Data and analysis
Data and analysis
UNHCR and partners are working to expand the availability and quality of data on refugees and host communities to help support the efficient targeting of aid resources and evidence-based programmes and policies.
UNHCR and its partners aim to:
- ensure population and socioeconomic data are systematically collected and analyzed
- facilitate open access to forced displacement data while ensuring the integrity of the legal protection framework
- promote innovations to enhance forced displacement data through satellite imagery, cell phones, and other new technologies
- strengthen the global data collection system, establish common norms, definitions, and methodologies, and support efforts to fortify country systems where necessary.
Major initiatives in this area include:
- the inclusion of forcibly displaced persons in national surveys that measure poverty
- conducting reduced versions of national surveys as part of UNHCR proGres verification exercises
- enhancing the capacity of UNHCR registries to collect more meaningful socioeconomic data
- monitoring the impact of livelihoods programmes through the UNHCR Integrated Refugee and Forcibly Displaced Livelihoods Information System.
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Research and policy
UNHCR is filling gaps in refugee socioeconomic data, research and policy briefs through surveys or using existing data.
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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.
Research and policy briefs
Reports and surveys on the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 on forcibly displaced populations
- Lebanon – Microdata
- Nigeria – Microdata
- Kenya – Microdata – Blog post
- Ethiopia – Microdata – Refugee sampling design
- Uganda (Overview, Round 1, 2, and 3) – Blog post
- Costa Rica (in Spanish) – Blog post (in Spanish) – Infographic – Microdata
- Mexico (in Spanish) – Blog post (in Spanish) – Infographic – Microdata
- Impact on adolescents in Bangladesh Cox's Bazar – Microdata – Blog post
- Education access for the forcibly displaced: during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic – Report
Summary of sectors, thematic areas, and associated datasets in Rwanda
Data mapping overview
Assessment of datasets in Colombia available for research
Data mapping
What does the evidence say about IDPs in Colombia?
Evidence Bulletin #1 – September 2023
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
Psychosocial well-being among Rohingya and Bangladeshi adolescents in Cox's Bazar
Policy brief (UNHCR provided comments)
Exploring the educational barriers facing adolescents in Cox's Bazar
Policy brief (UNHCR provided comments)
Exploring the capabilities of Bangladeshi and Rohingya adolescents in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (includes analysis on bodily integrity and freedom from violence)
Policy brief (UNHCR provided comments)
Child poverty among refugees
Research paper – Blog post – Policy brief
Estimating refugee poverty quickly using cross-survey imputation
Research paper – Summary – Blog post
Reaching the poorest refugees in Niger
Evaluation of food and cash distribution
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 (in Portuguese)
Innovative Microlending in Kenya – Kiva Zip & RefugePoint
Enabling refugee entrepreneurs to become more successful and self-reliant
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
Refugee Struggle, Professional Downgrading, and Skills Mismatches in the Labour Market in Uganda
Research paper
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
Graduation programme in Mozambique
Design of impact evaluation on employment, welfare and social integration for refugees and host communities – Blog post
Impact evaluation: The socioeconomic integration of refugees improves when refugees and hosts are more financially secure – Blog post – Video
Socioeconomic comparisons of forcibly displaced persons and hosts
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
- Vol 1 June 2021: Examples of UNHCR's uses of socioeconomic data to inform evidence-based programming, policy and advocacy – French
Kenya Analytical Program on Forced Displacement (KAP-FD)
A multi-year undertaking to gather evidence on how refugee and host populations make social and economic decisions and their implications for government, humanitarian, and development policies.
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
Comparative analysis of urban and camp-based refugees in Kenya
Full report – Summary – Infographic
Stateless Shona Community in Kenya
Full report – Summary – Blog post – Microdata
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.
Survey on Rohingya refugees relocated to Bhasan Char
Understanding the demographic profile and humanitarian needs of some 30,000 refugees relocated to the Bhasan Char island and their income-generating activities.
Socioeconomic assessment toolkit
Socioeconomic Survey Planning Guide
Orientation for the early stages of planning a socioeconomic survey
Terms of Reference Template for Hiring a Survey Firm
Suggested template for preparing the terms of reference for procuring consultants
Developing a Standardized Employment Module
Capturing key employment indicators and ways to use the module
Developing a Standardized Education Module
Capturing key education indicators to measure, inform and monitor progress on a range of global education indicators
Handling differences between cases and households
Bridging the differences arising from the use of "cases" in UNHCR's proGres database and the use of "households" prescribed in standard survey methodology