences of the Shona community provide critical lessons, making this study pivotal in two key respects: it offers a beacon of hope and a strategic framework for the remaining stateless populations in Kenya, and it serves as a vital case study for the international community in addressing the complex challenges faced by stateless people worldwide. Through examining the transformative effects of gaining citizenship on the Shona, this research attempts to shed light on broader solutions to counter the plight of statelessness.")
As more countries address statelessness, Kenya’s experience offers valuable lessons. From Stateless to Citizens: the Journey of the Shona Community in Kenya looks at the transformative impact of citizenship.
Socioeconomic research, analytical notes and policy briefs on forced displacement
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Global
- Socio-economic evidence in practice in forcibly displaced settings. Vol 1 June 2021: Examples of UNHCR's uses of socioeconomic data to inform evidence-based programming, policy and advocacy – French
- Socio-economic evidence in practice in forcibly displaced settings. Vol 2 June 2022: Examples of uses of socio-economic data in advocacy, policy and programmes
Americas
- Using cross-survey imputation to estimate poverty for Venezuelan refugees in Colombia – Working paper
- A critical assessment of the labour-based regularization programme (PEPFF) of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Colombia – Policy brief
- Violence-driven displacement in Mexico: Why including IDPs in national statistics is necessary to inform a protection-based response – Report
- Socioeconomic integration of forcibly displaced populations in Latin America and the Caribbean – Note – Video
- What does the evidence say about IDPs in Colombia? – Evidence bulletin #1 – September 2023
- Impact of Venezuelan flow on Roraima State in Brazil – Implications for public policy
- Integration of Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants in Brazil – Research paper – Blog post – Socioeconomic indicators dashboard (Portuguese)
- Assessment of datasets in Colombia available for research – Data mapping
Asia and the Pacific
- Demographic profile and humanitarian needs of 30,000 refugees relocated to the Bhasan Char island – Demographic study – Livelihoods brief
- The impact of financial assistance through volunteer programmes in Cox's Bazar refugee camps – Research Brief
- Age- and gender-based health risks facing adolescents within Rohingya refugee and Bangladeshi host communities – Policy briefs on health, nutrition, and SRH
- Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh – Innovations in gathering host and refugee evidence from the Rohingya crisis in Cox's Bazar
- Cox's Bazar Panel Survey – A comprehensive, large-sample survey that tracks both host and refugee households over time in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes
- From Stateless to Citizens: the journey of the Shona community in Kenya (2024) – Policy Brief
- Livelihoods lost: Findings from two rounds of the Somalia Displacement Phone Survey (2022) – Report
- Refugee struggle, professional downgrading, and skills mismatches in the labour market in Uganda – Research paper
- Improving employment outcomes in Uganda – Summary – Policy brief – Knowledge brief – Blog post
- Supporting the most vulnerable groups in Uganda – Targeting assistance programmes to persons with specific needs and vulnerabilities
- Innovative Microlending in Kenya – Kiva Zip & RefugePoint – Enabling refugee entrepreneurs to become more successful and self-reliant
- A high number of refugees and host members in Kenya cannot see well – Thematic note
- Kenya Analytical Program on Forced Displacement (KAP-FD) – Factsheet – Report on the Kenya Longitudinal Socioeconomic Study of Refugees and Host Communities – Infographic
- Kalobeyei Settlement in Kenya – Full report – Summary – Infographic – Microdata
- Kakuma Camp in Kenya – Full report – Summary – Infographic – Microdata
- Urban refugees in Kenya – Full report – Summary – Infographic
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Comparative analysis of urban and camp-based refugees in Kenya – Full report – Summary – Infographic
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Stateless Shona community in Kenya – Full report – Summary – Blog post – Microdata
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Summary of sectors, thematic areas, and associated datasets in Rwanda – Data mapping overview
Europe
- Analysis of the impact of refugees from Ukraine on the economy of Poland – March 2024
- The Role of Housing Support and Employment Facilitation in Economic Vulnerability of Refugees from Ukraine – Analytical brief
Southern Africa
- Graduation programme in Mozambique – Design of impact evaluation: employment, welfare and social integration – Blog post – Impact evaluation: Socioeconomic integration improves when refugees and hosts are more financially secure – Blog post – Video
- Improving welfare and food security through better land productivity – Overview of access to land and its uses by refugees in the Maratane Camp and host communities in Mozambique
West and Central Africa
- Understanding the socio-economic profile of refugee arrivals in Mauritania since 2023: Analysis of UNHCR and WFP data on Malian refugees living in Mauritania (October 2024) – Policy brief
- Reaching the poorest refugees in Niger – Evaluation of food and cash distribution
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UNHCR Microdata library
The library shares microdata on forcibly displaced and stateless people collected through census, registration/administrative exercises and surveys.
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Global Data Service
We work with data and statistics, which help us to understand important information to save, protect and improve lives.
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Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement
We are working to enhance the ability of stakeholders to make timely and evidence-informed decisions that improve the lives of affected people.
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Building the evidence on forced displacement
This research joint partnership aims to contribute to expanding high-quality and policy-relevant research on forced displacement.
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