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Statistical partnerships

Statistical partnerships

UNHCR is committed to improving data on forced displacement and statelessness through global collaboration and innovation. Reliable data is essential to understanding and addressing the needs of displaced and stateless people, ensuring they are included in global development efforts, especially under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
A conference room full of people with large screens at the front.

UNHCR represented at the UN Statistical Commission to bolster global statistics on forced displacement and statelessness.

Expert Group on Refugee, IDP, and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS)

The Expert Group on Refugee, IDP, and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS) was established by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) in 2016 to improve national and global data on refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and stateless people. It develops international statistical recommendations and supports their implementation by member states.

UNHCR plays a key role by:

  • hosting and co-funding the EGRISS Secretariat
  • providing technical support
  • helping develop and implement these standards.

So far, EGRISS has produced the following, all endorsed by the UNSC:

These recommendations guide countries and organizations in creating reliable statistics that support displacement- and statelessness-sensitive policy, project and programme implementation.

International Data Alliance for Children on the Move (IDAC)

This global coalition aims to improve data and statistics on migrant and forcibly displaced children, enabling better evidence-based policymaking. UNHCR collaborates with international partners like UNICEF, OECD, Eurostat, and IOM, bringing its expertise on child displacement to enhance data collection and analysis efforts.

The coalition supports the Global Compact for Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees, with a strong focus on achieving the child migration targets of the 2030 Agenda.

World Bank-UNHCR Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement (JDC)

The JDC enhances data on forced displacement to help governments, humanitarian organizations, and development agencies make better decisions that improve the lives of the forcibly displaced and their host communities.

UNHCR contributes its expertise in protection and forced displacement data, while the World Bank provides strengths in household data and policy analysis. Together, they improve data collection and analysis, supporting more effective responses and solutions for displaced and stateless populations.

International migration statistics

UNHCR is actively involved in enhancing international migration statistics. As a member of the Expert Group on Migration Statistics, established by the United Nations in 2017, UNHCR helps develop methods to better disaggregate and track data on forced displacement, which is crucial for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals.

UNHCR also collaborates with the African Migration Observatory to improve data disaggregation and collection across Africa, supporting countries in understanding and responding to displacement challenges with more accurate and accessible data.

UNHCR and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

UNHCR is committed to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals by improving statistics on forced displacement and statelessness.

The agency's work with initiatives like the Inter-Agency Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) supports that the needs of displaced and stateless populations are accurately reflected in global development frameworks, supporting evidence-based policies and inclusive approaches. With the inclusion of SDG indicator 10.7.4, which measures the proportion of a population that has become refugees, this group has become even more visible in the framework. UNHCR is custodian of this indicator and reports regularly on its outcome.

Inter-secretariat Working Group on Household Surveys (ISWGHS)

The ISWGHS, established by the UN Statistical Commission in 2015, aims to enhance the scope and quality of social and economic statistics. This is achieved through national, regional, and international household survey programmes, including through increased coordination and cooperation at all levels.

UNHCR formally joined the ISWGHS in 2021 in view of the establishment of its Forced Displacement Survey programme which follows international statistical standards and survey best practices.

Other collaborations

Since 2022, UNHCR has been engaged in a collaborative data partnership with Georgetown University, focusing on predictive analytics of forced displacement. This joint initiative combines UNHCR's extensive field experience and data resources with Georgetown's academic expertise in data science and humanitarian studies. The collaboration aims to develop advanced predictive models using organic data sources, such as Google Trends, that can anticipate forced displacement trends, enabling more proactive and efficient humanitarian responses.