Abidjan, 28 May 2025 – The 4th African School on Migration Statistics concluded in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; organized by the Pan-African Institute of Statistics (StatAfric), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Statistics Sweden, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the Expert Group on Refugee, Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS). This year’s edition focused on the inclusion of data on refugees, IDPs, and stateless persons into national statistical systems. This includes the implementation of international recommendations, the strengthening of inter-agency coordination, and the mobilization of sustainable resources to establish the statistical foundations necessary for inclusive policymaking and the protection of affected populations.    

The objective of the three-day gathering, which brought together over 30 participants—including representatives from more than 30 national statistical offices, regional economic communities, government institutions, international organizations, and donor agencies—was to strengthen the production, quality, and use of statistics. The event drew on the International Recommendations on Refugee Statistics (IRRS), Internally Displaced Persons Statistics (IRIS), and Statelessness Statistics (IROSS), endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission.  

Africa hosts nearly 42 million forcibly displaced and stateless people, accounting for one-third of the global displaced and stateless population (UNHCR, 2024)- including 37.7 million IDPs, according to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre’s 2025 Global Report on Internal Displacement (GIRD). While the magnitude and protracted nature of displacement have increased, the data systems needed to respond remain uneven. Participants recognized that the lack of timely, accurate, and harmonized data continues to hinder evidence-based policymaking and effective programme delivery across the continent.  

Forced displacement and statelessness statistics in Africa are crucial to informing evidence-based policies that support the protection of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), stateless individuals, as well as ensuring their inclusion in development plans. However, the data landscape across the continent is characterized by persistent gaps, limited comparability across and within countries, a disconnect to national systems, and insufficient technical and financial capacities to support timely as well as high-quality data collection and analysis. 

In addition to peer exchanges, the event spotlighted successful country experiences from Nigeria, Djibouti, South Sudan, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Cameroon and underscored the growing momentum on the continent. In 2024 alone, nineteen African countries have taken steps to implement international recommendations, according to results from EGRISS’ Global Annual Inclusion Survey (GAIN), and 28 pledges to pursue statistical inclusion were submitted during the 2023 Global Refugee Forum from the region.  

Participants highlighted the need to, inter alia: 

• Enhance the capacity of national statistical systems and inter-agency coordination on forced displacement data.  

• Ensure refugees, IDPs, and stateless persons are counted in traditional data sources such as censuses, registries, and surveys when appropriate. 

• Leverage other operational data sources when feasible, while ensuring protection-sensitive practices. 

• Embed data needs on forcibly displaced and stateless persons in national strategies for statistical development, development plans, and funding frameworks. 

• Scale up training, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, translation of key resources, and regional harmonization efforts.  

The 4th ASMS was co-hosted by Côte d’Ivoire’s National Institute of Statistics and the African Union’s Pan-African Institute for Statistics, and co-organized by Statistics Sweden (SCB), IOM, UNHCR, IDMC, and Statistics Norway through contributions from the US Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Union. The event contributed to shedding light on the implementation of global and regional commitments—including the Action Agenda of the International Migration Review Forum, the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), and the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)—by reinforcing the critical role of statistical inclusion in ensuring the visibility of forcibly displaced and stateless populations as well as enabling evidence-based, rights-based, and inclusive policymaking. This edition also marked an important step forward in aligning Africa’s statistical systems with global standards—ensuring that those who are often invisible in data are counted, protected, and included in policymaking processes.    

 "Including forcibly displaced people in statistics is not just about numbers - it is the foundation for finding sustainable displacement solutions. " said Laura Nistri, Global DTM Coordinator. "African governments are advancing policies to resolve displacement, but without timely, reliable data, progress remains invisible. To deliver on the UN Secretary-General's Action Agenda, we need to track IDPs - where they are, what they need, and whether solutions are working." 

The conference concluded with delegates identifying key priorities for enhancing displacement and statelessness data in Africa and reaffirmed the importance of harmonized, collaborative action to support protection and policy responses. 

For more information, please contact:

IOM Regional Media and Communication Unit on ronairobimcu@iom.int