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Refugees & Asylum Seekers

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Refugees & Asylum Seekers in the Southern African Region JSON 
1,055,412
Last updated 31 Dec 2020
Source - UNHCR, Government 
Refugees & Asylum Seekers JSON 
Age & Gender
Source - UNHCR, Government
Refugees & Asylum Seekers JSON 
Arrival Trends
Refugees & Ayslum Seekers JSON 
Breakdown by Country
Location name Source Data date Population
Angola UNHCR, Government 30 Nov 2020
  5.3% 		55,834
Botswana UNHCR 30 Nov 2020
  0.1% 		1,054
Democratic Republic of the Congo UNHCR, Government 30 Nov 2020
  49.9% 		525,811
Eswatini UNHCR 30 Nov 2020
  0.2% 		2,061
Lesotho UNHCR 30 Nov 2020
  0.0% 		450
Madagascar UNHCR 30 Nov 2020
  0.0% 		312
Malawi UNHCR, Government 31 Dec 2020
  1.7% 		18,351
Mauritius UNHCR 30 Nov 2020
  0.0% 		22
Mozambique UNHCR, Government 30 Nov 2020
  2.5% 		26,585
Namibia UNHCR 30 Nov 2020
  0.5% 		5,709
Republic of the Congo UNHCR, Government 30 Nov 2020
  5.8% 		61,298
South Africa UNHCR 30 Nov 2020
  25.3% 		266,694
Zambia UNHCR, Government 30 Nov 2020
  6.5% 		68,620
Zimbabwe UNHCR, Government 30 Nov 2020
  2.0% 		21,042

IDP in Southern African Region JSON 
1,332,683
Last updated 30 Nov 2020
Source - UNHCR, IOM, Government 
IDP JSON 
Breakdown by Country
Location name Source Data date Population
Democratic Republic of the Congo UNHCR, IOM, Government 30 Nov 2020
  25.1% 		334,253
Mozambique UNHCR 30 Nov 2020
  31.8% 		424,000
Republic of the Congo 30 Nov 2020
  22.8% 		304,430
Zimbabwe 30 Nov 2020
  20.3% 		270,000

Returned IDP JSON 
1,190,506
Last updated 30 Nov 2020
Source - IOM 
Returned IDP JSON 
Breakdown by Country
Location name Source Data date Population
Democratic Republic of the Congo IOM 30 Nov 2020
  100.0% 		1,190,506

Returnees JSON 
23,249
Last updated 30 Nov 2020
Source - UNHCR, Government 
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    •   View all (62)
    Southern Africa Funding
      Countries
    Angola
    DRC (Congo)
    Malawi
    Mozambique
    RoC (Congo)
    Zambia
    Zimbabwe
    SAMCO (Botswana, Comoros, eSwatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia , Seychelles, South Africa)
      Situation
    DRC (Congo)
      News
    ...

    Every child needs a birth certificate

    UNHCR, Mail & Guardian, 13 Nov 2020

    More than a million children are born in our country each year and are issued birth certificates. But estimates are that another 100 000 children are not registered at birth in South Africa, setting them up for a lifetime of exclusion, disadvantage, and de facto statelessness Read more

    ...

    UNHCR's #iBelong Campaign to end Statelessness

    UNHCR, SABC News, 11 Nov 2020

    Imagine not being able to vote in today's by-elections or get a driver's licence or even open a bank account. Suppose you were considered not to 'exist' in your own country, being a person suspended in Statelessness? It's estimated that over 137 million people in the Southern African region lack any... Read more

    ...

    Refugees in South Africa share acts of kindness with their hosts

    UNHCR, 13 Oct 2020

    It is the kindness of strangers that fuels Saeed Mohamed’s passion to give back. South Africans welcomed him as a refugee from Somalia and now he wants to help the community amid the country’s COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

     View more
      UNHCR Information Products
     View more
      Telling the Story
    South Sudanese refugees make tippy taps to promote hygiene in DRC camps
    One year on, people displaced by Cyclone Idai struggle to rebuild
    Making dolls provides hope for Congolese refugee
    Hope and anxiety as Congolese refugees return home from Angola
    Refugees start blog to share information on coronavirus

    • Violence in northern Mozambique is leading to the displacement of thousands of families in the Province of Cabo Delgado.
      ©UNHCR/Eduardo Burmeister, December 2019

    • One year after Cyclone Idai, over 93,000 people still live in settlement sites and continue to face challenges in rebuilding their lives.
      ©UNHCR/Hélène Caux, February 2020

    • Amelia and her family were displaced when their home was destroyed by Cyclone Idai in March 2019, and one year after they are still living at a settlement site.
      ©UNHCR/Hélène Caux, February 2020

    • One year on, people displaced by Cyclone Idai struggle to rebuild their lives.
      ©UNHCR/Hélène Caux, February 2020

    • Distribution of core relief items to families displaced by Cyclone Idai.
      ©UNHCR/Silvia Cravesana, August 2019

    • Mireille is a Burundian refugee currently studying Agricultural Engineering at University in Maputo. Her dream is to contribute to Mozambique’s development.
      ©UNHCR/ Martim Gray Pereira, March 2020

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    Key Contact Information

    Please contact the following focal points

    Type of Inquiry Contact
    Donor Relations Joan Allison
    Media Helene Caux
    Data Resmun Moonsamy