* The number of Stateless in the Asia & Pacific Region comprises of both displaced and non-displaced Stateless. Some displaced Stateless are simultaneously counted as IDPs, Refugees or Asylum-seekers or Others of concern.

UNHCR’s operations in Asia and the Pacific encompass two of the world’s largest forced displacement crises, involving large numbers of children without access to quality education, deep poverty, significant statelessness and an ever-present threat of gender-based violence. Access to territory, asylum, and protection remain challenges across the region, where only 20 of the 45 countries and territories have acceded to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and only three States are party to both statelessness conventions. The total number of refugees, people in refugee-like situations, stateless persons, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), returnees (both refugees and IDPs) and others of concern to UNHCR in Asia and the Pacific by mid-2023 stood at 14.3 million. This includes 23 per cent of the world’s refugees under UNHCR’s mandate (7.2 million of 30.5 million) and 57 per cent of the world’s recorded stateless population (2.5 million out of 4.4 million).

“UNHCR will focus on the search for solutions in the Asia and the Pacific region. Too many refugees, IDPs and stateless persons in and from the region have been facing precarious situations for too long, generously hosted by countries and communities who have received too little support. The Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Refugee Forum give us a unique opportunity to turn the tide. It is time to broaden responsibility for protecting the displaced and stateless in the region and express solidarity through practical measures that concretely improve their lives”. Regional Director Indrika Ratwatte.

Collection, analysis and dissemination of socioeconomic data and evidence is key to policy and programmes that support solutions for refugees, asylum seekers, stateless people and other that UNHCR serves. The production of high-quality socioeconomic data and evidence of forcibly displaced people and their hosts feeds into national and regional decision-making processes and supports evidence-informed humanitarian and development operations. Check out the ongoing projects supported and funded by the World Bank & UNHCR Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement in the Asia and the Pacific Region.

Malaysia: livelihoods of refugees and host communities

Central Asia countries: inclusion of stateless people in national population censuses

Bangladesh: Cox’s Bazar Humanitarian Development Statistics Center/Analytical Program

When it comes to forced displacement, there is more to the data - there is the microdata

There are now over 114 million people who have been forcibly displaced by conflict, violence, or volatility in the world. However, this figure does not wholly depict the difficulty of their human experience—behind each number there is a mother, father, son, or daughter, whose life has been disrupted or destroyed.

Data - articularly microdata, such as household surveys - can help by painting a picture of the life of everyone in detail, but also about the challenges they face: food security, shelter, access to water, health care, education, and livelihoods.

The World Bank-UNHCR Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement has undertaken a review of all publicly available household survey datasets from the two largest databases of microdata (the World Bank and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees microdata libraries) from 1995 to 2022.

The result is Forced Displacement Microdata, a dashboard where users can view the data overall, as well as access individual datasets.