Indicator: 10.7.4
0.a. Goal
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
0.b. Target
Target 10.7: Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies
0.c. Indicator
Indicator 10.7.4: Proportion of the population who are refugees, by country of origin
0.d. Series
Not applicable
0.e. Metadata update
2023-03-310.f. Related indicators
Goals 1 (“No Poverty”), 2 (“Zero Hunger”), 3 (“Good Health and Wellbeing”), 4 (“Quality Education”), 5 (“Gender Equality”), 8 (“Decent Work and Economic Growth”), and 16 (“Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”).
0.g. International organisations(s) responsible for global monitoring
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
1.a. Organisation
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
2.a. Definition and concepts
Definition:
The indicator is defined as the total count of population who have been recognized as refugees as a proportion of the total population of their country of origin, expressed per 100,000 population.
Refugees refers to persons recognized by the Government and/or UNHCR, those in a refugee-like situation and other persons in need of international protection.
Population refers to total resident population in a given country in a given year.
Concepts:
Refugees recognized by the Government and/or UNHCR include:
(a) persons recognized as refugees by Governments having ratified the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and/or its 1967 Protocol;
(b) persons recognized as refugees under the 1969 Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa;
(c) those recognized in accordance with the principles enshrined in the Cartagena Declaration;
(d) persons recognized by UNHCR as refugees in accordance with its Statute (otherwise referred to as “mandate” refugees);
(e) those who have been granted a complementary form of protection (i.e. non-Convention);
(f) persons who have been granted temporary protection on a group basis;
Persons in a refugee-like situation refer to those outside their territory of origin who face protection risks similar to those of refugees, but who, for practical or other reasons, have not been formally recognized or issued documentation to that effect.
Other persons in need of international protection are defined as people who are outside their country or territory of origin, typically because they have been forcibly displaced across international borders, who have not been reported under other categories (asylum-seekers, refugees, people in refugee-like situations) but who likely need international protection, including protection against forced return, as well as access to basic services on a temporary or longer-term basis.
2.b. Unit of measure
Number of refugees per 100,000 population in country of origin
2.c. Classifications
Not applicable
3.a. Data sources
Two main sources exist at country level: a) administrative asylum systems; b) direct refugee registration databases. In cases where UNHCR performs refugee registration directly, operations provide data which is available with a highest degree of disaggregation. In cases where refugees go through a Refugee Status Determination (RSD) administrative procedure, data is collected by Governments in the biannual Population Statistics Review exercise facilitated by focal points in UNHCR country offices.
Population data are derived from annual estimates produced by the UN Population Division (2022 Revision of World Population Prospects, Total Population, both sexes). Estimates until 2020 and medium fertility variant projection for years thereafter.
3.b. Data collection method
At the international level, data on refugee populations are routinely collected by UNHCR through the biannual Population Statistic Review (PSR) data collection. Focal points in each UNHCR operation submit data to the Statistics and Demographics Section in the Global Data Service that performs consistency checks. In most cases these focal points obtain data either from the UNHCR registration database (in countries where UNHCR performs registration directly), or from national institutions responsible for data production in the area of asylum and refugee matters (National Statistical Offices, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Administrative Tribunals). When a country does not report refugee figures to UNHCR, estimations based on positive decisions on asylum applications from previous years are used. Once consolidated, data are shared to countries to check their accuracy. Data for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) monitoring will also be sent to countries for consultation before publication.
3.c. Data collection calendar
Twice a year: by March (data for year-end) and September (data for mid-year).
3.d. Data release calendar
Twice a year: by December (data for mid-year) and by June (data for year-end)
3.e. Data providers
Refugee data are sent to UNHCR Country Offices by member states, usually through national institutions responsible for data production in the area of refugee and asylum (National Statistical Offices, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, and Administrative Tribunals). Data obtained by UNHCR registration systems is provided directly by UNHCR country operations.
3.f. Data compilers
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
3.g. Institutional mandate
The collection and use of refugee data are mandated by the 1951 Refugee Convention and by the Statute of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees. The confidentiality of refugee data and related information is highly respected by UNHCR and our partners and the processing and protection of personal data are anchored in UNHCR’s Data Protection Policy.
4.a. Rationale
Forced displacement as a result of conflict, violence, and other causes undermine sustainable development, and can increase the risk of regional instability, especially when refugees are hosted in neighbouring countries, resulting in possible tensions with local populations. The United Nations General Assembly Resolution (A/Res/70/1) that adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at paragraph 23 recognizes the relevance of the Agenda to meet the needs of refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants on the basis that they are among the most vulnerable. It also explicitly states that Member States resolve to take further effective measures and actions, to “strengthen support and meet the special needs of people living in areas affected by complex humanitarian emergencies”. In addition, target 10.7 recognizes for the first time the contribution of migration to sustainable development by aiming to “facilitate orderly, safe, and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies”.
This indicator tracks the number of people displaced across national borders as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, or events seriously disturbing public order. It measures the total count of refugee population by country or territory of origin as a proportion of the total population.
4.b. Comment and limitations
The estimates of the refugee population by country of origin are collected on a bi-annual basis by UNHCR during its annual and mid-year statistical reviews. Data is therefore already available and does not impose an additional burden on national statistical systems.
4.c. Method of computation
The indicator is presented as the number of refugees per 100,000 population in country of origin.
*For years where the number of refugee refers to the end-year figure (as of 31. December), the total population estimate as of 01. January the next year is applied. For years where the number of refugees refers to the mid-year figures (as of 30. June), the total population estimate as of 01. July is applied.
4.d. Validation
At the international level, data on refugee populations are routinely collected by UNHCR through the biannual Population Statistic Review (PSR) data collection. Focal points in each UNHCR operation submit data to the Statistics and Demographics Section in the Global Data Service that performs consistency checks. In most cases, these focal points obtain data either from the UNHCR registration database (in countries where UNHCR performs registration directly), or from national institutions responsible for data production in the area of asylum and refugee matters (National Statistical Offices, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Administrative Tribunals). When a country does not report refugee figures to UNHCR, estimations based on positive decisions on asylum applications from previous years are used. Once consolidated, data are shared to countries to check their accuracy. Data for SDG monitoring will also be sent to countries for consultation before publication.
4.e. Adjustments
Not applicable
4.f. Treatment of missing values (i) at country level and (ii) at regional level
• At country level
UNHCR produces estimates for countries where national data are not available from neither administrative systems nor from refugee registration.
• At regional and global levels
The regional average is applied to those countries within the region with missing values for the purposes of calculating regional aggregates only, but are not published as country-level estimates.
4.g. Regional aggregations
Global and regional estimates are calculated as weighted averages of national data, with weights provided by the national resident population of the country of origin augmented by the number of refugees pertaining to that country.
4.h. Methods and guidance available to countries for the compilation of the data at the national level
- UNHCR Annual Statistical Report methodological guidance note.
- The Expert Group on Refugee and IDP Statistics, in which UNHCR belongs to the steering committee, has released the International Recommendations on Refugee Statistics (IRRS), which were adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission during its 2018 session and is a strong reference for refugee statistics reporting methodologies. UNHCR supports NSOs to build capacity to report on forced displacement in countries that currently lack disaggregated data on refugees.
- Expert Group on Refugee and IDP Statistics (EGRIS):
- International Recommendations on Refugee Statistics (IRRS):
https://egrisstats.org/recommendations/international-recommendations-on-refugee-statistics-irrs/
4.i. Quality management
UNHCR follows its Statistical Quality Assurance Framework when producing official statistics, including this SDG indicator.
4.j. Quality assurance
A number of validation rules are included in the global database, so that that data containing errors will not be accepted. All data submitted by countries are additionally verified for consistency by the UNHCR Statistics and Demographics Section. This includes checks with previous years’ data, and among data reported by different countries. When inconsistencies exist, for instance when refugee returns reported by a country differ from the arrivals reported by another, the difference is taken back to the countries until the difference is resolved.
4.k. Quality assessment
Assessing the quality of UNHCR’s population statistics is a core component of the Statistical Quality Assurance Framework noted above.
5. Data availability and disaggregation
Data availability:
National data on refugee populations are available for 192 countries (at least one data point between 1951-2020). Time series data on refugees suitable for monitoring are available for 192 countries. Approximately 83 percent of the refugee population have data which can be disaggregated by sex and 76 percent which can be disaggregated by age. The age and sex disaggregation for the remainder of the population is estimated with statistical methods.
National population estimates and projections are available in the World Population Prospects prepared by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, and presented in a series of Excel files displaying key demographic indicators for each UN development group, World Bank income group, geographic region, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) region, subregion and country or area.
Time series:
1951-present
Disaggregation:
Recommended disaggregation for this indicator are:
- sex
- age (esp. % of children)
- geographical location (urban/rural)
- place of residence (in camps/out of camps)
6. Comparability/deviation from international standards
Sources of discrepancies:
UNHCR makes all efforts to obtain data reported directly by member states to include in its statistical reports. The gradual implementation of IRRS (see below) by countries should improve quality and consistency of national and international data.
7. References and Documentation
URL:
References:
UNHCR Refugee Population Statistics Database (https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/ )
UNHCR, Global Trends report (https://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends.html)
UNHCR, Mid-Year Trends report (https://www.unhcr.org/mid-year-trends.html)
UNHCR Statistical Yearbook (https://www.unhcr.org/statistical-yearbooks.html)
UN Population Division, World Population Prospects (https://population.un.org/wpp/)