International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics (IROSS)

Statistical Commission Background document

Fifty-fourth session Available in English only

28 February – 3 March 2023

Item 4(e) of the provisional agenda

Items for decision: Refugee, internally-displaced persons and stateless statistics

International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics

(IROSS)

Prepared by the Expert Group on Refugee, Internally Displaced Persons and

Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS)

International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics (IROSS)

DRAFT 7.0

FOR SUBMISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS STATISTICAL COMMISSION

20 January 2023

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics (IROSS) were developed by the Expert

Group on Refugee, Internally Displaced Persons and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS). The

recommendations were developed in close collaboration between experts from governments and regional

and international organisations, as well as subject-matter experts.

From country level, the following contributed to development of the IROSS: Sok Kosal (National Institute

of Statistics, Cambodia); Camilo Andres Mendez Coronado (National Administrative Department of

Statistics, DANE, Colombia); Kô Fié Didier Laurent Kra (National Institute of Statistics, Cote d’Ivoire);

Lamiaa Mohsen Mohamed Elgebaly (Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, Egypt);

Phumlile Dlamini (Central Statistical Office Eswatini); Renice Akinyi Bunde and Robert C. Buluma

(Kenya National Bureau of Statistics); Osmonkulova Aigerim (Social Statistics Division of Bishkek City

Statistical Office); Zhyldyz Sherimbekova (National Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan); Noor Faadlilah

Ismail (Department of Statistics, Malaysia); Alejandra Ríos (National Institute of Statistics and Geography,

Mexico); Helge Brunborg (Statistics Norway); Sohail Jehangir and Saqib Jamal (National Database and

Registration Authority (NADRA), Pakistan); Haleema Saeed, Hana Al Bukhari, Mohammed Duraidi and

Dyala Ibrahim (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics); Henedin Palabras, Edithia Orcilla and Marizza

Grande (Philippine Statistics Authority); Venant Habarugira (National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda);

Munasinghe Liyana Arachchige Pushparani Gunaskara and Prajeewa Hettiyani (Department of Census and

Statistics, Sri Lanka); Thitiwat Kaew-Amdee and Chirawat Poonsab (National Statistical Office, Thailand);

Olena Shevtsova (State Statistics Service of Ukraine); Eric Jensen and Nobuko Mizoguchi (US Census

Bureau); Nicole Shepardson and Seth Perlman (US State Department); Alisher Rakhimov and Sanjarbek

Melikhujaev (State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics); Tran Cam An and Tran Khanh

(General Statistics Office, Vietnam); and Langton Chikeya, Rachael Rester Tsuarai and Timothy Mumba

(Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency).

From regional and international organisations, the following took part in the work: Samson Bel-Aube

Nougbodohoue (African Union); Giampaolo Lanzieri and Silvia Andueza Robustillo (Eurostat); Giulia

Tshilumba (International Organization for Migration (IOM)); Afsaneh Yazdani, Petra Nahmias and Tanja

Sejersen (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP));

Léandre Foster Ngogang Wandji (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN ECA)); Marwan

Khawaja (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN ESCWA)); Romesh

Silva and Renee Sorchi (United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)); Aina Helen Saetre, Anne Laakko,

Bongkot Napaumporn, Fernando Bissacot, Gert Bruininkx, Hyunju Park, Monika Sandvik, Olivia Gaceri

Mugambi, Radha Govil, Sadiq Kwesi Boateng, Sebastian Steinmuller, and Tarek Abou Chabake (United

Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)); Jan Beise (United Nations Children’s Fund

(UNICEF)); Vitoria Cetorelli (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near

East (UNRWA)); Vibeke Oestreich Nielsen (UN Statistics Division (UNSD)); Emi Suzuki (World Bank

(WB)); and Felix Schmieding (WB-UNHCR Joint Data Center (JDC)).

The work was coordinated by the Secretariat of the EGRISS, with special thanks to Mary Strode, Natalia

Krysnky Baal, Charis Oluwamayowa Sijuwade, Carolina Ferrari, Ronan Pros, Filip Mitrovic and Fabiana

Pineda Sosa. Financial contributions that made this work possible were generously made available by

UNHCR and WB-UNHCR Joint Data Center.

 
 
 
 
2 
 
CONTENTS 
 
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 1 
Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................................ 6 
Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 8 
A. NEED FOR RECOMMENDATIONS ON STATELESSNESS STATISTICS ................................................. 8 
B. PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................. 10 
C. COMPLEMENTING EXISTING STATISTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................ 12 
D. STRUCTURE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................... 12 
Chapter 2: Legal Framework and Definition of a Stateless Person ............................................... 14 
A. INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON STATELESSNESS AND THE RIGHT TO A NATIONALITY14 
1. International Legal Framework ............................................................................................................... 14 
2. UNHCR’s Mandate on Statelessness ...................................................................................................... 15 
B. DEFINITIONS ................................................................................................................................. 16 
1. Stateless Person ....................................................................................................................................... 16 
2. Person of Undetermined Nationality ....................................................................................................... 17 
3. Potentially Associated but Distinct Groups ............................................................................................. 18 
C. CONTRIBUTORY CAUSES OF STATELESSNESS .............................................................................. 19 
D. IMPACT OF STATELESSNESS ON IMPACTED POPULATIONS .......................................................... 21 
E. SOLUTIONS TO STATELESSNESS ................................................................................................... 21 
F. STATELESSNESS STATUS DETERMINATION .................................................................................. 22 
G. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................ 23 
Chapter 3: Statistical Definitions of Stateless Populations ............................................................. 24 
A. THE STATELESSNESS STATISTICAL FRAMEWORK ....................................................................... 24 
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 24 
2. Population Categories Included in the Statelessness Statistical Framework ........................................... 24 
3. Defining Population Categories in the Statelessness Statistical Framework ........................................... 26 
4. Impacted Populations not Included in the Statelessness Statistical Framework ..................................... 29 
B. ALIGNMENT TO OTHER STATISTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCEPTS ............................... 30 
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 30 
2. Citizenship, Nationality, and Statelessness ............................................................................................. 30 
3. Stateless Persons as Part of the Resident Population of a Country ......................................................... 33 
4. Statelessness and International Migration ............................................................................................... 34 
5. Statelessness and Migratory Causes of Statelessness .............................................................................. 36 
6. Statelessness and Forced Displacement .................................................................................................. 36 
C. STOCKS AND FLOWS OF STATELESS POPULATIONS ..................................................................... 38 
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 38 
2. Definitions of Stocks and Flows in the Demographic Context ............................................................... 38 
3. Stocks Within the Statelessness Statistical Framework .......................................................................... 38 
4. Flows Into, Out of and Within the Statelessness Statistical Framework ................................................. 39 
D. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................. 41 
Chapter 4: Statistics on Statelessness for Countries to Produce .................................................... 42 
A. BASIC CLASSIFICATORY VARIABLES ........................................................................................... 42 
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 42 
2. Basic Classificatory Variables ................................................................................................................ 42 
3. Linking Basic Classificatory Variables to the Populations Categories in the Statelessness Statistical 
Framework .................................................................................................................................................. 44 
4. Linking Basic Classificatory Variables to the Different Contributory Causes of Statelessness .............. 46 

 
 
 
 

 
B. STATISTICS RELATING TO STOCKS AND FLOWS .......................................................................... 48 
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 48 
Stock Statistics ........................................................................................................................................ 48 
Flow Statistics ......................................................................................................................................... 49 
C.  BASIC STATISTICS RELATING TO MEASURING CHARACTERISTICS OF STATELESS POPULATIONS52 
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 52 
Recommendations on Socio-demographic Analysis and Indicators of Statelessness ............................. 52 
The SDGs and Priority Indicators for Statelessness ................................................................................ 56 
Important Considerations for Analysis of Statelessness Data ................................................................. 59 
D. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................. 60 
Chapter 5: Data Sources and Data Integration ................................................................................ 61 
A. POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUSES ....................................................................................... 61 
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 61 
Description of Data Source ..................................................................................................................... 61 
Using a National Census for Measuring the Number and Characteristics of Stateless Persons .............. 62 
Existing International Recommendations on National Census ............................................................... 63 
Specific Recommendations on Modifying the Census Questionnaire to Collect Statelessness Data ...... 65 
Specific Recommendations on Ensuring Appropriate Coverage of Stateless Populations in Censuses .. 66 
Quality Considerations and Data Protection ........................................................................................... 68 
B. SAMPLE SURVEYS ........................................................................................................................ 70 
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 70 
Description of Data Source ..................................................................................................................... 70 
Using Sample Surveys for Measuring the Number and Characteristics of Stateless Persons ................. 71 
Existing International Recommendations on this Data Source ............................................................... 74 
Specific Recommendations on Modifying the Instrument/Questionnaire ............................................... 74 
Specific Recommendations on Ensuring Appropriate Coverage of Stateless  ........................................ 75 
Quality Considerations and Data Protection  .......................................................................................... 76 
C. ADMINISTRATIVE DATA ............................................................................................................... 77 
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 77 
Description of Data Source ..................................................................................................................... 77 
Using Administrative Data for Measuring the Number and Characteristics of Stateless Persons .......... 81 
Existing International Recommendations on Administrative Data Sources ............................................ 84 
Specific Recommendations on Modifying Forms/Instruments  .............................................................. 85 
Specific Recommendations on Ensuring Appropriate Coverage of Stateless Persons ............................ 86 
Quality Considerations and Data Protection ........................................................................................... 88 
D. DATA SOURCES DEVELOPED BY NON-GOVERNMENT ACTORS ................................................... 90 
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 90 
Defining Data Sources Developed by Non-Government Actors ............................................................. 90 
Citizen-Generated Data ........................................................................................................................... 92 
Using CGD Sources for Official Statistics .............................................................................................. 93 
Quality Considerations ............................................................................................................................ 94 
E. DATA INTEGRATION ..................................................................................................................... 95 
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 95 
Data Integration ....................................................................................................................................... 95 
F. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................ 98 
Chapter 6: Statistical Coordination and the Data Ecosystem ...................................................... 100 
A. WHAT IS COORDINATION AND WHY IT IS NEEDED? .................................................................. 100 
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 100 
What is Statistical Coordination? .......................................................................................................... 100 
Why is Statistical Coordination Important and What are the Prerequisites? ......................................... 101 
B. COORDINATION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL ................................................................................ 102 
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 102 

2. Existing Challenges in National Statistical Coordination on Statelessness ........................................... 102

3. Recommendations to Improve Statistical Coordination at the National Level ..................................... 103

C. COORDINATION AT THE REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS ........................................... 107

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 107

2. Challenges Concerning Statistical Coordination at the Regional and International Levels .................. 107

3. Recommendations to Improve Statistical Coordination at the Regional and International Levels ....... 108

D. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT ......................................................................................................... 114

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 114

2. Capacity Development Conceptual Framework .................................................................................... 114

3. Capacity Development Recommendations ........................................................................................... 115

F. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................... 118

References .......................................................................................................................................... 119

BOXES, FIGURES AND TABLES

Box 3.1 Citizenship and Nationality………………………………..……………………………32

Box 3.2 Place and Country of Usual Residence…………………………………………………34

Box 4.1 OSCE Handbook on Statelessness……………………………………………………...53

Box 4.2 SDG Goals, Targets and Indicators of Particular Relevance to Statelessness………….57

Box 4.3 Priority SDG Indicators for Displaced Populations……………………………………...58

Box 6.1 High-level Segment on Statelessness………...………………………………………...113

Figure 3.1 The Statelessness Statistical Framework……………………………………………..25

Figure 3.2 Conceptual Framework on International Migration and Coherence Between Flows and

Stocks…………………………………………………………………………………………….35

Figure 3.3 Statelessness in the International Migration Framework…………………………….36

Figure 3.4 Overlapping Population Groups: Stateless Persons, Refugees and IDPs…………….37

Figure 3.5 Flow Model for Stateless Persons and Those Without a Recognised Nationality

Status……………………………………………………………………………………………..39

Figure 3.6 Flows Model from Persons Without a Recognised Nationality Status (Category C) to

Persons With a Recognised Stateless Status (Category B)………………………………………40

Figure 6.1 The Various Levels of the Data Ecosystem………………………………………...115

Table 2.1 Contributory Causes of Statelessness………………………………………………….20

Table 3.1 The Statelessness Statistical Framework………………………………………………26

Table 4.1 Variables Required to Classify People in the Statelessness Statistical Framework……45

Table 4.2 Selecting Basic Classificatory Variables Based on Different Contributory Causes of

Statelessness……………………………………………………………………………………...47

Table 5.1 IROSS Recommended Variables for Analysis of Characteristics of Stateless Persons

Included in the UN P&R as Recommended Topics……………………………………………64

Table 5.2 IROSS Recommended Variables for Analysis of Characteristics of Stateless Persons

Included in the Major Population and Household Surveys………………………………………73

Table 5.3 IROSS Recommended Variables for Analysis of Characteristics of Stateless Persons

using Administrative Data Sources……………………………………………………83

ABBREVIATIONS

ACS

American Community Survey

ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

African Union

CCSA

CD4.0

Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities

Capacity Development 4.0 Framework

CGD

Citizen-Generated Data

CRVS

DESA

Civil Registration and Vital Statistics

Department of Economic and Social Affairs

DHS

ECOSOC

ECOWAS

Demographic Household Survey

Economic and Social Council

Economic Community of West African States

EGRIS

EGRISS

EICV

Expert Group on Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Statistics

Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics

Enquête Intégrale sur les Conditions de Vie des ménages

European Union

FDP

HBS

HIES

HMIS

HLS

IAEG-SDGs

ICCPR

ICT

Forcibly Displaced Person

General Assembly

Household Budget Survey

Household Income and Expenditure Survey

Health Management Information System

High-Level Segment

Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Information and Communication Technology

Identification Card

Information Technology

IDP

Internally Displaced Person

IOM

International Organisation for Migration

IRIS

International Recommendations on IDP Statistics

IRRS

IROSS

ISIC

JDC

International Recommendations on Refugee Statistics

International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics

International Standard Industrial Classification

Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement

JIPS

Joint IDP Profiling Service

LFS

Labour Force Survey

LSMS

Living Standards Measurement Survey

MICS

MRP

NADRA

Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey

Multilevel Regression with Poststratification

National Database and Registration Authority

NGO

Non-Governmental Organisation

NQAF

National Quality Assessment Framework

NSDS

National Strategy for the Development of Statistics

NSO

NSS

National Statistical Office

National Statistical System

OECD

OSCE

PARIS21

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe

The Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21

Century

RDS

Respondent Driven Sampling

SDG

Sustainable Development Goal

SDP

SILC

UNECA

Statelessness Determination Procedure

Statistics on Income and Living Conditions Survey

United Nations

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

UNECE

UNFPA

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

United Nations Population Fund

UNESCAP

UNESCWA

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

UNHCR

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNICEF

UN LIA

UN P&R

UNRWA

UNSC

United Nations Children’s Fund

United Nations Legal Identity Agenda

United Nations Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing

Censuses

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

United Nations Statistical Commission

UNSD

VNR

WASH

United Nations Statistics Division

Voluntary National Review

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

World Bank

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1. The International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics (IROSS) present a

comprehensive set of recommendations for how countries should produce statistics on

statelessness. This includes a statistical framework and guidance on how this should be

operationalised in specific national contexts, including through the use of different data sources

and practical guidance to strengthen statistical coordination.

2. The introductory chapter aims to contextualise this effort and introduce the rationale of the

development of these recommendations. It outlines key challenges regarding the production of

statelessness statistics, describes how the recommendations were developed, highlights key

linkages to other international statistical guidelines and presents a summary of the structure of the

recommendations that follow to help guide readers.

A. NEED FOR RECOMMENDATIONS ON STATELESSNESS STATISTICS

3. A stateless person is someone “who is not considered a national by any state under the

operation of its law”.

Where a person lacks any nationality, he or she cannot enjoy the rights and

protections offered to citizens, limiting their access to healthcare, education, formal employment,

participation in elections and travel. This legal definition provides the basis for the statistical

definition of stateless persons used throughout the recommendations (see Chapters 2 and 3 for

more details). The nature of the definition itself speaks to the current challenges in existing official

statistics on statelessness.

4. Currently, the global estimated number of stateless persons sits at 4.3 million.

However,

this figure underestimates the number of stateless persons due to its reliance on incomplete national

data.

The definitions, concepts and classifications employed to measure statelessness statistics

reflect country-specific legislation, policies and practices and therefore are not globally

harmonised. The variation in the methods of data collection, compilation and presentation at

national levels further limits the comparability of statelessness statistics internationally.

Additionally, the lack of recognition of stateless persons and subsequent under-reporting of this

group further contributes to the statelessness data gap. Consequently, statistics produced by

different countries differ tremendously in availability, quality and accuracy.

5. Data concerning stateless populations are often collected through administrative systems,

which contain data on stateless persons as a result of their interactions with national authorities.

However, the lack of legal status and societal marginalisation experienced by stateless populations

UN General Assembly, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 28 September 1954, United Nations, Treaty

Series, vol. 360, p. 117 (available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3840.html).

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNHCR Global Trends 2021: Forced Displaced in 2021, June 2022

(available at: https://www.unhcr.org/62a9d1494/global-trends-report-2021). UNHCR compiles figures on statelessness to include

both stateless persons and persons with “undetermined nationality”.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNHCR Statistical Reporting on Statelessness, October 2019 (available at:

https://www.unhcr.org/en-in/statistics/unhcrstats/5d9e182e7/unhcr-statistical-reporting-statelessness.html).

often discourage them from declaring themselves to government authorities or even identifying

themselves as stateless in anonymous data collection processes. In addition, some stateless persons

may not recognise themselves as such. Collectively, these factors create challenges for including

these populations in related data collection exercises. It is therefore anticipated that there are large

numbers of stateless or similar groups that remain statistically, or otherwise, undetected.

6. These factors may prevent national authorities from accurately estimating the number of

stateless persons and understanding their basic and ongoing needs. Insufficient data prevents

comparisons with other vulnerable groups and the monitoring of adherence to international

commitments. It also hinders the development of evidence-based policies that are necessary to

improve the living conditions of stateless persons and others impacted by statelessness.

7. Several international commitments, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

(Agenda 2030) and its commitment to leave no one behind

and the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Global Action Plan to End Statelessness (particularly

Action 10: Improve Quantitative and Qualitative Data on Stateless Populations),

and the UN

Legal Identity Agenda (UN LIA)

call for improved statelessness statistics; either as a means to

ensure the visibility of vulnerable populations within the broader development agenda, or, more

specifically, to better understand the causes and impacts of statelessness as a means to identify

national durable solutions. These calls are further supplemented by a growing interest among

States to collect more and better data on statelessness as highlighted during the 2019 High Level

Segment on Statelessness.

8. Despite these persistent statistical challenges on the one hand and numerous national and

international commitments to improve data on the other, no comprehensive set of international

recommendations on statelessness statistics is available. Although statelessness is a consideration

in existing statistical recommendations – e.g., Principles and Recommendations for Population

and Housing Censuses (UN P&R),

Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System

and UNHCR Reporting Definitions

– it is not comprehensively addressed. For example, the UN

P&R define stateless populations and provide guidance on how to capture stateless persons in

census. However, the recommendations provide inadequate guidance on how to distinguish

between those recognised as stateless by national authorities and those that are not, which is

important when trying to accurately capture the entirety of stateless populations in national

statistics.

United Nations, Leaving No One Behind: Equality and Non-Discrimination at the Heart of Sustainable Development, 2017,

New York (available at: https://unsceb.org/sites/default/files/imported_files/CEB%20equality%20framework-A4-web-rev3.pdf).

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2014-2024 (available at:

https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/53823).

See the UN Legal Identity Agenda (available at: https://unstats.un.org/legal-identity-agenda/).

Pledges were submitted by States during the High-level Segment on Statelessness, which took place in Geneva on 7 October

2019(full list of pledges is available at: https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/results-of-the-high-level-segment-on-statelessness/).

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, UN Principles and Recommendations for

Population and Housing Censuses (UN P&R), 2017, Revision 3 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-

social/Standards-and-Methods/files/Principles_and_Recommendations/Population-and-Housing-Censuses/Series_M67rev3-

E.pdf).

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Principles and Recommendations for a Vital

Statistics System, 2014, Revision 3 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/standmeth/principles/m19rev3en.pdf).

See UNHCR Reporting Definitions (available at: https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/methodology/definition/).

9. Therefore, the need to develop the IROSS was identified. These recommendations provide

guidance for national statistical authorities and their partners on the production and dissemination

of statistics on statelessness to improve the quality of these statistics at national level and, in turn,

strengthen globally consolidated data. In this way, the IROSS aim to facilitate the improvement of

national responses to statelessness by providing stronger evidence to support the development of

policies that identify durable solutions and aim to improve the lives and well-being of stateless

persons. It also aims to enhance global policy development and the support of the international

community to national responses, informed by more reliable and more easily comparable data and

statistics on statelessness and impacted populations.

B. PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE RECOMMENDATIONS

10. During the fifty-first session of the Statistical Commission in 2020, several delegations

acknowledged the need to develop standards on statelessness statistics and expressed their support

for the proposal presented by Kenya to further develop the IROSS. This work built upon previous

efforts initiated in 2019 by a group of subject-matter experts and affected countries who worked

on an initial draft set of recommendations in 2020-2021.

11. At the fifty-second Statistical Commission in 2021, the side event “Leaving No One

Behind: Improving Statistics on Statelessness” was aimed at informing the statistical community

about the current scarcity and weaknesses of official statistics needed to estimate the size and

characteristics of stateless populations globally. In November 2021, following a thorough review

process, the Bureau of the Commission agreed to update the terms of reference of the Expert Group

to adjust its name to the Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS)

and include work on statelessness statistics and the development of international

recommendations.

12. During the fifty-third Statistical Commission in 2022, the EGRISS submitted the technical

Report of the Expert Group on Refugee, Internally Displaced Persons and Statelessness Statistics

on Statelessness Statistics

for discussion. The Statistical Commission “welcomed the report …

and approved the overall structure of the draft IROSS”.

In addition, the Statistical Commission

highlighted areas for improvement and provided guidance on how to finalise the recommendations.

More specifically, the Statistical Commission encouraged the Expert Group to develop guidance

on the integration of different data sources, requested that the recommendations enable the

Experts met in Ankara (February 2019) and subsequently in Bangkok (December 2019) to discuss the need for developing and

adopting common standards and definitions to improve the quality and quantity of statistics about stateless populations.

Participants at the Bangkok meeting included experts from national statistical offices and line ministries, with 16 countries

represented from Asia, Africa and Europe (Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Pakistan,

Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zimbabwe) alongside staff from

eight United Nations and international organisations.

The Expert Group on Refugee and IDP Statistics (EGRIS) was established by a decision of the 47th session of the UNSC in

2016. (The Group’s Terms of Reference are available at: https://egrisstats.org/about/terms-of-reference/).

The Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS), Report of the Expert Group on Refugee, Internally

Displaced Persons and Statelessness Statistics on Statelessness Statistics, December 2021 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/53rd-session/documents/2022-10-StatelessnessStats-E.pdf).

United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC), Implementation of the United Nations Legal Identity Agenda: Civil

Registration and Vital Statistics, March 2022, Item 3f (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/53rd-

session/documents/2022-41-FinalReport-E.pdf).

measurement of stateless population characteristics and called on the Expert Group to provide

strong guidance on data quality, coordination and statistical capacity building for harmonised

reporting on statelessness statistics.

13. Guidance received from the Statistical Commission concerning the operationalisation of

the framework was addressed during a meeting in June 2022 with the EGRISS statelessness

subgroup members.

The subgroup meeting facilitated a collaborative environment where

subgroup members revised the statelessness statistical framework to ensure relevant populations

were adequately included, developed operational guidance on statelessness data collection using

traditional data sources and data sources produced by non-government actors, and proposed a

methodology to statistically capture the characteristics of stateless populations. Additionally, in

response to guidance received from the Statistical Commission, the group developed

recommendations to improve statistical coordination and increase statistical capacity at the

regional, national and international levels.

14. The UN Statistics Division (UNSD) facilitated a global consultation of the draft

recommendations in October-November 2022. The purpose of the global consultation was to

obtain the views of a wider group of stakeholders, including national statistical offices, civil

society, and regional and international bodies on the coherence, scope, coverage and applicability

of the recommendations. Through the global consultation a total of 38 feedback submissions were

received, including input from 31 countries.

Overall, the feedback received was positive,

welcoming the initiative to develop the recommendations and reflecting on opportunities to

improve data on statelessness at the national level. Concrete suggestions on how to further

strengthen the recommendations were also provided and have been addressed directly in the final

draft and/or as appropriate.

The completed draft of the IROSS therefore benefitted from the

collaborative effort of the EGRISS members and other contributors through the global

consultation; they are hereby submitted to the fifty-fourth Statistical Commission in 2023.

The EGRISS membership currently comprises 55 countries and 34 international and regional organisations, with work ongoing

to identify further participants. The EGRISS subgroup on statelessness worked collaboratively to address the guidance received

from the Statistical Commission. The EGRISS Statelessness subgroup comprises the following: Cambodia, Colombia, Cote

d’Ivoire, Egypt, Eswatini, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Rwanda, Sri Lanka,

Thailand, Ukraine, US, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, African Union, Eurostat, IOM, JDC, UN ECA, UN ESCAP, UN

ESCWA, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNRWA, UN Statistics Division, and World Bank.

The Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS), EGRISS Statelessness Subgroup Meeting to

Finalize the International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics (IROSS): Meeting Report, July 2022 (available at:

https://egrisstats.org/resource/iross-meeting-report/).

Feedback was received from the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia; State Statistical Committee, Azerbaijan;

National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus; Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Statistics Canada;

National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Ecuador; Federal

Statistical Office, Germany; Hungarian Central Statistical Office; Central Statistics Office, Ireland; Statistical Coordination

Department, Israel; Italian National Institute of Statistics; Kenya National Bureau of Statistics; Central Statistical Bureau of

Latvia; Statistics Lithuania; National Institute of Statistics and Geography, Mexico; Statistics Netherlands; National Institute of

Statistics and Informatics, Peru; Statistics Poland; Statistics Portugal; Planning and Statistics Authority, Qatar; Statistical Office

of the Republic of Serbia; Singapore Department of Statistics; Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic; Statistical Office of the

Republic of Slovenia; National Statistics Institute, Spain; Statistics Sweden; Swiss Federal Statistical Office; Department for

Planning, Development and International Cooperation State Statistics Service of Ukraine; United States Census Bureau; General

Statistics Office of Viet Nam; Civil Society Organisations; UNFPA; UNHCR; UNSD and the World Bank.

All the comments received during the Global Consultation have been addressed and responses documented (available upon

request).

C. COMPLEMENTING EXISTING STATISTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS

15. The IROSS build on and complement the International Recommendations on Refugee

Statistics (IRRS)

and the International Recommendations on Internally Displaced Persons

Statistics (IRIS),

presenting the third set of international statistical recommendations produced

by the EGRISS.

They also follow a similar structure to the IRRS and IRIS. The linkages between

these documents (identified in relevant places through the subsequent chapters) are important as,

collectively, they present a comprehensive approach to improve the quality of official statistics

produced by national statistical systems on refugees, internally displaced and stateless persons –

including consideration of existing overlaps between the relevant population categories (e.g.,

stateless persons who can also be displaced within/across borders).

16. The IROSS aim to situate statelessness statistics within the wider body of statistical

recommendations and processes by aligning itself with the Recommendations on Statistics of

International Migration,

the UN P&R, the Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics

System, the work of the UN Legal Identity Agenda Task Force,

and other relevant statistical

recommendations and processes that have been endorsed/supported by the Statistical Commission

(see Chapters 3 and 5 in particular). The IROSS build on these previously endorsed

recommendations by offering a more comprehensive set of guidelines on how national statistical

systems can better produce official statistics on statelessness.

D. STRUCTURE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS

17. The IROSS present a comprehensive statelessness statistical framework and provide

recommendations to support national statistical systems, and other relevant stakeholders, in efforts

to improve official statistics.

18. The remaining chapters of the recommendations are structured as follows:

• Chapter 2: Legal Framework and the Definition of Stateless Persons summarises

the legal context and presents the legal definition of stateless persons. The chapter

discusses how the definitions can vary and reflects on related legal challenges.

• Chapter 3: Statelessness Statistical Framework presents the statistical definitions of

the various population categories within the framework and outlines the stocks and

flows of stateless populations.

Expert Group on Refugee, IDP, and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS), International Recommendations on Refugee Statistics

(IRRS), March 2018 (available at: https://egrisstats.org/recommendations/international-recommendations-on-refugee-statistics-

irrs/).

Expert Group on Refugee, IDP, and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS), International Recommendations on Internally Displaced

Persons Statistics (IRIS), March 2020 (available at: https://egrisstats.org/recommendations/international-recommendations-on-

idp-statistics-iris/).

The Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS), Compilers’ Manual on Displacement Statistics,

February 2020. Once the IROSS is finalised and endorsed this manual will be updated to also address and incorporate

statelessness (available at: https://egrisstats.org/wp-content/uploads/BG-item-3n-compilers-manual-E.pdf).

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Recommendations on Statistics of

International Migration, Revision 1, United Nations, New York, 1998 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/seriesm/seriesm_58rev1e.pdf).

The UN Legal Identity Task Force (available at: https://unstats.un.org/legal-identity-agenda/).

• Chapter 4: Statistics on Statelessness for Countries to Produce outlines the basic

statistics that are recommended to produce stocks and flows and elaborates on the

necessary variables to measure the characteristics of stateless persons.

• Chapter 5: Data Sources and Data Integration provides recommendations on how

different data sources, and data integration techniques, can be used to capture

statelessness statistics.

• Chapter 6: Statistical Coordination and the Data Ecosystem discusses the

importance of coordination and the national, regional and international levels. In

addition, the chapter recommends methods to build statelessness statistical capacity.

CHAPTER 2: LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND DEFINITION OF A

STATELESS PERSON

19. This chapter provides an overview of the international legal framework which governs the

right to a nationality, and which provides the international legal definition of a stateless person.

20. This chapter does not seek to operationalise the legal definition of a stateless person for

statistical purposes. The statistical framework for statelessness is covered in Chapter 3 of these

recommendations.

A. INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON STATELESSNESS AND

THE RIGHT TO A NATIONALITY

1. International Legal Framework

21. In international law, the terms nationality and citizenship are used interchangeably and are

understood to refer to the legal bond between a person and a State. Although nationality in the

context of statelessness is not legally defined, the concept reflects a formal link, of a political and

legal character, between the individual and a particular State. This is distinct from the occasional

use of the term nationality in some countries or regions, where it is sometimes used to express

membership in a religious, linguistic or ethnic group.

22. The right to a nationality is enshrined in a number of international human rights

instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

the International Covenant

on Civil and Political Rights,

the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Racial Discrimination,

the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against

Women,

the Convention on the Rights of the Child,

the International Convention on the

Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

and the

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Under general international law, States

set the rules for acquisition, change and loss of nationality as part of their sovereign power. At the

same time, the discretion of States with regard to nationality is limited by obligations under

The term nationality is also understood differently in the context of the interpretation of the 1951 Convention Relating to the

Status of Refugees, where the term can also be understood as membership to a ethnic or linguistic group. For more information on

the use of the term nationality in the 1951 Convention, please see the UNHCR Handbook and guidelines on procedures and

criteria for determining refugee status, paragraphs 74 – 76.

UN General Assembly, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948, 217 A (III), Article 15.

UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1954, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 993, p.

3, Articles 16, 24 and 26.

UN General Assembly, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 4 January 1969,

United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 660, p. 195, Article 5.

UN General Assembly, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, 3 September 1981,

United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1249, p. 13, Article 9.

UN General Assembly, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 2 September 1990, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, p.

3 Articles 2 and 7.

UN General Assembly, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of

Their Families, 1 July 2003, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2220, p. 3, Article 29.

UN General Assembly, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 3 May 2008, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol.

2515, p. 3, Article 18.

international treaties to which they are party, customary international law and general principles

of law.

23. International treaties establish obligations for States relating to acquisition and loss of

nationality and to standards of treatment of stateless persons. The 1954 Convention relating to the

Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention) is the cornerstone of international protection of

stateless persons.

It provides the definition of a stateless person and establishes minimum

standards of treatment for stateless people. These include the right to education, employment and

housing, and guarantees stateless people the right to an identity, travel documents and

administrative assistance. The specific protection regime set out in the 1954 Convention is

complemented by the broader human rights instruments, which apply to all persons, regardless of

their nationality status. States have the primary responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil the

enjoyment of human rights of stateless persons under their jurisdiction.

24. Specific obligations relating to prevention and reduction of statelessness are established

under the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (the 1961 Convention) and in

regional treaties.

The 1961 Convention requires that States establish safeguards in legislation to

address statelessness occurring at birth or later in life. The 1961 Convention also establishes

obligations for States in the event of State succession. These provisions are complemented by the

comprehensive Articles on the Nationality of Natural Persons in Relation to the Succession of

States of the International Law Commission. As a general rule, the 1961 Convention also prohibits

the deprivation of nationality where it would leave a person stateless. There are very limited

exceptions to this rule, including where nationality has been acquired though misrepresentation or

fraud.

25. The international legal framework is further complemented by the standards contained in

several regional treaties. Regional treaties in Africa,

the Americas,

Europe,

regions covered

by the Commonwealth of Independent States

and the League of Arab States,

recognise the right

to a nationality and establish additional obligations for States Parties relating to the prevention of

statelessness (even in some cases for countries not Party to the 1961 Convention).

2. UNHCR’s Mandate on Statelessness

26. UNHCR is the UN Agency mandated by the UN General Assembly to identify and protect

stateless people and to prevent and reduce statelessness. UNHCR’s current mandate on

UN General Assembly, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 28 September 1954, United Nations, Treaty

Series, vol. 360, p. 117 (available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3840.html).

UN General Assembly, Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 30 August 1961, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol.

989, p. 175.

African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, 1999, Article 6 (available at: https://au.int/en/treaties/african-charter-

rights-and-welfare-child).

American Convention on Human Rights,1969, Article 20 (available at: https://www.icnl.org/wp-content/uploads/treaties_B-

32_American_Convention_on_Human_Rights.pdf).

European Convention on Nationality, 1997, Article 6 (available at: https://rm.coe.int/168007f2c8).

Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 1995, Article 24 (available

at: https://english.dipublico.org/469/convention-on-human-rights-and-fundamental-freedoms-of-the-commonwealth-of-

independent-states/).

Arab Charter on Human Rights, 15 September 1994, Article 29 (available at:

https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b38540.html).

statelessness was consolidated in 2006 by the United Nations General Assembly’s endorsement of

UNHCR’s Executive Committee Conclusion No. 106 on the Identification, Prevention and

Reduction of Statelessness and the Protection of Stateless Persons (Conclusion No. 106).

UNHCR’s mandate on statelessness is an equal part of its mandate and stands alongside its

protection mandate for refugees. The statelessness mandate encompasses a holistic approach to

statelessness, addressing both its occurrence and the protection of persons affected.

27. Relevant to the scope of these recommendations, Conclusion No. 106 includes specific

references to UNHCR’s work on improving the identification of stateless persons and persons of

undetermined nationality:

“(b) Calls on UNHCR to continue to work with interested Governments to engage in or

to renew efforts to identify stateless populations and populations with undetermined

nationality residing in their territory […].

and

(d) Encourages those States which are in possession of statistics on stateless persons or

individuals with undetermined nationality to share those statistics with UNHCR and calls

on UNHCR to establish a more formal, systematic methodology for information

gathering, updating, and sharing.”

B. DEFINITIONS

1. Stateless Person

28. The international legal definition for a stateless person is found in the 1954 Convention: “a

person who is not considered a national by any State under the operation of its law”.

29. In its 2006 Articles on Diplomatic Protection with commentaries, The International Law

Commission stated that the definition of a stateless person provided in the 1954 Convention is part

of international customary law, and is therefore binding on all States, regardless of whether they

are a State Party to the 1954 Convention.

30. Some of the key elements of the definition of a stateless person require further explanation

to facilitate its interpretation.

These key elements include:

“by any State”

The Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme. Conclusions on Identification, Prevention and Reduction

of Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons, 2006, no. 106, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/453497302.html.

See p. 49 of the International Law Commission, 2006, Articles on Diplomatic Protection with commentaries, which state that

the Article 1 definition can “no doubt be considered as having acquired a customary nature” (the Commentary is available at:

http://www.refworld.org/docid/525e7929d.html).

For a comprehensive overview on the interpretation of the relevant elements of the definition of a stateless persons, please

consult the Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, 30 June 2014, pp. 11-20 (available at:

https://www.refworld.org/docid/53b676aa4.html).

31. An assessment of whether a person can be considered stateless is limited to the States with

which the person has a relevant link, which include birth on the territory, descent, marriage,

adoption or habitual residence.

32. The definition of a “State” for the purposes of the definition of a stateless person is

informed by the application of the term in international law. Key criteria include a permanent

population, defined territory, government and capacity to enter into relations with other States.

Other factors that need to be assessed according to international jurisprudence include the

effectiveness of the entity, the right of self-determination, the prohibition of on the use of force

and the consent of the State which previously exercised control over the territory in question.

“not considered as a national… under the operation of its law”

33. For the purpose of interpreting the definition, the reference to “law” should be interpreted

broadly to encompass not just legislation, but also ministerial decrees, regulations, orders, judicial

case law (in countries with a tradition of precedent) and, where appropriate, customary practice.

34. Establishing whether an individual is “not considered as a national under the operation of

its law” is a mixed question of fact and law. An individual’s nationality or stateless status depends

not only on the law as written, but also as applied by the authorities of the State in question.

2. Person of Undetermined Nationality

35. The term person of undetermined nationality is not defined in international law. However,

UNHCR’s Executive Committee Conclusion No. 106, endorsed by the UN General Assembly

(GA) Res. 61/137 of 19 December 2006, called on UNHCR to work with governments to identify

stateless populations and populations of undetermined nationality, therefore the definition of this

population is also important to understand existing statistical practice.

36. The Executive Committee Conclusion further encouraged States to share available

information on populations of undetermined nationality with UNHCR and called on UNHCR to

establish a more formal and systematic methodology for information gathering, updating and

sharing. Since 2009, UNHCR has been reporting global statistics on the number of stateless

persons and persons of undetermined nationality.

37. For the purposes of identification and data collection, UNHCR defines persons with

undetermined nationality as persons in situations where a preliminary review has shown that it is

not yet known whether they possess a nationality or are stateless. This preliminary review is not a

formal government procedure to determine and grant a legal status. As such, apart from

governments, these preliminary reviews can be conducted by a range of stakeholders including

UNHCR, civil society organisation, academics and others. UNHCR only reports people as being

of undetermined nationality if the persons concerned:

• Lack proof of possession of any nationality; and

Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States, 1933 (available at:

https://www.ilsa.org/Jessup/Jessup15/Montevideo%20Convention.pdf).

• Have links to more than one State on the basis of birth, descent, marriage, adoption

or habitual residence; or

• Are perceived and treated by authorities in the State of residence as possessing links

which give rise to a claim of nationality of another State based on specific elements

such as historic ties, race, ethnicity, language or religion.

38. The term “persons with undetermined nationality” is used as a temporary identification

category and generally does not lead to the provision of legal status, access to protection or

services. It is expected that a more in-depth review of the situation of those in this category will

be undertaken to determine whether they have the nationality of a State or are stateless.

3. Potentially Associated but Distinct Groups

39. Being stateless is a distinct legal status and only persons meeting the criteria set out in the

definition provided in the 1954 Convention can be considered as a stateless person. Other

population groups, some with defined legal statuses, are often considered or mentioned in the

context of discourse on statelessness and may also be stateless but are not necessarily so. These

potentially associated but distinct groups include:

40. Refugees: According to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol,

a refugee is a person

“who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality,

membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his

nationality, and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of

that country”. Refugees can also be stateless but are not so automatically, as their country of origin

may still recognise them as nationals, even if they do not enjoy the protection of that country.

Likewise, stateless persons are not by definition refugees. However, stateless persons may also be

refugees if they have crossed an international border based on a well-founded fear for persecution

on the grounds set out in the 1951 Convention. Similarly, stateless persons may also be asylum

seekers if they submitted an application for refugee status and their claim is still being assessed.

41. Internally displaced persons (IDPs): Internal displacement describes the situation of

persons who have been forced or obliged to leave or abandon their homes and who have not

crossed an international border.

Similar to refugees, IDPs can also be stateless but are not so by

definition, it depends on whether they are recognised as nationals by a State.

42. Migrants: There is no international legal definition of a migrant, but for statistical purposes

the term is defined in the UN Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration as a “any

person who changes his or her country of usual residence”.

As such, a stateless person can

become a migrant when she or he leaves their place or country of residence, however, not all

migrants are stateless. In the context of statelessness, undocumented migrants are often discussed.

UN General Assembly, Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 31 January 1967, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 606,

p. 267 (available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3ae4.html).

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, 22 July 1998 (available at:

https://www.refworld.org/docid/3c3da07f7.html).

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Recommendations on Statistics of

International Migration, Revision 1, United Nations, New York, 1998 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/seriesm/seriesm_58rev1e.pdf).

Although in certain contexts, migrants who lack proof of legal identity may be unable to prove

relevant links to any country, may be at risk of statelessness, especially in combination with other

factors (see paragraphs 44 and 45), not all undocumented migrants should be considered as

stateless and further assessments are required to determine whether a person meets the criteria set

out by the legal definition of a stateless person. Nomads who migrate across international borders

and have links with more than one country may face similar issues when unable to prove their

nationality or relevant links to a country or countries. However, not all nomads without proof of

nationality/identity should be considered as stateless.

43. Documentation, especially nationality documentation, or the lack thereof is often also

discussed as a defining criterion for the determination of a person’s nationality status. In

international law, there is no definition of an undocumented person. Documentation which

establishes (part of) a person’s identity, or the lack thereof, can be important tools to assess a

person’s nationality, or lack thereof. As such, situations where a person does not have any proof

of legal identity which is defined as a credential, such as birth certificate, identity card or digital

identity credential that is recognised as proof of legal identity under national law and in accordance

with emerging international norms and principles,

can be related to situations of statelessness.

However, a recognised stateless persons can have a legal identity and documentation, and an

undocumented person, although perhaps (temporarily) unable to prove it, can be recognised as a

national by a State. Although proof of identity in certain contexts may be required to access

nationality (see paragraphs 48-49), undocumented persons are not by definition stateless. A careful

assessment of an individual’s situation is often required to understand whether an undocumented

person may be stateless if that person is not able to (re)acquire proof of legal identity.

C. CONTRIBUTORY CAUSES OF STATELESSNESS

44. Nationality is usually acquired at birth, automatically or following an administrative

process, either through descent (born to a parent who confers nationality to the child) or by birth

on the territory. However, several factors exist of which one or more can result in or contribute to

statelessness. Table 2.1 provides an overview of the main contributory causes of statelessness.

Table 2.1 Contributory Causes of Statelessness

Discrimination on the

basis of race, ethnicity,

religion or language.

The exclusion of certain groups or populations from the citizenry of a

State based on discriminatory grounds is linked to many (large-scale)

protracted statelessness situations. States can also deprive citizens of their

nationality through changes in law using discriminatory criteria that leave

entire segments of the population stateless. Most of the known stateless

populations belong to racial, ethnic, or religious minority groups.

UN operational definition of legal identity developed by the United Nations Legal Identity Expert Group.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), This is our Home: Statelessness Minorities and their Search for Citizenship,

3 November 2017 (available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/world/our-home-stateless-minorities-and-their-search-citizenship).

Gender discrimination in

nationality laws

Gender discrimination in nationality laws, and related administrative

procedures such as birth registration,

is another cause of childhood

statelessness. Currently, laws in 24 countries in the world do not allow

women to confer nationality to their children on an equal basis as men.

Consequently, when the father is stateless, unknown, missing or deceased,

unable or unwilling to take the steps needed to confer his nationality, the

child can be left stateless.

Gaps in nationality laws

If laws are not drafted in accordance with international standards or if they

are incorrectly applied, persons may be left stateless. Foundlings, or

abandoned children of unknown parents, in countries where nationality can

only be acquired through descent and for whom there is no legal safeguard

granting them nationality of the State on whose territory they are found, is

one example of such a gap.

Conflicting nationality

laws between countries

Conflicting nationality laws between countries can also pose risks of

statelessness for persons. Conflicting laws can leave persons with link(s)

to two or more countries who have conflicting nationality legislation not

being able to access any nationality. One example is a child born abroad in

a country where nationality is not granted solely based on birth on the

territory, and the parent(s)’s country of origin does not allow conferral of

nationality for children born abroad.

State succession and

changing borders

In situations of State succession and changing borders, people can be left

stateless when they are unable to access nationality of the successor State,

because nationality laws have been drafted in a restrictive manner, or the

individuals are unable to prove their link to the new country.

Loss or deprivation of

nationality

Statelessness can also be caused due to loss or deprivation of nationality.

When such legal provision depriving a person of their nationality are

applied automatically or without a safeguard against statelessness, persons

may be left stateless. For example, in some countries citizens can lose their

nationality automatically by operation of the law due to an extended period

abroad, even if this would leave them stateless.

Lack of proof of

nationality

Lack of proof of nationality may prevent a person from being able to

prove that they are a national of a State. Being undocumented is not the

same as being stateless but may present certain risks. A person who for

example does not have a birth certificate, may be unable to prove place of

birth or parentage, which are key elements needed to claim an entitlement

to nationality. Certain population groups can be left at risk of

statelessness because of their lack or inability to acquire proof of

nationality. This can include refugees living in protracted exile, border-

dwelling communities, and nomadic groups.

Administrative and

financial barriers

Due to specific administrative or financial barriers, a person may be left

unable to meet the administrative requirements necessary to access a

nationality that they legally would be entitled to, for example the inability

to access (late) birth registration due to administrative fines/fees which

See the UNHCR and UNICEF Background Note on Sex Discrimination in Birth Registration, 6 July 2021 (available at:

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/background-note-sex-discrimination-birth-registration).

For more information on gender discrimination in nationality laws, see the UNHCR Background Note on Gender Equality,

Nationality Laws and Statelessness 2022 (available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/6221ec1a4.html).

the parents cannot afford, children not being registered with the

consulates of the country of nationality of their parents, or in situations

where persons are unable to prove the nationality of their deceased

parents due to lack of documentation and/or poorly functioning civil

registration systems.

45. Causes of statelessness are very often context specific. A careful analysis of a countries’

history, legal and policy frameworks, and the links that individuals and groups have with other

countries is required to understand which factors are relevant to be assessed within a specific

country context. In many situations, one of the contributing factors to statelessness is enough to

leave a person or entire populations stateless (e.g., ethnic minorities being excluded by law from

accessing nationality) whereas in other situations, a combination of factors will lead to a person or

group being left stateless.

D. IMPACT OF STATELESSNESS ON IMPACTED POPULATIONS

46. Statelessness is, in simple terms, the lack of any nationality. The individual right to a

nationality has been recognised as part of international human rights law, further supported by

several regional human rights instruments. The right to a nationality, apart from being an important

human right in and of itself, often serves as a gateway to the enjoyment of other human rights in

practice.

47. Aside from being denied the right to a nationality, statelessness can have serious

consequences on all aspects of a person’s life and their family members. Stateless persons,

depending on the context, are often barred from accessing basic services and rights, lack economic

opportunities, and can be the victims of exploitation and abuse and arbitrary detention. Some of

the common consequences of statelessness include: a lack of socio-economic rights including

education, health care, formal employment, the right to own a business, access to housing, access

to social welfare systems etc. Stateless persons are also often barred from social and political rights

including the right to get legally married and political participation. Stateless persons may also

lack freedom of movement and to travel internationally.

E. SOLUTIONS TO STATELESSNESS

48. In simple terms, being stateless is the absence of a nationality. A number of actions can be

taken to prevent statelessness from occurring in the first place. The solution to statelessness is the

acquisition or confirmation of nationality of a State.

49. There are several ways in which statelessness can be prevented or resolved, including:

a. Through a law reform whereby the State in question closes legal gaps which lead

to statelessness and involves the inclusion of legal safeguards to prevent

statelessness (prevention).

b. Stateless people may acquire nationality through naturalisation. Some States have

specific provisions in place for facilitated naturalisation for stateless persons, in line

with the 1954 Convention, including shortened residency requirement and waivers

of administrative fees (acquisition).

c. Targeted nationality campaigns can be undertaken by States with the objective of

resolving the statelessness situation on the territory through the granting of

nationality. Such campaigns target longstanding stateless populations (acquisition).

d. Nationality verification procedures assist individuals who face difficulties

obtaining proof of their nationality status (confirmation).

F. STATELESSNESS STATUS DETERMINATION

50. For stateless populations in a migratory context, States are advised to establish a

statelessness determination procedure (SDP), which aims specifically at determining if a person is

stateless.

These procedures are conducted with the objective of identifying stateless persons and

granting stateless persons rights related to their recognised status.

For stateless persons who are

not in a migratory context, temporary protection status through an SDP is generally not

recommended, but rather access to nationality through grant, confirmation or verification are

preferred.

51. So far only a limited number of States

worldwide have established a SDP. However, there

is a growing interest among States to establish specific mechanisms for the identification of

stateless persons. During the 2019 High Level Segment on Statelessness, 33 States pledges were

made to implement a statelessness determination procedure by the end of 2024 or improve existing

procedures.

Even though these procedures are not aimed at collecting data on statelessness, they

can provide information on the number of recognised stateless persons in a migratory situation in

a given country.

In 2014, UNHCR published the Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, which advises on the modalities of creating

statelessness determination procedures. (This document is available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/53b676aa4.html).

The 1954 Convention does not prescribe any mechanism to identify stateless persons as such. Yet, it is implicit in the

Convention that States must identify stateless persons within their jurisdictions so as to provide them appropriate treatment in

order to comply with their Convention commitments. In addition, non-States Parties to the 1954 Convention should also identify

stateless persons in their territories given State’s commitments under international human rights law.

Countries currently operating an SDP include: Albania, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Ecuador,

France, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo (S/RES/1244 (1999)), Latvia, Mexico, Republic of

Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, the Philippines, Spain, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United

Kingdom and Uruguay.

These pledges were submitted by States during the High-level Segment on Statelessness, which took place in Geneva on 7

October 2019 (full list of pledges is available at: https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/results-of-the-high-level-segment-on-

statelessness/). Countries that made pledges to this effect include: Albania, Angola, Argentina, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica, Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-

Bissau, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Malawi, Mali, Montenegro, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Senegal, Sierra Leone,

Turkmenistan, United States of America and Zimbabwe.

52. Stateless populations in a non-migratory context remain in their “own country” and may

be referred to as in-situ populations.

To address the situation of such populations, States are

advised to undertake targeted nationality campaigns or nationality verification efforts (see

paragraphs 48-49). Solving statelessness through the grant or confirmation of these populations is

preferred over the grant of a (temporary) protection status as a stateless person.

G. CONCLUSION

53. The definition of a stateless person is clearly established as part of international law, and

as such forms the basis of the work of these recommendations. However, considering that most

stateless persons live without a formal recognition of their status, the legal definition alone does

not provide a sufficient framework to gather more and better statistics on statelessness. This

chapter of the recommendations therefore aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the causes

of statelessness and possible solutions, highlighting the need for often context-specific approaches,

and a clear distinction between stateless persons, persons of undetermined nationality and

potentially related populations.

54. This is presented as a basis for the statelessness statistical framework outlined in Chapter

3, and to inform the identification of classificatory variables and recommended statistics and

indicators presented in Chapter 4, which in turn inform recommendations on the use of different

data source and statistical coordination mechanisms. Thus, the legal framework provides a

foundation for the statistical recommendations on statelessness.

The phrase “own country” is taken from Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and

its interpretation by the UN Human Rights Committee.

CHAPTER 3: STATISTICAL DEFINITIONS OF STATELESS

POPULATIONS

55. To achieve internationally comparable statistics on statelessness, it is imperative to have

an internationally agreed standard statistical concept of statelessness, including relevant

definitions and classifications (i.e., a statelessness statistical framework). The aim of this chapter

is to present a statistical framework for statelessness for use by national statistical systems and

other stakeholders. The classifications (or population categories)

presented in the framework do

not correspond directly to the legal definitions set out in Chapter 2, given the need to simplify

definitions for data collection purposes.

56. The statisticians responsible for collecting statelessness data should be familiar with the

definitions and concepts used in official statistics. As statelessness is a legal and technical area of

expertise, the framework is accompanied by relevant definitions, explanations and concrete

examples related to the different population categories.

57. The statelessness statistical framework comprises two distinct population categories:

persons with a recognised stateless status and persons without a recognised nationality status. Each

group is further split between native-born and foreign-born persons when relevant. Given that it

will not always be possible to produce statistics for all these population categories, the statistical

framework provides an aggregate category that includes the summation of the others entitled

‘stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status’.

58. The chapter first outlines and describes the statelessness statistical framework, and then

goes on to describe the classifications therein. It then sets out key clarifications and necessary

alignment of the framework with other statistical frameworks and concepts before defining the

stocks and flows in more detail.

A. THE STATELESSNESS STATISTICAL FRAMEWORK

1. Introduction

59. The statelessness statistical framework aims to provide a clear and inclusive framework

covering all population groups that fall within the scope of these recommendations (see Figure

3.1). It provides a common framework for all countries to use, despite different causes of

statelessness across countries (see Table 2.1 in Chapter 2).

2. Population Categories Included in the Statelessness Statistical Framework

60. Two distinct population categories are included in the scope of these recommendations:

The terms ‘classification/s’ and ‘population category/ies’ are used interchangeably to denote the statistically defined population

groups within the statelessness statistical framework.

a. Persons with a recognised statelessness status, and

b. Persons without a recognised nationality status (including stateless persons without

a recognised statelessness status).

61. The recommendations include these two population categories, which both contain

stateless persons. All of the different causes of statelessness listed in Chapter 2 (see Table 2.1) are

relevant for both of these population categories. In some contexts, it will not be possible to fully

distinguish those who are stateless (without a recognised statelessness status) from those whose

nationality is unclear, therefore the framework also provides for an aggregate population category

which combines the two groups entitled ‘A) stateless persons and those without a recognised

nationality status’.

Figure 3.1 The Statelessness Statistical Framework

UNHCR currently reports on two distinct populations as part of its global reporting responsibilities on statelessness: stateless

persons and those of undetermined nationality. Since 2004, UNHCR has combined these two groups to produce global estimates

of statelessness given underreporting of both groups and complexities to communicate data on this topic (see

https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/methodology/). These two populations (and the possibility of combining them) are largely

retained in the statelessness statistical framework, although important adaptations have been made.

Table 3.1 The Statelessness Statistical Framework

Category

Native

born

Foreign

born

Link(s) to

another

country/ies

No link(s)

to another

country/ies

Clear

Citizenship

/Nationality

Status

A) Stateless persons and those

without a recognised

nationality status

Possible

Unclear

B) Persons with a recognised

statelessness status

Possible

C) Persons

without a

recognised

nationality

status

With link(s) to

another

country/ies

Possible

Yes

Unclear

Without link(s)

to another

country/ies

Yes

Unclear

3. Defining Population Categories in the Statelessness Statistical Framework

62. The statistical classifications (i.e., population categories) used in the framework represent

the best estimate of an individual's nationality status. As causes of statelessness vary from country

to country and depend on many factors (see Chapter 2), countries are advised to seek support and

advice from relevant experts to determine the factors that may cause statelessness in their specific

context. Such experts may include government lawyers, NGOs specialising in statelessness,

academics, UNHCR and other international organisations (see Chapter 6, paragraphs 328 and

329); in particular, given UNHCR’s mandate to support governments efforts to identify stateless

populations and persons of undetermined nationality, the Agency’s support is recommended (see

Chapter 2, paragraphs 26 and 27).

a. Stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status (Category A)

63. The ‘stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status’ population

category combines the two distinct population categories of the framework, ‘persons with a

recognised statelessness status’ and ‘persons without a recognised nationality status’. This

population category allows for the production of coherent statelessness statistics even where it is

not feasible to distinguish further. It therefore represents the first tier of the framework that

countries are encouraged to use for the production of official statistics.

b. Persons a with recognised statelessness status and persons without a recognised

nationality status (Categories B and C)

64. The second tier of the framework includes two distinct population categories, ‘persons with

a recognised statelessness status’ and ‘persons without a recognised nationality status’ which are

intended to reflect the degree of certainty of any individual's stateless circumstances and

simultaneously allow space for more/less granular reporting from countries depending on their

statistical capacities, resources and available data. They are defined as follows:

a. ‘Persons with a recognised statelessness status’ – includes individuals currently

without citizenship/nationality of any country. They are classified as stateless

through formal recognition by competent government authorities

in the country

of residence on an individual or group basis; this does not include those who only

self-report as stateless without formal recognition also being in place. This

population may be native born or foreign born.

b. ‘Persons without a recognised nationality status’ – includes individuals who lack

proof or recognition of any citizenship/nationality status but who may possess an

entitlement to nationality, and if so, could be assisted to obtain proof of nationality

by the relevant authorities. This group is further divided into those with one or more

link(s) to another country/ies, that are real or perceived by authorities, and those

who do not have any such link(s) (with “link(s)” referring to territorial link(s) or

link(s) through filiation or marriage – see paragraph 67) - category Ci and Cii

respectively. The former group may be native born or foreign born, whilst the latter

are (by definition) native born.

65. Persons with a recognised statelessness status include those who have been recognised as

stateless by the authorities of the country of residence, for example, following a formal

statelessness determination procedure conducted by State authorities. This population category

also includes those who may have been recognised as stateless on the basis of belonging to a group

considered to be stateless by the authorities of the country of residence without undertaking a full

individual status determination. In both cases, stateless persons will typically have their

statelessness status recorded in government registers and/ or may have official documents

indicating their stateless status (see Chapter 5).

66. Persons without a recognised nationality status includes those whose nationality status is

unclear or under dispute. It includes those who are stateless and who may self-identify as such, but

where their statelessness status has not been formally recognised by the government in the country

of residence, including those who are in the process of securing this recognition. It also includes

those without a recognised nationality status because of real or perceived link(s) to another

country/ies by the Government in the country of residence.

67. In the statelessness statistical framework, relevant “link(s)” to another country/ies include

territorial links such as birth in another country or habitual residence abroad, or filiation/marriage

link(s) such as descent, marriage or adoption. Those with link(s) to another country/ies (category

Ci) could include:

• certain minority groups,

‘Competent government authorities’ refers to government officials/institutions with the mandate and expertise to determine

nationality. See UNHCR Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons, 30 June 2014, paras. 27 and 28 (available at:

https://www.refworld.org/docid/53b676aa4.html).

• border-dwelling and/or nomadic communities,

• historical migrants and their descendants,

• refugees in protracted exile,

• groups living in countries formed as a result of State succession,

and

• undocumented migrants.

68. Those without link(s) to another country/ies (category Cii) include:

• those born to stateless parents and/or parents without a recognised nationality status

in countries where there is no legal safeguard to grant nationality to children who

would otherwise be stateless;

• abandoned children whose parents are unknown, in countries where there is no legal

safeguard to grant nationality to foundlings;

• those born in countries which do not allow women to confer their nationality to

their children on an equal basis as men,

where the mother is a national and the

circumstances are such that the father is unable or unwilling to confer his

nationality.

• those who have lost, or been stripped of, their nationality, for reasons other than

real or perceived links to another country.

69. The definition of ‘persons without a recognised nationality status’ diverges from the

definition of ‘undetermined nationality’ as outlined in Chapter 2. Those with ‘undetermined

nationality’ must have a link, whether real or perceived, with another State. However, there are a

group of people who do not have such a link with another country but who may be stateless (albeit

not formally recognised as such). This divergence has been introduced to reduce this gap within

the statelessness statistical framework that would have otherwise arisen affecting persons without

a recognised nationality status without links to another country/ies. One link to another country is

sufficient to satisfy the definition of link(s) to another country/ies and thus be categorised in the

statelessness statistical framework.

70. Within category C, persons without a recognised nationality status, the exact distinction

between those who are stateless and those whose nationality is unrecognised (or yet to be

recognised) can only be determined by a legal or administrative process conducted by national

authorities, who assess the evidence on a case-by-case basis for individuals or groups. For

example, the nationality status of someone without proof of nationality, who is perceived by the

authorities of the relevant State as having link(s) which might entitle the person to the nationality

State succession includes transfer of part of the territory of one State to another State, separation of part of the territory of a

State and formation of one or more new States, or dissolution of a State and formation of two or more States.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Background Note on Gender Equality, Nationality Laws and Statelessness

2022 (available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/6221ec1a4.html).

of another State, can only be verified once appropriate inquiries with the authorities of the other

State have been made. If the authorities of the other State also confirm that they do not recognise

the individual as a national, then the person will be stateless. However, in most cases, without a

formal statelessness determination procedure, it will not be possible to clarify whether the person

is actually stateless, even though they may be so (see Chapter 2, paragraphs 50-52). For this reason,

unrecognised stateless persons are included in the population category of ‘persons without a

recognised nationality status’.

c. Sub-division by country of birth

71. Each of the three population categories in the statelessness statistical framework is then

further split, when relevant, into sub-divisions based on whether the individual is native born (born

in the country of current residence) or foreign born (born outside of country of current residence),

in alignment with the disaggregation proposed in international migration statistics.

This

distinction is important because the recommended legal routes to obtaining nationality differ

according to a person’s place of birth and migratory history. Category Cii – those who are without

a recognised nationality status but do not have link(s) to another country/ies – is not further sub-

divided in this way as this group, by definition, cannot be foreign born as this would constitute a

clear link to another country.

72. The two categories are:

a. Persons who are native born, this includes people who are themselves native born

but who have one or two parents who are foreign born.

b. Persons who are foreign born.

73. In line with the Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses

(UN P&R), in circumstances where the country collecting data has been impacted by State

succession or boundary changes, the person should be treated as native born if they were born

within the boundaries of the current State.

4. Impacted Populations not Included in the Statelessness Statistical Framework

74. Beyond the population categories directly included in the statelessness statistical

framework are groups who have been impacted by statelessness but are not currently stateless.

These people (the ‘stateless-related population’) have a recognised citizenship (or nationality

status) and are therefore not currently stateless but have been impacted by statelessness or lack of

“Native born” corresponds loosely to the legal term in-situ, or non-migratory context; while “foreign born” corresponds to the

term migratory context used in Chapter 2. However, second and subsequent generations may be impacted by the migratory

history of their parents and grandparents. This issue will be explored in the Chapter 5. Readers familiar with publications relating

to statelessness will be more familiar with the legal terms, but here the intention is to fit the terminology used in official statistics.

United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) 52nd Session, Report of the UN Expert Group on Migration Statistics, 5

March 2021, Item 3g, E/CN.3/2021/1 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/52nd-session/documents/2021-11-

MigrationStats-E.pdf).

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, UN Principles and Recommendations for

Population and Housing Censuses (UN P&R), 2017, Revision 3, para. 4.67 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/Standards-and-Methods/files/Principles_and_Recommendations/Population-and-

Housing-Censuses/Series_M67rev3-E.pdf).

a recognised nationality status in their lifetimes and may still be impacted. People who fall into

this category include: people who were previously stateless or without a recognised nationality

status, children descended from stateless parent(s) and individuals who reside in a household with

at least one stateless person/person without a recognised nationality status. It should be noted that

this category includes groups that are not necessarily mutually exclusive from each other (e.g., a

child of a stateless person may also live in the same household as a stateless person).

75. As this category does not contain stateless persons it is not included in the statelessness

statistical framework. Moreover, given the nature of identifying concerned individuals presents

significant statistical challenges and the groups included are not mutually exclusive, it was not

deemed appropriate to include them in the framework despite similar categories being included in

the IRRS ("those with a refugee background") and IRIS ("IDP-related").

76. However, given the policy relevance of this group in many contexts to fully understand the

impact of statelessness on people’s lives by monitoring the welfare and socio-economic status of

those affected, they are referenced here to encourage countries and practitioners, where feasible,

to include them in statistics on statelessness. Precise criteria concerning who falls into this

population category should be determined based on national priorities, policy-relevance and

statistical capacity. Future iterations of the recommendations will aim to provide more detailed

guidance on how to collect data on those within the stateless-related population category.

B. ALIGNMENT TO OTHER STATISTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND

CONCEPTS

1. Introduction

77. Beyond describing the statelessness statistical framework and defining the different

classifications of populations that are included within it, it is important to clarify a number of

additional concepts and definitions. Moreover, highlighting how this framework is aligned to other

relevant current statistical recommendations will help countries to make use of this new framework

in practice. This section aims to clarify a) the use of the terms citizenship and nationality in the

statelessness statistical framework, b) the inclusion of stateless within the resident population, c)

the alignment of the framework to statistical recommendations on migration and d) on forced

displacement.

2. Citizenship, Nationality, and Statelessness

78. The concept of statelessness is based on the absence of nationality of any country (see

Chapter 2, paragraphs 28-34). However, determining the complete absence of a nationality or

eligibility for one is not straightforward in practice.

79. To be in the scope of these recommendations, a person must either have formal recognition

of their statelessness status or lack proof of nationality and be unable to claim or confirm their

nationality. Those without proof of nationality will be unable to claim or confirm their nationality,

due to real or perceived link(s) to another country/ies, or due to gaps in nationality laws. While

See paras. 93-94 of the IRRS and paras. 78-79 of the IRIS.

lack of proof of nationality can be an indication of possible statelessness, it is insufficient on its

own as a criterion to identify persons to be included in the scope of these recommendations (see

Chapter 2).

80. There are different usages and several definitions – in law and statistics – of the concepts

of nationality and citizenship (see Box 3.1). In these recommendations, the terms “citizenship”

and “nationality” are used interchangeably, with a predominant use of the term “nationality” (as is

done in international law and statelessness policy in practice). The term “national” is not intended

to denote any ethnic or regional sub-divisions of a State.

Box 3.1 Citizenship and Nationality

Citizenship and Nationality

In the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the concept of nationality is

not explicitly defined but is understood as a formal link, of a political and legal character,

between the individual and a particular State. More broadly, at the international legal level, the

terms citizenship and nationality are used interchangeably and are widely understood to refer

to the legal bond between a person and a State.

In statistical normative guidance, there are varying definitions of nationality and citizenship

and associated terminology such as citizen, foreign-citizen, national, non-national etc. Three

important examples are outlined below, clearly demonstrating a preference for the concept of

citizenship to describe the bond between a person and a State recognised by law:

• According to the Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing

Censuses (UN P&R) (2017, paragraph 4.110) the country of citizenship is defined as

‘the country an individual is a citizen of and with which the individual enjoys a

particular legal bond, acquired by birth, naturalisation, marriage or some other

mechanism. A citizen is a legal national of the country of enumeration; a foreign citizen

is a non-national of the country (that is, a citizen of another country or a stateless

person). Because the country of citizenship is not necessarily identical to the country of

birth, both items should be collected in a census’. Foreign citizens of countries not

formally recognised as States by the country of enumeration should be regarded as

citizens of that foreign country if they hold proof of citizenship.

• The Revised overarching conceptual framework and concepts and definitions on

international migration (2021, paragraph 56) provides a similar definition; here the

national citizen population stock refers to all persons who reside in the country of

measurement at a given time and hold citizenship of that country, and the foreign citizen

stock refers to all those residing in a country at a particular time who do not hold

citizenship of that country. Foreign citizen therefore includes stateless persons, although

the definition is potentially misleading.

• According to the Principles and Recommendations for Vital Statistics Systems (2014),

citizenship is defined as the particular bond between an individual and his or her State,

acquired by birth or naturalisation, whether by declaration, choice, marriage or other

means according to national legislation. It should be noted that citizenship does not

necessarily coincide with country of birth.

Further examples, from legal conventions and statistical guidance can be found at the regional

level. In these recommendations, the terms “citizenship” and “nationality” are used

interchangeably, with a predominant use of the term “nationality” (as is done in international

law and statelessness policy in practice), unless otherwise stated. Where citizenship is used,

this is primarily to ensure clear alignment with existing statistical recommendations and

practice.

3. Stateless Persons as Part of the Resident Population of a Country

81. Stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status form part of the resident

stock population of a country and should be included in national official statistics as such.

Exceptions would include temporary populations and stateless asylum seekers or nomadic

populations who do not meet the minimum residence duration requirements described below (see

Figure 3.3). These recommendations therefore apply to the resident population of a country

irrespective of their migration, nationality, or citizenship status and distinguishes between native-

born and foreign-born people when relevant.

82. A person’s country of residence refers to the country in which a person resided for most of

the last 12 months. For those who have recently migrated, the intention to live in a country for at

least six months and a day is the usual threshold used to determine the country of usual residence.

Temporary travel abroad for purposes of recreation, holiday, business, medical treatment or

religious pilgrimage does not entail a change in the country of usual residence. In some cases,

national standards for the country of usual residence may differ from the international

recommendations.

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, UN Principles and Recommendations for

Population and Housing Censuses (UN P&R), 2017, Revision 3, para 2.50 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-

social/Standards-and-Methods/files/Principles_and_Recommendations/Population-and-Housing-Censuses/Series_M67rev3-

E.pdf).

Box 3. 2 Place and Country of Usual Residence

4. Statelessness and International Migration

83. Whilst most stateless persons have never moved from the country in which they or their

ancestors were born, some stateless persons migrate or become stateless as a result of their

migration. According to the Revised Overarching Conceptual Framework and Concepts and

Definitions on International Migration, “An international migrant is defined as a person who

has changed her/his country of residence and established a new residence in another country”

(Annex II of Report). Stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status are

therefore only part of the “International migrant stock” within a country’s resident population

if they have changed their country of residence during their lifetime.

Migration flows refer

to changes in the country of residence over a specified time period and can include a person

of any nationality or nationality status (see Figure 3.2).

Whilst the Revised Overarching Conceptual Framework and Concepts and Definitions on International Migration explicitly

mentions ‘stateless persons’ this should be understood to refer to both recognised stateless persons and persons without a

recognised nationality status.

Place or Country of Usual Residence

The definition of usual place of residence as per the UN Principles and Recommendations for

Population and Housing Censuses is as follows:

“2.48. In general, usual residence is defined for census purposes as the place at which the person

lives at the time of the census, and has been there for some time or intends to stay there for some

time.

2.49. Most individuals enumerated have not moved for some time and thus defining their place

of usual residence is unambiguous. For others, the application of the definition can lead to many

interpretations, particularly if the person has moved often.

2.50. It is recommended that countries apply a threshold of 12 months when considering place of

usual residence according to one of the following two criteria:

(a) The place at which the person has lived continuously for most of the last 12 months (that is,

for at least six months and one day), not including temporary absences for holidays or work

assignments, or intends to live for at least six months;

(b) The place at which the person has lived continuously for at least the last 12 months, not

including temporary absences for holidays or work assignments, or intends to live for at least 12

months.”

This definition is also supported by the International Recommendations on Internally Displaced

Persons Statistics (2020).

Figure 3.2 Conceptual Framework on International Migration and the Coherence Between

Flows and Stocks

Image taken from the Report of the UN Expert Group on Migration Statistics

84. The same report – the Revised Overarching Conceptual Framework and Concepts and

Definitions on International Migration - classifies stateless persons and those without a recognised

nationality as “foreign citizens”. Classifying stateless persons and those without a recognised

nationality status as foreign citizens in this way may be misleading as most are native born and do

not have citizenship of any country, but many could have their citizenship of the country confirmed

in the future.

85. Limiting inclusion in the resident population for international migrants using a time

threshold may exclude important groups, such as those seeking international protection some of

whom may also be stateless.

86. According to the IRRS, the intention to stay for at least / most of a year not the individual’s

actual length of stay - should be used to include them in the resident population. For refugees and

others seeking international protection, who are also stateless (see below), the same should apply;

the intention to remain or likelihood to remain for at least six months should be used to determine

their usual country of residence and therefore their inclusion in the resident population.

87. Displaced people in transit to another country should be included in the temporary non-

resident population as recommended in the Revised Overarching Conceptual Framework and

Concepts and Definitions on International Migration. Globally, this concerns a small minority of

cases.

The statistical term country or place of “usual residence” should not be confused with the legal term, country or place of “habitual

residence” which refers to the country or place where a displaced person previously lived and is determined on both an objective

basis (presence over a certain period of time) and a subjective one (the ‘intention remaining’ or animus manendi). See para. 40 of

the IRIS for recommendations about country of residence relevant to displaced persons for whom identifying a country of residence

may be difficult.

Figure 3.3 Statelessness in the International Migration Framework

NB. Language used in Figure 3.3 aligns with the new international migration framework

5. Statelessness and Migratory Causes of Statelessness

88. Migration is a change in the resident population without reference to a person’s country of

birth, citizenship, or legal right of residence, usually measured statistically over a recent period.

Migratory causes of statelessness, however, differ conceptually from statistical definitions of

residence or international migration; this is because migratory causes of statelessness are numerous

and may include the person’s own migratory history or intergenerational factors or even

perceptions of these from the view of the State. In this case, people can be categorised at the

analysis stage as stateless due to migratory reasons (see Chapter 4, paragraphs 109-111).

89. It should be noted that native-born stateless or those without a recognised nationality

population stocks may also be impacted by migratory causes if their parents or grandparents

migrated. Data about parentage can be supplemented with information drawn from other sources

in respect of known ethnic groups who experience difficulty in obtaining nationality status to

establish the likelihood of statelessness (see Chapter 5, paragraphs 154-161 on census, 194-197 on

surveys and 235-244 on administrative data).

6. Statelessness and Forced Displacement

90. Those seeking international protection, refugees and asylum-seekers, as defined in the

IRRS, are within the scope of these recommendations only if they are also stateless or without a

recognised nationality status. All refugees, and others seeking international protection, who are

also stateless should be included in both statelessness estimates and refugee estimates; however,

this double counting should be clearly indicated (see Figure 3.4).

91. Similarly, IDPs, as defined in the IRIS, are within the scope of these recommendations

only if they are also stateless or without a recognised nationality status. All IDPs, who are also

stateless, should be included in both statelessness estimates and IDP estimates; however, this

double counting should be clearly indicated (see Figure 3.4).

Figure 3.4 Overlapping Population Groups: Stateless Persons, Refugees and IDPs

C. STOCKS AND FLOWS OF STATELESS POPULATIONS

1. Introduction

92. Statistics on recognised stateless and those without a recognised nationality status can be

measured as stocks and flows. This section first defines stocks and flows and then elaborates how

these should be formulated in relation to the population categories included in the statelessness

statistical framework described above.

2. Definitions of Stocks and Flows in the Demographic Context

93. A stock is a static measure of a population with a specific characteristic in a given country

at a particular point in time (also called the reference date). The population holding a specific

characteristic is usually counted/estimated at mid-year (30 June), end of year (31 December), or

beginning of year (1 January).

94. In contrast, a flow is a dynamic measure, counting the size of a population that acquired or

lost the characteristic within a specific period, which is usually one year or shorter but can be

longer if flows are small. Flows have a directional component: they can be counted as inflow

(people entering the population of interest) and outflow (people exiting the population of interest).

The difference between inflow and outflow is called net-flow and can have a positive (more inflow

than outflow) or negative (less inflow than outflow) value. In the context of statelessness, flows

include regular demographic characteristics (e.g. birth, death…) and characteristics specific to the

classifications within the framework (e.g. acquisition/confirmation of nationality) – (see Figure

3.5 below).

3. Stocks Within the Statelessness Statistical Framework

95. The total stock of the stateless population in the scope of the recommendations is:

a. The total stock of A) stateless persons and those without a recognised

nationality status: total number of people with a recognised statelessness status

and those without a recognised nationality status in a country at a specific point in

time.

96. This total stock is the sum of the following components:

b. The total stock of B) persons with a recognised statelessness status: total

number of recognised stateless people in a country at a specific point in time,

including the native-born and the foreign-born recognised stateless population.

c. The total stock of C) persons without a recognised nationality status: total

number of people without a recognised nationality status in a country at a specific

point in time, including those with and without link(s) to another country/ies.

The

total stock includes:

Where relevant, in countries with established SDPs, this stock figure will include those with a pending outcome/decision.

ii. Stock of foreign-born people without a recognised nationality

status and link(s), real or perceived to another country/ies.

iii. Stock of native-born people without a recognised nationality status

with/without real or perceived link(s) to another country/ies.

4. Flows Into, Out of and Within the Statelessness Statistical Framework

97. Similar factors contribute to the flows of persons with a recognised statelessness status and

those without a recognised nationality status into/out of the resident population (see Figure 3.5).

Moreover, due to data and/or capacity limitations, it may not be possible to model all in/outflows

for all population categories and sub-categories in the statelessness statistical framework. For

example, in some contexts it will only be possible to produce flow statistics for category A, and in

others only for category B. Here, to accommodate for the majority of contexts, the inflows and

outflows are outlined for the combined population category A of ‘stateless persons and those

without a recognised nationality status’.

Figure 3.5 Flows Model for Stateless Persons and Those Without a Recognised Nationality

Status

a. Inflows

98. Population inflows of ‘stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status’

represent the number of people entering this population within a specific period of time, usually

one calendar year (see Figure 3.5). The inflow can be international or national as follows:

a. International inflow includes:

i. The migration of people who arrive stateless or without a

recognised nationality status, into the country.

b. National inflow includes:

i. Persons who are born stateless or without a recognised nationality

status.

ii. Persons who lost or were deprived of citizenship and became

stateless or a person without a recognised nationality status.

iii. Persons who due to gaps in nationality laws, became stateless or a

person without a recognised nationality status.

99. Inflow to the ‘persons with a recognised statelessness status’ group (category B) from the

‘persons without a recognised nationality status’ group (category C) can also be calculated. This

movement occurs as a result of the SDP, where an individuals’ statelessness status is confirmed,

and they are officially recognised as stateless in a country, or through formal recognition of a

specific group as stateless (see Figure 3.6 and Chapter 2, paragraphs 50-52). If the former, the flow

may be relatively easy to measure as it would be captured in the related administrative data source.

If the latter, this flow may be hard to measure and is likely only obtained when there have been

changes in laws, regulations and processes that determined the status of individuals or groups of

people.

Figure 3.6 Flows Model from Persons Without a Recognised Nationality Status (Category C)

to Persons With a Recognised Stateless Status (Category B)

b. Outflows

100. Population outflows of ‘stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status’

is the number of people exiting from this population category within a specific period of time,

usually one calendar year (see Figure 3.5). The outflow can be international or national as follows:

a. International outflow includes:

i. The migration of people who are stateless or without a recognised

nationality status out of the country.

b. National outflow includes:

i. Deaths of people who are stateless or without a recognised

nationality status.

ii. Persons whose nationality is confirmed (i.e., proof of citizenship is

gained).

iii. Persons who acquire citizenship (i.e., through naturalisation).

101. A detailed list of tabulations and statistics on a) ‘persons with a recognised statelessness

status and b) ‘persons without a recognised nationality status’ that can be used in a national context

can be found in Chapter 4, paragraphs 115 on stocks and 116-124 on flows.

D. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

102. It is recommended that all countries use the statelessness statistical framework to collect

data and produce official statistics on statelessness, remembering that both category B ‘persons

with a recognised statelessness status’ and category C ‘persons without a recognised stateless

status’ include stateless persons. The aggregated category A ‘stateless persons and those without

a recognised nationality status’ is therefore included as the first tier of the framework. Efforts have

been made to align the statelessness statistical framework with other international statistical

framework, such as the international migration framework.

103. The population groups included in the statelessness statistical framework are derived from

but do not correspond exactly with the legal/policy definitions set out in Chapter 2. It includes

category A, ‘stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status’, category B,

‘persons with a recognised statelessness status’ and category C ‘persons without a recognised

stateless status’. Category C includes those with/without real or perceived link(s) to another

country/ies (Ci and Cii).

104. The stocks and flows of the population categories in the statelessness statistical framework

should be further sub-divided into native born or foreign born, when relevant, to align with the

proposed Conceptual Framework, Concepts and Definitions on International Migration.

CHAPTER 4: STATISTICS ON STATELESSNESS FOR

COUNTRIES TO PRODUCE

105. This chapter outlines the recommended statistics on the populations included in the

statelessness statistical framework that may be adopted in the national context. The lists presented

are extensive, but not exhaustive. Not all of the statistics presented are relevant or realistic in every

context; the specific statistics and tabulations to be produced will depend on the priorities of each

country. Additionally, the ability to produce them rests on the types of information collected,

available data sources as well as the statistical capacity of the country.

106. This chapter first (Section A) presents a list of basic and supplementary classificatory

variables and then goes on to link the classificatory variables to the different causes of

statelessness. Second (Section B) it outlines basic statistics that are recommended to be produced

for stocks and flows. Third (Section C) it elaborates on recommended statistics for measuring the

characteristics – primarily demographic and socio-economic characteristics – of population groups

included in the statelessness statistical framework. It further identifies a list of Sustainable

Development Goal (SDG) indicators that are of particular relevance to statelessness and highlights

important considerations relevant for analysis of statelessness characteristics.

A. BASIC CLASSIFICATORY VARIABLES

1. Introduction

107. This section builds on Chapter 3 and presents a list of basic classificatory variables that

can be used to classify individuals in the statelessness statistical framework. In addition, this

section links the different causes of statelessness to the basic classificatory variables. The precise

list of classificatory variables needed to identify the causes of statelessness will depend on the

national context.

2. Basic Classificatory Variables

108. The basic classificatory variables are the variables required to classify people into the

appropriate population categories within the statelessness statistical framework. As they serve to

classify individuals within the framework, all should be populated at the individual level.

109. The precise list of classificatory variables required will differ according to the specific

national context and the locally relevant causes of statelessness. For this reason, the list provided

below is intentionally extensive in order to provide adequate guidance to a global audience; the

list can be used as a starting point to identify and select the classificatory variables needed in each

specific context. Paragraphs 110 and 111 present the basic classificatory variables aligned to the

statelessness statistical framework; the list in paragraph 110 includes basic classificatory variables

that are required in most contexts (most common basic classificatory variables) whilst paragraph

111 presents a further list that could be relevant in some specific national contexts to classify

people within the framework (less common basic classificatory variables). Not all variables will

be available and/or relevant in every context; this extensive list is provided given the varying

contributory causes of statelessness around the world. Chapter 5 considers how they can be

captured using different data sources (see paragraphs 154-161 on census, 194-197 on surveys and

235-244 on administrative data).

110. The most common basic classificatory variables are:

i. Citizenship/nationality status

The existence/lack of (or the lack of proof of) citizenship/nationality status of an

individual is the most basic classificatory variable for the statelessness statistical

framework. Possible options for this variable include a) clear citizenship/clear

nationality status; b) recognised statelessness status; or c) unknown / lack of proof

of citizenship/nationality status. Depending on the data source (or combination of

data sources) used, these different options would impact classification in different

ways (see Chapter 5).

• In order to be classified in population category B (persons with a

recognised statelessness status) a recognised statelessness status would

be the necessary and sufficient condition (i.e., citizenship/nationality

status = recognised stateless).

• In order to be classified in population category C (persons without a

recognised nationality status), having unknown/ lack of proof of

citizenship/nationality status is the necessary but insufficient condition

for individuals to fall within this group. The sufficient condition – the

inability to obtain citizenship/nationality – is difficult to directly

measure and would vary across different national contexts due to the

different contributory causes of statelessness. The lack of proof of

citizenship/nationality would therefore need to be combined with a

selection of the below variables to fully capture the sufficient condition

to be appropriately classified in category C, many of which are proxy

measures given the impossibility of direct measurement of the inability

to obtain citizenship/nationality.

ii. Country of birth

iii. Documentation (including birth certificates, IDs, passports etc.)

iv. Immigration status/right of residence

v. Ethnicity (or religion or language group if necessary)

vi. Country of birth of parent(s)

vii. Citizenship/nationality status of parent(s)

viii. Ethnicity of parent(s) (or religion or language group if necessary)

This will depend on the country context and will likely be a document which can confirm a person’s identity. Collection of

data on the possession of documents such as a national ID card, passport or other relevant documentation would be helpful, if it

can be done without increasing interviewer costs or increasing non-response rates.

ix. Citizenship/nationality status of spouse

111. The less common basic classificatory variables are:

x. Age or date of birth

xi. Sex

xii. Sex of parent(s)

xiii. Marital status

xiv. Marital status of parent(s)

xv. Documentation of parent(s) (see iii above)

xvi. Country of birth of grandparent(s)

xvii. Citizenship/nationality status of grandparent(s)

xviii. Previous citizenship status and/or residence status

xix. Date of first arrival in country/total duration of residence in the country (if foreign

born) or date became stateless (if native born)

xx. Country of previous usual residence abroad (if foreign born)

xxi. Total duration of residence in the previous country of usual residence (if foreign

born)

xxii. Former citizenship status and/or residence status in previous country of usual

residence (if foreign born)

xxiii. Reason for migration (including forced displacement) for foreign-born migrants to

determine the displaced population

xxiv. Geographic location of residence, (administrative level determined by country)

xxv. Survival of parent(s)/known whereabouts of parent(s) – to provide the information

needed by individuals for determining one’s nationality, and for foundlings and

children without proof of identity

3. Linking Basic Classificatory Variables to the Populations Categories in the Statelessness

Statistical Framework

112. Table 4.1 shows how different combinations of the variables listed above may be used to

classify persons within the different population categories of the statelessness statistical framework

(Chapter 3, paragraphs 60-73). The precise list of variables needed to identify the nationally

relevant link(s) to another country/ies would need to be determined in the national context with

guidance from relevant statelessness experts. The table draws from the list of the ‘most common’

Linked to inflow b(iii) in paragraph 103.

See the IRRS para 133. Usually this is asked for specific time period.

basic classificatory variables, however given the nature of determining real/perceived link(s) to

another country/ies will vary, in some contexts variables from the ‘less common’ list could be

more relevant.

Table 4.1 Variables Required to Classify People in the Statelessness Statistical Framework

Sub-category

Variables needed for classification

A) Stateless

persons and

those without

a recognised

nationality

status

B) Persons

with a

recognised

statelessness

status

Native born

• Citizenship/nationality status:

recognised by authorities as

stateless

• Country of birth: country of

current residence

Foreign born

• Citizenship/nationality status:

recognised by authorities as

stateless

• Country of birth: a foreign

country

C) Persons

without a

recognised

nationality

status

Ci) With

link(s) to

another

country/ies

Native

born

• Citizenship/nationality status:

not proven or unknown

• Country of birth: country of

current residence

• Documentation (including birth

certificates, IDs, passports etc.):

none or insufficient to prove

nationality

• This would need to be combined

with variables to identify LINK(S)

(territorial link(s) and/or link(s)

through filiation or marriage)

which could include the following:

Country of birth of parent(s): at

least one foreign born

Citizenship/nationality status of

parent(s): at least one foreign

parent

Citizenship/nationality status of

spouse: foreign or unknown

Ethnicity: ethnic group

Foreign

born

• Citizenship/nationality status:

not proven or unknown

• Country of birth: equals a foreign

country

• Documentation (including birth

certificate, IDs, passports etc.):

none or insufficient to prove

nationality

• This would need to be combined

with variables to identify LINK(S)

(territorial link(s) and/or link(s)

through filiation or marriage)

which could include the same list

as above.

Cii) Without

link(s) to

another

country/ies

Native

born

• Citizenship/ nationality status:

not proven or unknown

• Country of birth: country of

current residence

• Documentation (including birth

certificate, IDs, passports etc.):

none or insufficient to prove

nationality

• This would need to be combined

with variables to identify NO

LINK(S) (territorial link(s) and/or

link(s) through filiation or

marriage) which could include the

following:

Country of birth of parent(s):

country of residence or unknown

Citizenship/nationality status of

parent(s): country of residence or

unknown

Ethnicity: ethnic group

4. Linking Basic Classificatory Variables to the Different Contributory Causes of Statelessness

113. As outlined in Chapter 2 (Table 2.1), there are various contributory causes of statelessness

specific to each national context. Table 4.2 set outs a non-exhaustive list of basic classificatory

variables listed above that may be selected to help identify individuals who should be included in

statelessness statistics depending on the contributory causes of statelessness in a given context.

The citizenship/nationality variable is relevant for all population categories, as described above

(paragraph 110 and Table 4.1) and applies to all contributory causes of statelessness, therefore is

not included in the table below. Instead, the table presents a list of possible variables that may be

relevant to identify individuals that should be included in the framework either due to their real or

perceived link(s) to another country/ies (category Ci), or when relevant gaps in nationality laws

exist (category Cii). One link to another country is sufficient to satisfy the definition of link(s) to

another country/ies and thus be categorised in the framework (see Chapter 3). The precise list of

variables needed would need to be determined in the national context with guidance from relevant

statelessness experts.

Table 4.2 Selecting Basic Classificatory Variables Based on Different Contributory Causes

of Statelessness

Contributory causes of

statelessness

Possible classificatory variables of relevance

Discrimination on the basis

of race, ethnicity, religion

or language.

- Ethnicity (including of parent(s))

- Religion (including of parent(s))

- Language (including of parent(s))

- Country of previous usual residence abroad (if foreign born)

Gender discrimination in

nationality laws

- Country of birth

- Sex of parent(s)

- Marital status

- Marital status parents

- Citizenship/nationality status of parent(s)

- Documentation (including birth certificates, IDs, passports etc.)

- Survival/known whereabouts of parent(s) – to provide the

information needed by individuals for determining one’s

nationality

Gaps in nationality laws

- Documentation (including birth certificates, IDs, passports etc.)

- Country of birth

- Age or date of birth

- Citizenship/nationality status of parent(s)/grandparent(s)

- Immigration status/right to residence

- Date of first arrival in country/total duration of residence in the

country (if foreign born)

- Ethnicity

Conflicting nationality laws

between countries

- Age or date of birth

- Country of birth

- Country of previous usual residence abroad (if foreign born)

- Date of first arrival in country/total duration of residence in the

country (if foreign born)

- Total duration of residence in the previous country of usual

residence (if foreign born)

- Citizenship/nationality status of parent(s)/grandparent(s)

- Marital status

- Citizenship/nationality status spouse

State succession and

changing borders

- Previous citizenship status and/or residence status

- Documentation (including birth certificates, IDs, passports etc.)

- Age or date of birth

- Country of birth

- Ethnicity (or religion or language group if applicable)

- Geographic location of residence, (administrative level determined

by country) for identification of those living in disputed border

areas or pastoralist territory

Loss or deprivation of

nationality

- Country of birth

- Previous citizenship status

- Immigration status/right to residence

- Marital status

- Citizenship/nationality status spouse

- Citizenship/nationality status of parent(s)

Lack of proof of nationality

- Country of birth

- Documentation (including birth certificates, IDs, passports etc.)

- Country of birth of parent(s)

- Citizenship/nationality status of parent(s)

- Citizenship/nationality status of grandparent(s)

- Citizenship/nationality status of spouse

- Ethnicity (or religion or language group if applicable)

Administrative and

financial barriers

- Documentation (including birth certificates, IDs, passports etc.)

- Geographic location of residence, (administrative level determined

by country)

- Ethnicity (or religion or language group if applicable)

- Immigration status/right to residence

- Survival/known whereabouts of parent(s) – to provide the

information needed by individuals for determining one’s

nationality

B. STATISTICS RELATING TO STOCKS AND FLOWS

1. Introduction

114. This section proposes statistics that should be produced on the populations included in

statelessness statistical framework as they relate to stocks and flows of: a) ‘persons with a

recognised statelessness status’ and b) ‘persons without a recognised nationality status’. It builds

on Chapter 3 and contains two sub-sections which cover (1) stock statistics and (2) flow statistics.

The sub-sections each provides a list of basic statistics and key indicators that can be potentially

derived by countries. Recommended disaggregations are highlighted within the list of statistics,

however, data protection principles and disclosure risks should be taken into consideration

especially in contexts where smaller population groups are concerned.

2. Stock Statistics

115. The most basic stock statistics to be derived are the counts of each population category

included in the statelessness statistical framework (see Chapter 3 paragraphs 60-73). These

estimates should be disaggregated (cross-tabulated) by sex and age or age groups and, when

relevant, by country of birth and ethnicity or other relevant variable as outlined below.

Depending on the data source used, ideally, these statistics should be produced on an annual basis

or more frequently if required. The recommended statistics are:

Other relevant disaggregation variables may be identified in specific national contexts. Displacement status (IDPs,

refugees/asylum-seekers, not displaced) may be especially relevant in contexts where displaced populations are also impacted by

statelessness. Other relevant variables could include geographical location (including urban/rural) and key policy-relevant

characteristics.

a. Stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status (Category A)

i. Total number of persons who are stateless or without a recognised nationality status

in a country; disaggregated by sex, age or age group and ethnic group, or other

relevant variable

b. Persons with a recognised statelessness status (Category B)

i. Total number of persons with a recognised statelessness status in a country;

disaggregated by sex, age or age group and ethnic group, or other relevant variable

ii. Total number of persons with a recognised statelessness status in a country who are

native born; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

iii. Total number of persons with a recognised statelessness status in a country who are

foreign born; disaggregated by sex, age or age group and country of birth

c. Persons without a recognised nationality status (Category C)

iv. Total number of persons without a recognised nationality status in a country;

disaggregated by sex, age or age group and ethnic group, or other relevant variable

v. Total number of persons without a recognised nationality status in a country

without link(s) to another country/ies; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

vi. Total number of persons without a recognised nationality status in a country with

link(s) to another country/ies; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

vii. Total number of persons without a recognised nationality status in a country with

link(s) to another country/ies who are native born; disaggregated by sex and age or

age group

viii. Total number of persons without a recognised nationality status in a country with

link(s) to another country/ies who are foreign born; disaggregated by sex, age or

age group and country of birth

3. Flow Statistics

116. The most basic flow statistics to be derived are the counts of the flows into and out of the

population groups included in the statelessness statistical framework. The numbers should be

disaggregated (cross-tabulated) by sex and age or age group. These statistics should be reported

on an annual basis or more frequently as needed. It is recognised that in some contexts, the

proposed flow statistics will be challenging to produce.

117. For ease of calculation, flow statistics have been combined for native-born and foreign-

born classifications, however countries may decide to split these flow statistics. In addition,

countries may decide to combine flow statistics for a) ‘persons with a recognised statelessness

status’ and b) ‘persons without a recognised nationality status’ to produce flow statistics for

category A, following the approach taken in Chapter 3 (see paragraphs 92-101).

a. Persons with a recognised statelessness status (Category B)

118. Inflow statistics for persons with a recognised statelessness status are:

i. Total number of persons with a recognised statelessness status who have been born

in the country in a period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

ii. Total number of persons with a recognised statelessness status who have migrated

into the country in a period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

iii. Total number of the resident population who have had their statelessness status

recognised (due to deprivation of citizenship, status determination procedures or

gaps in nationality laws) in a period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age

group

119. Outflow statistics for persons with a recognised statelessness status are:

iv. Total number of persons with a recognised statelessness status who have died in a

period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

v. Total number of persons with a recognised statelessness status who have migrated

out of the country in a period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

vi. Total number of persons with a recognised statelessness status who have acquired

nationality in a period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

120. Where there are problems in obtaining the individual flow data for ‘persons with a

recognised statelessness status’, then partial inflow and outflow statistics could be provided; in

this case the revised flow definition and calculation should be clearly communicated.

b. Persons without a recognised nationality status (Category C)

121. To avoid an extensive list, inflow statistics for persons without a recognised nationality

status ‘with’ and ‘without link(s) to another country/ies’ have been combined below. Inflow

statistics for persons without a recognised nationality status are:

i. Total number of persons without a recognised nationality status who have been

born during a period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

ii. Total number of persons without a recognised nationality status who have entered

the country in a period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

iii. Total number of the resident population who have been identified to be persons

without a recognised nationality status in a period of time; disaggregated by sex

and age or age group

122. Outflow statistics for persons without a recognised nationality status are:

iv. Total number of persons without a recognised nationality status who have died in a

period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

v. Total number of persons without a recognised nationality status who have migrated

out of the country in a period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

vi. Total number of persons without a recognised nationality status who have acquired

nationality in a period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

vii. Total number of persons without a recognised nationality status who have had their

nationality confirmed in a period of time; disaggregated by sex and age or age group

123. Where there are problems in obtaining individual flow data for ‘persons without a

recognised nationality status’, then partial inflow and outflow statistics could be provided; in this

case the revised flow definition and calculation should be clearly communicated.

c. Combined flow statistics (Category A)

124. The below statistics will allow for the following combined flow-related statistics to be

produced:

i. Total number of persons entering the stock of stateless persons and persons without

a recognised nationality status during a period of time; disaggregated by sex and

age or age group

ii. Total number of stateless persons and persons without a recognised nationality

status who had their nationality confirmed or acquired during a period of time;

disaggregated by sex and age or age group

iii. Net-flow in the stocks of the population who are stateless or without a recognised

nationality status in a time period

Although this is a de-facto statistical inflow it is not an inflow in reality as it represents an estimate of people who were already

part of the resident population but who were not previously classified in this way.

C. BASIC STATISTICS RELATING TO MEASURING

CHARACTERISTICS OF STATELESS POPULATIONS

1. Introduction

125. As outlined in earlier Chapters and throughout these recommendations, statelessness is a

phenomenon that often has dire consequences for the affected individuals and groups. Being

stateless often limits access to birth registration, identity documentation, education, health care,

legal employment, property ownership, political participation and freedom of movement. Denial

of these rights affects not only the individuals concerned but also their families, communities and

society as a whole, because excluding an entire sector of the population may significantly impair

efforts to promote economic and social development, create social tension and fuel conflict.

126. Measuring the characteristics of stateless populations is therefore paramount for

developing effective national policies that aim to reduce/eradicate statelessness and

minimise/address the negative impact it has had/continues to have on affected populations and

communities.

127. This section develops recommendations for measuring the characteristics of populations

included in the statelessness statistical framework, including a list of recommended statistics

informed by analysis of relevant normative frameworks and analytical practice. Following this,

the section highlights the relevance of the SDGs for stateless populations and identified priority

SDG indicators in this regard. Lastly, some key recommendations are provided for effective

analysis of these characteristics that could be taken into consideration when selecting data sources.

2. Recommendations on Socio-demographic Analysis and Indicators of Statelessness

128. The 1954 Convention sets out a range of rights for stateless persons.

Various regional

frameworks, in particular in the European context, also identify specific topics and variables that

should be prioritised for measurement (for example the Handbook on Statelessness in the OSCE

Area

see Box 4.1 and the European Migration Network Inform on Statelessness in the European

Union)

largely in line with the 1954 Convention. At the country level, several studies make

recommendations on the indicators and variables which should be selected for analysis of data

about stateless populations.

UN General Assembly, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 28 September 1954, United Nations, Treaty

Series, vol. 360, p. 117 (available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3840.html).

Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE), Handbook on Statelessness in the OSCE Area, 28 February

2017 (available at: https://www.osce.org/handbook/statelessness-in-the-OSCE-area?download=true).

The European Commission, Statelessness in the European Union, 2020 (available at: https://emn.ie/wp-

content/uploads/2020/02/2020_EMN_Inform_Statelessness.pdf).

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Socioeconomic Survey of the Stateless Shona, 2019 (available at:

https://microdata.unhcr.org/index.php/catalog/282).

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Cartographie des personnes à risque d'apatridie en Côte d'Ivoire, 7 January

2020 (available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/615463624.html).

Box 4.1 OSCE Handbook on Statelessness

129. Based on the analysis of the 1954 Convention (see Chapter 2, paragraph 23) and other

regional frameworks, and due reflection on the SDG framework, the following variables for

analysis are recommended. The specific choice of variables will of course depend on a country’s

context – for example contexts which host large in-situ stateless populations may have different

information needs than those who host displaced stateless persons – and should be adapted

accordingly. However, the following list presents a good starting point to guide countries in this

decision. It is here assumed that the population concerned has been statistically identified and

therefore classificatory variables are not included (see above).

130. The recommended variables for analysis of characteristics of stateless persons are:

Demographic and Migration:

• Age or age group

• Sex

• Country of birth

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Handbook on Statelessness

The OSCE recommends an approach to tackling statelessness that is age, gender and diversity sensitive.

It suggests that in practice, the following should be taken into consideration:

“Age – people’s capacities and needs change over time depending on where they are in their life cycle.

Age influences and can enhance or diminish a person’s capacity to exercise his or her rights. Children -

especially those that are unaccompanied, or separated from both parents or their primary care giver - may

face acute challenges in communicating basic facts with respect to their nationality.”

“Gender – refers to the socially constructed roles of women and men that are often central to the way in

which people define themselves and are defined by others. Gender roles are learned, changeable over

time, and variable within and between cultures. Gender often defines the duties, responsibilities,

constraints, opportunities and privileges of women and men in any context. In turn, gender equality refers

to the equal enjoyment of rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women, men, girls and boys, and

implies that their respective interests, needs and priorities are respected. As a result of gender

discrimination, women may face additional barriers in acquiring relevant documentation, such as birth

certificates for themselves or for their children, or other identification documents that would be pertinent

to establishing their nationality status and that of their children.

Diversity – refers to different values, attitudes, cultural perspectives, beliefs, ethnic background,

nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, health, social status, skills and other specific

personal characteristics. While age and gender dimensions are present in everyone, other characteristics

vary from person to person. These differences must be recognised, understood and valued in each specific

context/ intervention in order to ensure that the equal the rights of all people are respected.”

• Ethnicity

• Religion

• Reasons for migration if migrated internationally (e.g., employment –

including military service, education and training, marriage, family reunification

or family formation, forced displacement, other)

• Years of residence in the current country of residence (for foreign born)

• Marital status

Education:

• Literacy

• Education level (e.g. highest level achieved).

Economic and property rights:

• Labour force status and status in employment

(e.g., employee,

unemployed, out of labour force etc.)

• Sector of activity/ industry (International Standard Industrial Classification of

All Economic Activities)

• Occupation (International Standard Classification of Occupations)

• Access to/possession of land

• Housing tenure

(e.g., rent, ownership etc.)

Living conditions:

• Poverty (poverty status) and material deprivation or wealth index

International Labour Organization (ILO), Conceptual Framework for Statistics on Work Relationships, 2020 (available at:

https://ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---stat/documents/publication/wcms_746768.pdf).

International Labour Organization (ILO), International Classifications of Status in Employment and Status at Work (ICSE and

ICSaW) (available at: https://ilostat.ilo.org/resources/concepts-and-definitions/classification-status-at-work/).

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, International Standard Industrial Classification

of All Economic Activities (ISIC), 2008, Revision 4 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/seriesM/seriesm_4rev4e.pdf).

FAO; World Bank; UN-Habitat, Measuring Individuals’ Rights to Land: An Integrated Approach to Data Collection for SDG

Indicators 1.4.2 and 5.a.1 (available at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/145891539095619258/Measuring-

Individuals-Rights-to-Land-An-Integrated-Approach-to-Data-Collection-for-SDG-Indicators-1-4-2-and-5-a-1).

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Special Project on Poverty Statistics, Handbook

on Poverty Statistics: Concepts Methods and Policy Use, 2005 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/poverty/pdf/un_book%20final%2030%20dec%2005.pdf).

• Housing conditions (e.g., material of the walls, roof and floor)

• Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

(e.g., water supply system, drinking

water, toilet, sewage disposal, solid waste disposal and bathing facilities)

• Access to electricity

• Access to social welfare (social security status)

Legal identity, freedom of movement and access to justice:

• Birth registration

(proportion of children under five years of age whose births

have been registered with a civil authority)

• Access to travel documents

• Access to courts (stateless persons should enjoy the same rights as a nationals in

matters pertaining to legal assistance)

Health: (* unlikely to be readily available)

• Access to health care (e.g., accessibility of health facilities in distance, coverage

by health insurance, incidence of illness and use of facilities when last needed).

• Immunisation/Vaccination coverage

• Reproductive health (part of a person's overall health, which includes physical,

spiritual and social well-being. The analysis would compare access to family

planning for stateless populations with comparable populations who have

citizenship.)

• Nutritional status

(the status of human nutrition is a complex characteristic of

health, the state of its structure, functions and adaptive reserves, which was

formed under the influence of previous actual nutrition. Indicators more readily

available in household surveys are wasting and stunting.)

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, UN Principles and Recommendations for

Population and Housing Censuses (UN P&R), 2017, Revision 3 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/seriesM/Series_M67rev3en.pdf).

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Principles and Recommendations for a Vital

Statistics System, 2014, Revision 3 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/standmeth/principles/m19rev3en.pdf).

Ibid.

United Nations Department of Technical Co-operation for Development and Statistical Office, How to Weigh and Measure

Children: Assessing the Nutritional Status of Young Children in Household Surveys,1986 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/unint/dp_un_int_81_041_6E.pdf).

• Mortality*

(refers to the deaths in the population. A common indicator is the

under-five mortality rate which is defined as the number of deaths per 1,000

individuals under-five.)

3. The SDGs and Priority Indicators for Statelessness

131. In the 2030 Agenda,

17 Goals were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as the

basis for a 15-year plan to deliver sustainable development. At the centre of the 2030 Agenda is

the ambition to “leave no one behind” with a particular focus on the world’s most vulnerable

populations.

132. To monitor progress against these ambitious goals, a framework of indicators was

developed by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs)

and

approved by the UN Economic and Social Council in 2017 to track SDG implementation.

Acknowledging the core principle to leave no one behind, the need to disaggregate data to ensure

the visibility of vulnerable groups has been clearly recognised and repeatedly encouraged by the

UN Statistical Commission (UNSC), other official bodies and various stakeholders.

133. Whilst there is no explicit reference to stateless persons in the SDG Declaration, the

commitment to leave no one behind “clearly applies to those who experience the many negative

consequences of not being recognised as citizens of any country”.

Where the SDGs and their

targets refer to ‘all’ or ‘vulnerable’ populations, this can be understood to include stateless persons

and those without a recognised nationality status. For example, SDG 3 (healthy lives and well-

being for all) requires data about various aspects of health to be disaggregated by location age,

gender, poverty levels and vulnerable populations.

134. Recognising that stateless persons as well as refugees and IDPs fall into this group,

UNHCR has specifically underlined its commitment to this objective in its own Strategic Direction

from 2017-2021 - “to promote the inclusion of refugees, the internally displaced and stateless

people in National Development Frameworks, and […] national systems” – and again in 2022-

2026 - “to bolster the inclusion of affected people in development programmes and national

development frameworks, building on the commitments of the 2030 Agenda, the SDGs and Our

Common Agenda”.

The Global Action Plan to End Statelessness has also made explicit links to

the SDGs.

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Handbook on the Collection of Fertility and

Mortality Data, 2004 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/Standards-and-

Methods/files/Handbooks/fertility-and-mortality/SeriesF_92-E.pdf).

United Nations, The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) (available at:

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/).

See Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (available at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/iaeg-sdgs/).

United Nations, SDG Indicator Framework (available at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list/).

Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators, Data Disaggregation for the SDG Indicators (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/iaeg-sdgs/disaggregation/).

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Disaggregated Data is Essential to Leave No One Behind, 12

October 2017 (available at: https://www.iisd.org/blog/disaggregated-data-essential-leave-no-one-behind).

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The Sustainable Development Goals and Addressing Statelessness, March

2017 (available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58b6e3364.html).

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNHCR Strategic Directions 2022-2026 (available at:

https://reporting.unhcr.org/strategic-directions-2022-2026).

135. Although many SDGs and their related targets are relevant to addressing statelessness, in

2017, UNHCR identified goals 5, 10, 16 and 17, and certain related targets, to be of particular

relevance (see Box 4.2).

Box 4.2 SDG Goals, Targets and Indicators of Particular Relevance to Statelessness

UNHCR-identified SDG goals, targets and indicators of particular relevance to addressing statelessness

SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.

Global Indicator 5.1.1: Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and

monitor equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex.

SDG 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries.

Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by

eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation,

policies and action in this regard.

Global Indicator 10.3.1: Proportion of the population reporting having personally felt

discriminated against or harassed within the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of

discrimination prohibited under international human rights law.

SDG 16: Promote peaceful and sustainable societies for sustainable development, provide access to

justice for all, and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions for all.

Target 16.9: By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.

Global Indicator 16.9.1: Percentage of children under 5 whose births have been registered with

a civil authority, disaggregated by age.

Target 16.b: Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable

development.

Global Indicator 16.b.1: Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated

against or harassed in the last 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited

under international law.

SDG 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for

sustainable development.

Target 17.18: By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for

least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the

availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race,

ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in

national contexts.

Global Indicator 17.18.1: Proportion of sustainable development indicators produced at the

national level with full disaggregation when relevant to the target, in accordance with the

Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.

136. In addition, the IAEG-SDGs has recommended a list of 12 SDG indicators for displaced

populations based on advice from the EGRISS.

These indicators are also relevant for stateless

persons and those without a recognised nationality status who are also displaced and may also be

relevant for in-situ stateless populations (see Box 4.3). NB - this list largely aligns with the above

list of characteristics with the exception of access to justice.

Box 4. 3 Priority SDG Indicators for Displaced Populations

137. In both lists, target 16.9/indicator 16.9.1 “Proportion of children under five years of age

whose births have been registered with a civil authority, by age” is included as a priority indicator.

Given the close relationship between birth registration, legal identity and preventing/avoiding

statelessness (see Chapter 2, paragraphs 28-34) this is important to highlight and remains a central

focus of the UN Legal Identity Agenda mentioned earlier (see Chapter 1, paragraph 7).

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Data Disaggregation of SDG Indicators by Forced Displacement, 21

December 2020 (available at: https://www.unhcr.org/5fd237b84.pdf).

Recommended SDG Indicators to be Disaggregated by Forced Displacement by Priority Policy

Areas

Policy Area 1: Basic needs and living conditions

2.2.1 Prevalence of stunting (height for age < - 2 standard deviation from the median of the World

Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under five years of age

3.1.2 Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel

6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services

11.1.1 Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements, or inadequate housing

Policy Area 2: Livelihoods and economic self-reliance

1.2.1 Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age

4.1.1 Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at

the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and

(ii) mathematics, by sex

7.1.1 Proportion of population with access to electricity

8.3.1 Proportion of informal employment in non‑agriculture employment, by sex

8.5.2 Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

Policy Area 3: Civil, political and legal rights

1.4.2 Proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, (a) with legally

recognised documentation, and (b) who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and type

of tenure

16.1.4 Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live

16.9.1 Proportion of children under five years of age whose births have been registered with a civil

authority, by age

4. Important Considerations for Analysis of Statelessness Data

138. Beyond the specific indicators to be used to better understand the characteristics of stateless

populations, analysis of these population groups should be conscious of the following

considerations:

139. Governments have agreed to a set of international human rights norms and principles,

including non-discrimination and equality standards, as well as specific lists of grounds of

discrimination prohibited by human rights instruments. This provides helpful guidance on the

variables that should be used in data analysis. Non-discrimination and equality are fundamental

components of international human rights law and essential to the exercise and enjoyment of civil,

cultural, economic, political and social rights. This perspective is integral to a human rights

perspective national data analysis approach.

140. Stateless persons and related populations are particularly vulnerable due to their precarious

nationality status. Therefore, it is imperative that national authorities uphold the principle of do no

harm by only collecting data that serve a specific and pre-determined purpose. Additionally, prior

to data collection, the use of data should be clearly described, and a data analysis approach should

be developed in collaboration with statelessness experts.

141. Statelessness experts (e.g., legal personnel, civil society and advocacy groups) should be

consulted when developing a national data analysis strategy. Consultations with these groups will

help to illuminate priority indicators for data analysis (especially as these pertain to the

identification of relevant link(s) to another country/ies) and ensure that national authorities develop

strategies that respect the human rights of stateless persons and those without a recognised

nationality status.

142. Comparing statelessness data to that of other vulnerable populations is necessary to ensure

stateless populations are included in national development planning. If different population groups

are covered in relevant data sources, this can be achieved through analysis using census and survey

data sources (see Chapter 5, paragraphs 154-161 on census and 194-197 on surveys). Comparative

analysis should aim to understand how vulnerable populations differ, identify how vulnerability is

experienced across different demographics and situate vulnerabilities associated with statelessness

in a wider national context. Administrative data sources can be used to compare health related,

education and other demographic characteristics (see Chapter 5, paragraphs 235-244).

143. Longitudinal analysis is a powerful tool that can help to monitor changes over time and

thus improve the understanding of interacting factors that influence stateless populations.

Opportunities to use longitudinal analysis to evaluate the characteristics of stateless populations

and those without a recognised nationality status should be explored. This approach will enable

policy makers to closely monitor the challenges associated with statelessness and develop

appropriate policies to address these issues and/or monitor their implementation.

D. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

144. To classify people in the statelessness statistical framework, a series of basic classificatory

variables are provided. Individuals must satisfy the necessary and sufficient condition of having a

citizenship/nationality status of ‘recognised statelessness status’ to be included in category B. To

be included in category C ‘unknown nationality status’ or ‘lack proof of nationality status’ present

the necessary but insufficient condition; the sufficient condition is impossible to objectively

measure, therefore countries are recommended to select from the list of basic classificatory

variables presented here to gather the necessary information to correctly classify populations in

this category. Given the varying causes of statelessness in different national contexts and the

required familiarity with existing nationality laws in order to identify the most relevant

classificatory variables, relevant statelessness experts must be consulted for this to be done

effectively.

145. Basic stock and, where possible, flow statistics should be produced for each population

category in the statelessness statistical framework. Estimates should be disaggregated by sex, age

or age group and other variables deemed policy relevant in the national context. Basic stock and,

where possible, flow statistics should be produced annually or more frequently as needed. A list

of recommended stock and flow statistics are provided.

146. Measuring the characteristics of stateless populations is important to develop effective

national policies that aim to reduce/eradicate statelessness and improve the lives of affected

communities. The list of recommended characteristics is aligned to the appropriate normative

frameworks, however the final selection of indicators should be informed by national priorities,

information needs and the nature of statelessness in the national context. Additionally, the existing

statistical capacity and available data sources will need to be taken into consideration.

147. Stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status are included in the

SDGs, as the commitment to leave no one behind also applies to those who are not recognised as

a citizen of any State. Countries are encouraged to ensure the visibility of these vulnerable

populations through official statistics and reporting on applicable SDG indicators; for this purpose,

a priority list of SDG indicators for displaced and stateless persons have been outlined to support

efforts in this regard.

CHAPTER 5: DATA SOURCES AND DATA INTEGRATION

148. The statelessness statistical framework and recommended statistics on stocks and flows

provide the central pillar of these recommendations as they determine the population categories

that need to be measured to produce statelessness statistics (see Chapter 3, paragraphs 60-73).

Complementing this, a series of recommended variables and statistics that are required to classify

people within the framework or are recommended for the measurement of characteristics of

stateless persons, were also outlined (see Chapter 4, paragraphs 110-111 on classificatory variables

and 130 on recommended characteristic variables). Building on these, the IROSS now turns to the

question of how the needed data can be collected and produced through the consideration of key

data sources and data integration techniques.

149. This Chapter will first consider traditional data sources including national population and

housing censuses (Section A), sample surveys (Section B) and administrative data sources (Section

C). Further it will consider (Section D) the use of data sources produced by non-government actors

for the purpose of producing official statistics on statelessness. Each section provides a definition

of the data source, and outlines recommendations for how they can be used and/or modified to

improve the quality of statelessness data. Beyond data sources and given the specificities of the

statelessness statistical framework and the sensitivities surrounding statelessness in many contexts,

the chapter then considers the topic of data integration which will likely be important in many

settings. Section E will briefly introduce data integration and outline associated recommendations

in the context of producing statelessness statistics.

A. POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUSES

1. Introduction

150. First the national population and housing census, a central pillar of any integrated national

statistical system, is considered. The census presents a key opportunity in most national contexts

to improve the quality of statelessness statistics that are possible to produce, however a number of

important adjustments and quality considerations are recommended to support countries in this

effort.

2. Description of Data Source

151. The Population and Housing Census, referred to here as the census, provides the number

and characteristics of a country’s population. It forms a central part of an integrated national

statistical system, which may include other censuses (such as agriculture), surveys, population

registers and other administrative data. A traditional census entails canvassing the entire country,

reaching every single household and collecting information on all individuals. This may include

resident and non-resident population if a de facto census is carried out. It is often described as the

biggest statistical management operation undertaken by countries. An increasing number of

countries are relying on population registers and administrative data as the main sources of data

for official statistics on the demographic, social and economic characteristics of the population

and its housing.

For countries that employ registered-based censuses, considerations concerning

the identification and coverage of stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality

status will be important (see Section C of this chapter on the use of administrative data).

152. The key advantage of the census is that it captures the entire population at a specified point

in time. Therefore, it is well suited for gathering information on small sub-populations and small

geographic areas, as may be required when estimating statelessness populations. This makes it

possible for census data to be used as a sampling frame for further exploration using other data

collection methods such as surveys. Since the census represents complete coverage, the estimates

are also free from sampling errors, however non-sampling errors in censuses can be substantial

and are discussed below.

153. A disadvantage of using census data is that censuses are conducted infrequently (usually

every 10 years), making data less useful in situations that require more frequent data. Also, the

number of questions asked in a census is limited due to the costs involved in such a large-scale

operation. Finally, complex issues are not suitable to address in censuses because of the costs and

because census takers cannot be as extensively trained as survey interviewers due to the scale of

the census.

3. Using a National Census for Measuring the Number and Characteristics of

Stateless Persons

154. Censuses, if modified as recommended below, are suitable for estimating populations in

the combined category of ‘stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status’

(category A). It is not likely in censuses to be able to fully distinguish those who are stateless

(without a recognised statelessness status) from those nationality is unclear (see Chapter 3,

paragraphs 60-73 on the statelessness statistical framework).

155. The combined group of ‘stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status’

can be identified through responses to the country of citizenship question. If the response to the

citizenship question is ‘stateless, no nationality, or without a recognised nationality status’, then

the person is considered to belong to category A ‘stateless persons and those without a recognised

nationality status’ of the statelessness statistical framework.

156. Whether further disaggregation into categories B ‘persons with a recognised statelessness

status’ and C ‘persons without a recognised nationality status’, including stateless persons without

a recognised statelessness status, can be made will depend on the national context - as discussed

in Chapters 3 and 4.

157. The statelessness statistical framework further divides category C into two groups based

on real or perceived link(s) to another country/ies. While some questions included in the census

may be useful in identifying these groups (e.g., country of birth, ethnicity, language spoken, etc.),

census data are unlikely to be able to sufficiently and accurately identify these two groups due to

the limited number of questions. If census data are used to disaggregate category C populations by

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Handbook on Registers-based Population and

Housing Censuses, 2022 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/publication/handbook-registers-phc.pdf).

link(s) to another country/ies, it is important to clearly document how “link(s) to another

country/ies” was defined in the analysis (see Chapter 4, paragraphs 110-111 on classificatory

variables), and to take account of misreporting if this is likely to occur in a country (see below).

158. Several of the population categories included in the statelessness statistical framework are

further disaggregated by whether the individual is native born or foreign born. The recommended

census question on country of birth can be used to identify individuals into these categories.

159. As described above, census data are well-suited to measure the stock of stateless

populations. However, measuring flows from census data is very difficult because the census only

captures populations that are currently in the country and not those who have migrated out. Also,

the limited number of questions asked in a census makes it difficult to fully account for all the in

and out flows. While some measures of in flow, such as year or period of arrival (for foreign-born

populations) and date of birth of last child born alive are core topics in a census, and acquisition

of citizenship is included as a census topic in the Principles and Recommendations for Population

and Housing Censuses (UN P&R),

these topics only partially capture the inflow. To fully account

for all the in and out flows, a full birth history, information on deprivation of citizenship and deaths

over a defined period of time are also needed. Without all the variables needed to measure in and

out flows, it would be very difficult to accurately obtain flow statistics from census data.

160. Beyond identifying and counting stocks of people under the statelessness statistical

framework, censuses also capture a range of socio-economic characteristics in their questionnaire.

Table 5.1 maps the recommended variables for analysis of characteristics of stateless persons

(Chapter 4, paragraph 130) against the recommended topics in censuses. Each of these topics are

described in more detail in the UN P&R.

161. Because census data represent complete coverage, the derived estimates are suited for

presenting such data on characteristics of stateless populations, although non-sampling errors

could impact this in practice (see below) and disclosure avoidance policies should be followed.

Moreover, censuses also allow for the disaggregation of data on stateless populations and those

without a recognised nationality status by various geographical, demographic and socio-economic

characteristics.

4. Existing International Recommendations on National Census

162. The UN P&R describes the essential roles of the census, uses of the census data, census

methodology and recommended topics.

163. The UN P&R contains core topics to be included in a census. Many of the topics presented

in the UN P&R are of direct relevance to the statelessness statistical framework, both in terms of

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, UN Principles and Recommendations for

Population and Housing Censuses (UN P&R), 2017, Revision 3 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/seriesM/Series_M67rev3en.pdf).

Ibid.

identifying recognised stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status, and of

measuring their socio-economic characteristics.

Table 5.1 IROSS Recommended Variables for Analysis of Characteristics of Stateless

Persons Included in the UN P&R as Recommended Topics

Variables for Analysis of Characteristics of Stateless

Persons (from Chapter 4)

Recommended Topics in the UN P&R (with

paragraph numbers from the UN P&R)

Demographic and Migration:

Age or age group

Yes (4.151-4.162)

Sex

Yes (4.150)

Country of birth

Yes (4.110-4.115)

Ethnicity

Yes* (4.183–4.187)

Religion

Yes*(4.174–4.178)

Reasons for migration

Not a recommended topic

Years of residence in the current country of residence

Yes, derived from year of arrival (4.117-4.120)

Marital status

Yes (4.163-4.171)

Education:

Literacy

Yes (4.258-4.264)

Education level

Yes (4.258-4.288)

Economic and property rights:

Labour force status and status in employment

Yes (4.339-4.351)

Sector of activity/ industry

Yes (4.356-4.359)

Occupation

Yes (4.352-4.355)

Access to/possession of land

Not a recommended topic

Housing tenure

Yes (4.556– 4.559)

Living conditions:

Poverty and material deprivation or wealth index

Yes, derived from multiple topics

Housing conditions

Yes (4.421-4.553)

WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene)

Yes, derived from multiple topics:

Toilet—type of (4.496-4.499)

Sewage disposal (4.500)

Solid waste disposal (4.501-4.502)

Drinking water (4.494-4.495)

Bathing facilities (paras. 4.503- 4.505)

Access to electricity

Yes (4.511– 4.512)

Access to social welfare (social security)

Not a recommended topic

Legal identity, freedom of movement and access to justice:

Birth registration

Not a recommended topic

Access to travel documents

Not a recommended topic

Access to courts

Not a recommended topic

Health:

Access to health care

Not a recommended topic

Immunisation/Vaccination coverage

Not a recommended topic

Reproductive health

Not a recommended topic

Nutritional status

Not a recommended topic

Mortality (under-five)

Not a recommended topic

* Not a core topic.

5. Specific Recommendations on Modifying the Census Questionnaire to Collect Statelessness

Data

a. Country of citizenship

164. Country of citizenship is essential for the identification of stateless populations and those

without a recognised nationality status. The topic is a core census topic recommended by the UN

P&R (4.110). It defines country of citizenship as, “the country an individual is a citizen of and

with which the individual enjoys a particular legal bond, acquired by birth, naturalisation, marriage

or some other mechanism. A citizen is a legal national of the country of enumeration; a foreign

citizen is a non‐national of the country (that is, a citizen of another country or a stateless person).

Because the country of citizenship is not identical to the country of birth, both items should be

collected in a census”.

100

165. For purposes of coding, it is recommended that countries use the numerical coding system

presented in Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use.

101

It is recommended that the

following 2 options be added to the list of countries: 1) stateless or no citizenship/nationality status,

and 2) unknown citizenship/nationality status. The question on citizenship should not be combined

with other questions, such as on tribe.

166. Enumeration and processing instructions should provide clear guidance on the treatment

of stateless people, people in the process of naturalisation and any other groups with ambiguous

citizenship. The treatment of these groups should be described in the census reports and be

included in the metadata for accompanying tabulations. In cases where state succession may have

caused statelessness, the recommendations state that the reliability of reported citizenship may be

doubtful. These cases require clear guidelines from the national statistical authority and a note on

the likelihood of error should accompany any relevant tabulations.

167. The Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations for the 2020 Census of

Population and Housing

102

recommend ensuring provisions to identify stateless persons. They also

state that the option “no citizenship” be included in the response categories for the question on

citizenship. They suggest that for those who are stateless or unknown citizenship, countries may

wish to collect information on the country of birth of parents, country of previous usual residence

abroad and total duration of residence in the country (all included as recommended variables in

Chapter 4).

b. Country of birth

100

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, UN Principles and Recommendations for

Population and Housing Censuses (UN P&R), 2017, Revision 3, para. 4.110 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/seriesM/Series_M67rev3en.pdf).

101

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, UN Principles and Recommendations for

Population and Housing Censuses (UN P&R), 2017, Revision 3, para. 4.112 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/seriesM/Series_M67rev3en.pdf).

102

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Conference of European Statistitians Recommendations for the

2020 Censuses of Population and Housing, 2020 (available at:

https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/2015/ECECES41_EN.pdf).

168. Country of birth is the country in which the person was born. It is one of the core topics in

the UN P&R (4.105). This question is necessary to distinguish the native-born from the foreign-

born population. Country of birth should not be used as a replacement for the country of citizenship

question which is required to identify stateless populations. In addition to a list of countries using

the Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use, the option “Unknown” should be added

to the codes for country of birth. For purposes of both internal consistency and international

comparability, it is recommended that information on the country of birth be recorded according

to national boundaries existing at the time of the census (UN P&R 4.106).

c. Other variables

169. Other census questions relevant for identifying and characterising populations under the

statelessness statistical framework, as listed in Table 5.1 above, should not require any specific

modifications.

170. Census operations are very costly in both time and resources as it is the biggest statistical

management operation that is undertaken by countries. Adding a single question to a census has

huge resource implications. Therefore, carefully consider whether to add additional questions to

the census questionnaire and any new questions should be costed, and follow-up surveys selected

from key census variables should be considered as an alternative.

6. Specific Recommendations on Ensuring Appropriate Coverage of Stateless Populations in

Censuses

171. The most important consideration for a census is its completeness of coverage. Coverage

errors occur from omissions or duplications of persons, households, or housing units during census

enumeration. Stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status are particularly at

risk of omission, resulting in coverage error. Some reasons why this population may be at risk of

omission are that they may avoid contact with authorities due to fear of discrimination or

mistreatment, or the population may be intentionally left out of census counts by national policy.

103

172. Care should be taken to ensure that recognised stateless persons and those without a

recognised nationality status are counted in the census if they are usual residents of the country or

if they are present in the country at the time of the census, regardless of their legal residence status

(this includes persons who fall into the statelessness statistical framework and are also seeking

international protection when they meet the threshold of usual resident (see Chapter 3, paragraphs

90-91)). Strategies for including this hard-to-count population should be part of the overall census

planning and management.

104

173. Some strategies to ensure inclusion of stateless persons and those without a recognised

nationality status include:

103

Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS), Country Examples of Data Collection on Statelessness

Statistics, background document on the Kenyan Population and Housing Census 2019, January 2022, p. 2 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/53rd-session/documents/BG-3f-Country-examples-of%20data-collection-on-statelessness-

statistics-E.pdf).

104

U.S. Census Bureau, Counting the Hard to Count in a Census, 2019 (available at: https://www.census.gov/programs-

surveys/international-programs/events/training/select-topics-in-international-censuses/2020-brief.html).

• Identifying areas where stateless populations reside during the mapping exercise

prior to enumeration

• Pretesting and piloting before main enumeration

• Selection of good enumerators and targeted enumerator training

• Outreach and partnerships/ sensitisation

• Proper listing prior to enumeration

• Design and accommodations

• Special programmes

• Resource mobilisation

Each one is elaborated on further in the paragraphs below.

174. Identifying areas with stateless populations during the mapping exercise prior to the

enumeration may also help in planning for outreach and sensitisation for the main enumeration. If

stateless populations reside in informal settlements, careful census mapping can improve the

coverage of stateless populations during enumeration.

175. Pretesting the questions needed for identifying stateless populations and including stateless

populations during the pilot census before the main enumeration are key to ensuring inclusion of

stateless populations in the enumeration. Questions should be pretested to make sure that

respondents understand the questions and the answer options as intended, does not offend the

respondents, and that they do not lead to biased data or non-response. Pretesting also provides

information about the added time required to ask the questions needed to identify and describe the

stateless populations. Including stateless populations during the pilot census is also helpful in

ensuring coverage of this population during the main enumeration.

176. Enumerator training is important to make sure that enumerators do not accidentally omit

stateless populations from their counts, and to reduce the number of refusals and misreporting.

Enumerators should be trained to understand that stateless populations should be included in the

census. Enumerator training should also include how to handle distrustful or fearful respondents,

as well as about data confidentiality and privacy (see Chapter 6, paragraph 336). The importance

of data confidentiality and privacy should be especially emphasised if enumerators are drawn from

local populations. Enumerators should also be trained to select a respondent who is likely to be

knowledgeable about all the members of household, including their stateless status.

177. Outreach and partnerships are important for gaining trust among the stateless populations

to increase their participation. One approach is to identify organisations and leaders trusted by

stateless populations, then include them in the planning and preparation of the census to develop

strategies to ensure that stateless populations are counted in the census. Including moderators who

are trusted or part of the ethnic minority communities who are stateless during door-to-door

interviews has shown positive results. Sensitisation through public awareness campaigns is also a

key component of efforts to increase participation of stateless populations in the census.

complete listing prior to enumeration may be used to help identify communities where stateless

populations reside and target outreach and publicity efforts.

178. Design and accommodations refer to minor adjustments to general census procedures and

materials. One example is translating the census questionnaire and publicity materials into

languages spoken by stateless populations.

179. Special programmes are established when significant departure from the standard

methodology is required ensure that the population is counted. For example, if the stateless

population has been displaced, a serviced-based enumeration, where populations are enumerated

at locations where they commonly receive important services (for example health clinics or food

distribution centres), may be more effective. Consultations with organisations that work with the

stateless population are key to designing effective special programmes (see Chapter 6, paragraphs

328-329).

180. Resource mobilisation to facilitate the design and implementation of several of these

strategies will likely be required and should be considered.

7. Quality Considerations and Data Protection

181. A Joint UNECE/Eurostat Meeting on Population and Housing Censuses (2008) discussed

the challenges of measuring stateless populations based on self-identification.

105

Because a census

relies on self-reporting, the quality of data on stateless populations will depend on the accuracy of

such self-reporting. Misreporting may result from misunderstanding the terms “statelessness”, “no

nationality” or “without a recognised nationality status”. Furthermore, fear of identification by the

authorities or a wish to integrate with local populations may lead respondents to deliberately

misreport their citizenship.

182. Moreover, in a traditional census, the questionnaire is administered at the household level,

usually completed by the head of household or another adult. For large households or in households

with non-family members, the respondent may not have accurate information about all household

members. Similarly, in the case of populations in collective living quarters, such as military

installations, hospitals, correctional and penal institutions, dormitories of schools and universities,

religious institutions, etc., the administrator responding to the questionnaire may not be able to

provide the information required of all individuals in the institution.

183. Data protection and disclosure avoidance are particularly important when working with

data on stateless populations. Not only are data protection and disclosure avoidance important

concerns when releasing data on small populations or at low geographic levels, in many countries,

stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status live in precarious situations.

Therefore, special care needs to be taken to protect the confidentiality of respondents’ personal

information. A breach in data privacy and confidentiality may endanger this already vulnerable

105

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Measuring Statelessness through Population Census, Note by the Secretariat

of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 13 May 2008 (see ECE/CES/AC.6/2008/SP/5).

population, their families, or their living situations. It could also seriously damage trust within the

community and jeopardise future data collections.

184. The Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics state that, “Individual data collected by

statistical agencies for statistical compilation, whether they refer to natural or legal persons, are to

be strictly confidential and used exclusively for statistical purposes”.

106

If respondents believe that

their personal information is not protected, they are less likely to cooperate or provide accurate

responses, which will have implications for data quality. Therefore, efforts should be made to

assure the respondents that their information will be kept confidential and used only for statistical

purposes.

185. Furthermore, while characteristics of stateless populations are helpful for better

understanding the needs of this population and to set effective policies that aim to minimise the

negative impact of statelessness on affected communities, special care needs to be taken to make

sure that individuals are not identified in data releases, particularly when releasing data at low

geographic levels.

186. Ethnicity and religion may be closely linked to statelessness in some countries. While these

topics are recommended in the UN P&R, ethnicity, religion and other ethnocultural characteristics

may have a subjective dimension, with no common understanding of the concepts. Because

different countries may adopt different concepts, it is critical for these measures to be clearly

defined and explained in the documentation. Also, variables such as ethnicity and religion may be

politically sensitive and may apply to very small, but identifiable, population subgroups.

Therefore, free and open self-declaration of the respondents is very important. Further, members

of certain minority groups may be vulnerable to discrimination on the grounds of membership in

certain ethnic groups or religion. Therefore, it is essential to take special care to protect the

confidentiality of respondents’ personal information, both in census procedures and when

presenting disaggregated data.

187. An evaluation of the accuracy of the census data should be undertaken, to the extent

possible. Various ways to evaluate the data include an assessment of coverage and content errors

from a post‐enumeration survey,

107

by comparing the census results with similar data from other

sources, such as surveys and administrative data, and by applying demographic analysis.

108

106

The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, 29 January 2014 (available

at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/dnss/gp/fundprinciples.aspx).

107

See United Nations DESA, Statistics Division, ”Post Enumeration Surveys: Operational Guidelines: Technical Report“, 2010

(available at: https://mdgs.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/Standards-and-Methods/files/Handbooks/population-and-housing-

censuses/Manual_PES-E.pdf). and UNFPA, Technical Guidance: Post Enumeration Surveys in Population and Housing Censuses

(available at: https://www.unfpa.org/resources/technical-guidance-post-enumeration-surveys-population-and-housing-censuses).

108

UN P&R, Section 2.225

B. SAMPLE SURVEYS

1. Introduction

188. In addition to censuses, sample surveys present a key opportunity for improving

statelessness statistics. Given their flexibility and scope, there is significant potential to adapt

these key data sources for better statistics on statelessness, particularly in relation to measuring

characteristics of targeted population groups. Several important adjustments and quality

considerations are recommended below to support countries in this effort.

2. Description of Data Source

189. Sample surveys involve the collection of data from a sub-set of people or households from

a given population of interest, selected in a way that allows inferring representative results of the

whole population of interest. In this case the population of interest consists of stateless or stateless-

related people, from which a sample is drawn that aims to be generalisable to the stateless

population.

190. In comparison to population censuses, sample surveys can be used to provide much more

extensive information than is possible in a census because more questions can be asked. Moreover,

a census’s ability to identify those who could be considered stateless or potentially stateless

depends on being able to identify respondents able and willing to answer the recommended

questions accurately. As surveys cover a much smaller sample of the population, it is possible to

probe with more sensitivity in order to identify persons under the statelessness statistical

framework with more reliability. Survey interviewers can be specially trained to interact with this

potentially vulnerable population, while intermediaries from voluntary support organisations may

be mobilised to reassure and encourage the respondents to participate.

191. National statistical authorities will have two main options for collecting survey-based data

on stateless populations. Their use will depend on the population size and its distribution, and if a

suitable sampling frame can be constructed. The options for household surveys are:

i. Using national household surveys such as the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS),

the Multi Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the Living

Standards Measurement Study (LSMS), and other living conditions/ poverty surveys or

migration surveys,

109

to include a limited number of questions related to statelessness.

When stateless populations represent a small proportion of the total population, targeted

oversampling of this sub-population will be necessary to ensure that the resulting sample

of stateless people and those without a recognised nationality status is sufficiently large

for reliable analysis.

ii. Data can be collected through surveys specifically targeted at stateless populations.

109

National migration surveys would only be relevant in contexts where statelessness is closely associated with migration.

192. The first approach, i.e., the inclusion of stateless populations and topics in existing national

household survey series, is particularly well-suited to estimating differences in socio-economic

and other characteristics between the stateless and national population (see Table 5.2). In contrast,

the second approach, i.e., sample surveys specifically targeted at stateless populations, allow for

the design of specialised questionnaires related to statelessness that would be too comprehensive

for administering as part of a wider national household survey.

193. Stateless people are often hard to identify, hard to sample, hard to locate or hard to persuade

to participate,

110

and sometimes all of these at once. As with other data sources, this will affect the

administration of sample surveys on this population (see paragraphs 207-208).

3. Using Sample Surveys for Measuring the Number and Characteristics of Stateless Persons

194. As a point of departure, it is important to note that – unlike population censuses - sample

surveys are not a suitable method for determining the size of very rare and previously unknown

populations.

111

Estimates of the percentage (and, by inference, the number) of stateless persons

detected as part of a wider survey of the overall population will usually be statistically

indistinguishable from zero. Similarly, without any prior knowledge of the approximate

whereabouts of this population, stand-alone / targeted surveys of stateless persons following

probabilistic sampling methods will be impossible to administer. Hence, and as discussed in more

detail below, conducting surveys of populations under the statelessness statistical framework, or

including them in wide national surveys by way of oversampling, will require the existence of

some form of sampling frame on the population of interest, often complemented with a listing

exercise that enriches or updates the frame prior to conducting the actual survey. As such, sample

surveys should not usually be considered a primary means of estimating stocks of stateless

populations. That said, innovative sampling approaches have been applied to estimate the

population size of hidden populations without prior frames, but these methods would not usually

qualify for the production of official statistics.

112

113

195. On the other hand, sample surveys can be an effective way to validate or update the stocks

of populations within the statelessness statistical framework that have already been identified or

proxied through other data sources. In particular, other data sources like censuses may identify

populations that satisfy the necessary condition for being included in the framework (namely a

lack of citizenship or inability to prove citizenship, as laid out in Chapter 3, paragraphs 60-73 and

Chapter 4, paragraphs 110-111) but are unable to deliver further data required for a full

identification/classification comprehensively or reliably. In such cases, sample surveys can follow

up or complement other sources and help to conclusively establish up-to-date population stocks.

196. Sample surveys can be an insightful means to understand retroactively how a population

of interest came to enter or exit a given stock. For instance, surveys of currently stateless persons

110

Terminology from Adhikari (2017)

111

A rare population is sometimes defined as one with a low number of individuals. However, even large population can appear

to be rare either because of the elusive behaviour of its members or because the population is sparsely distributed over large

ranges.

112

Mark S Handcock, Krista J Gile and Corinne M Mar, Estimating Hidden Population Size using Respondent-Driven Sampling

Data, 2014 (available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26180577/).

113

Brian J Kim and Mark S Handcock, Population Size Estimation Using Multiple Respondent-Driven Sampling Surveys, 2021

(available at: https://academic.oup.com/jssam/article/9/1/94/5710670).

are well-suited to establish how respondents entered the respective stock. Likewise, if surveys are

able to target previously stateless persons, then their trajectory of leaving the stock can be

comprehensively captured. That said, surveys may not constitute a cost-effective method for

regular (e.g. annual) monitoring of flows, given that inflows and outflows constitute relatively rare

events, and sample sizes required to pick up these events could be prohibitively costly.

197. Finally, sample surveys, if properly executed, are an excellent data source to

representatively describe demographic, socio-economic and other complex characteristics of

interest like access to services or poverty levels that may be important to understand the impact of

statelessness on populations. In this way, they are also important data sources to facilitate inclusion

of stateless persons in reporting on priority indicators for the SDGs. Sample surveys are also well

suited to study characteristics directly related to and causing statelessness itself such as migratory

history, documentation, citizenship status and civil status (see Chapter 2, paragraphs 44-45 and

Chapter 4, Table 4.2 and paragraph 113). Table 5.2 presents the major surveys that can be used to

capture the characteristic variables presented in Chapter 4, paragraph 130.

Table 5.2 IROSS Recommended Variables for Analysis of Characteristics of Stateless

Persons Included in the Major Population and Household Surveys.

Variables for Analysis of

Characteristics of Stateless

Persons (from Chapter 4)

DHS

MICS

LFS

Poverty

Stand

Alone

Remarks

Demographic and Migration:

Age or age group

✓

Sex

✓

Country of birth

✓

Ethnicity

✓

Religion

✓

Reasons for migration

✓

Years of residence in the

current country of residence

✓

Marital status

✓

Education:

Literacy

✓

Education level

✓

Economic and property rights:

Labour force status and status

in employment

✓

Collected for individuals of

working age, 15 and above

Sector of activity/ industry

✓

Occupation

✓

Access to/possession of land

✓

Housing tenure

✓

Living conditions:

Poverty and material

deprivation or wealth index

✓

All variables in this section are

collected for households

Housing conditions

✓

WASH (water, sanitation and

hygiene)

✓

Access to electricity

✓

Access to social welfare

(social security)

✓

Legal identity, freedom of movement and access to justice:

Birth registration

✓

Collected usually for children

under 5 years of age

Access to travel documents**

✓

Access to courts**

✓

Health:

Access to health care

✓

Individual components collected

for either children under 5,

children under 3 or women aged

15 to 49 years

Immunisation/Vaccination

coverage

✓

Collected for children under 3

years of age

Reproductive health

✓

Collected for women aged 15 to

49 years

Nutritional status

✓

Measured for children under 5,

and in some cases individuals 15-

Mortality (under-five)

✓

Collected on children under 5

*Includes surveys such as LSMS, Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), Integrated Household Living Conditions

Survey (EICV), Household Budget Survey (HBS), Statistics on Income and Living Conditions Survey (SILC) or other relevant

national poverty survey.

** Modules for variables on access to courts and travel documents developed in SDG 16 Survey initiative.

4. Existing International Recommendations on this Data Source

198. Ample methodological literature exists on sample surveys, most of which will be directly

relevant to sample surveys of stateless populations. A comprehensive review of existing general

standards and best practice is beyond the scope of the IROSS, but relevant entry points include the

UNSD’s Household Sample Surveys in Developing and Transition Countries,

114

the various

outputs of the Inter-secretariat Working Group on Household Surveys

115

and the various

methodological guidelines released by the large global survey programmes MICS, LSMS, DHS

and LFS.

116

199. Some stateless populations have simultaneously characteristics that have contributed to

their statelessness or are a consequence of it, such as being displaced within countries or across

borders or being members of nomadic communities. Sample survey approaches for such

populations have been explored in the past and relevant guidance includes the IRRS

117

, the IRIS

118

and the associated Compilers’ Manual

119

, which should be consulted when sampling for stateless

people who are also refugees or internally displaced persons. Beyond data collection

considerations, the IRRS and IRIS also offer advice on data sharing, confidentiality and disclosure

controls for vulnerable individuals. This should be observed for stateless people who are likely to

be similarly vulnerable.

5. Specific Recommendations on Modifying the Instrument/Questionnaire

200. Questionnaire development for statelessness surveys is best managed as a collaborative

effort with relevant stakeholders involved. It is important to design the questions taking into

consideration the national context, including the citizenship laws of the country and requirements

for registration for the populations impacted by statelessness. Coordination among government

and other knowledgeable stakeholders is usually needed. Focus group discussion and pretesting

may be important for developing the questionnaire.

201. The statelessness statistical framework (see Chapter 3, paragraphs 60-73) identifies two

sub-groups of people referred to as the core population groups - those who are either officially

recognised as stateless or those without a recognised nationality status.

114

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Household Sample Surveys in Developing and

Transition Countries, 2005 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/hhsurveys/pdf/Household_surveys.pdf).

115

Inter-secretariat Working Group on Household Surveys (available at: https://unstats.un.org/iswghs).

116

See the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (https://mics.unicef.org), Living Standards Measurement Study

(https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/lsms), Demographic and Health Surveys (https://dhsprogram.com/), and Labour Force

Surveys.

117

IRRS paras. 156 to 195.

118

IRIS paras. 220 to 244.

119

The Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS), Compilers’ Manual on Displacement Statistics,

February 2020 (available at: https://egrisstats.org/wp-content/uploads/BG-item-3n-compilers-manual-E.pdf).

202. Building and expanding on the questionnaire adjustments recommended for censuses in

the preceding section, surveys should likewise capture country of citizenship and country of birth,

with the answer choices recommended above for censuses. Beyond these two classificatory

variables that may require slight adjustments from regular survey work, all the other classificatory

variables listed in Chapter 4 (see paragraphs 110-111) can usually be captured in surveys, without

any modifications to the usual measurement practice applied for the general population.

203. Beyond the classificatory variables, sample surveys are also well suited to administer

questions that allow measuring the characteristics of stateless populations, as listed in Chapter 4.

Survey designers should ensure, as appropriate, the inclusion of questions related to these

indicators in their questionnaires. Internationally established questionnaire practices to capture

these indicators should be followed - including those mapped out in Table 5.2 above; in most

contexts, no specific adjustments should be required when capturing these standard indicators for

stateless populations.

6. Specific Recommendations on Ensuring Appropriate Coverage of Stateless

204. Ensuring appropriate representation of stateless populations in sample surveys has multiple

aspects. Devising a suitable sampling approach is perhaps the most important and challenging of

these, but community sensitisation and enumerator training will also be essential.

205. The development of any sampling strategy for stateless populations – whether it is aimed

at a stand-alone survey of stateless populations or at including and oversampling stateless persons

in a broader national survey - should begin with a thorough desk review, which is crucial to obtain

the best available picture of the stateless population of interest for the study. This should include

an analysis of the legal framework of the country and of the historic background of statelessness

to identify the reasons for and pathways into statelessness for the group or groups of interest. The

primary goal of such an exercise is to better understand and define the target population. If very

little information is available beforehand, a qualitative scoping study might be needed. It is

recommended to include relevant statelessness experts in this process.

206. Even after conducting such a desk review, robustly sampling of stateless people will be a

challenging undertaking. There are usually relatively few stateless people or persons without a

recognised nationality status compared to the total population of a country, as a result of which

regular national household surveys will yield insufficient samples of stateless people to derive

reliable estimates. Hence, targeted (over)sampling of statelessness will almost certainly be

required, both when covering stateless as part of a wider national household survey and when

conducting dedicated surveys of stateless persons. Such targeted (over)sampling of stateless

populations requires some pre-existing knowledge of the size and geographic distribution of the

stateless population.

207. In the simplest case, an existing register of stateless person could serve as a sampling frame,

from which a probabilistic (list-based) sample can be drawn. Several organisations may maintain

stateless registers and administrative records for their operational activities which can be used to

inform sampling frame development. These administrative records may be held by UNHCR, other

humanitarian agencies, NGOs, community organisations and church or religious societies (see

paragraphs 270-286 on data sources developed by non-government actors). They may also include

registers held by government departments and vital registration data sources (see paragraphs 230-

234 on administrative data). These registers and records are not usually kept for statistical purpose;

therefore, they can lack consistency, and data are often of lesser quality than official survey and

census data. Their coverage and other quality considerations such as the regular maintenance and

currency of the register should be assessed before use.

208. Probabilistic sampling requires some knowledge of the geographic distribution of stateless

persons. The data from the census may help to identify geographical areas where people live who

are likely to be stateless. Other data sources may provide information on the geographic location

of these groups, possibly including administrative registers or qualitative (key informant) data

collection. Such information can potentially be used to design a probabilistic (area-based) sample

frame, for a household listing exercise and subsequent household survey.

209. Finally, where the probabilistic sampling methods described above are not feasible, non-

probabilistic sampling approaches, such as Respondent Driven Sampling, may serve as a fallback

option to produce data on the socio-economic characteristics of stateless populations. In these

situations, the sampling approach taken should be fully documented. However, such sampling

approaches are unlikely to meet the quality standards required for official statistics, and hence are

not discussed further here.

210. Beyond sampling considerations, community sensitisation before and during data

collection is also crucial to ensure representative coverage of the population of interest in each

survey. In many contexts, stateless people and those without a recognised nationality may be

hesitant to participate in a given survey and share information about their status in the country.

Statistical agencies should work with civil society, community leaders and other NGOs to build

trust among affected communities. In addition to building trust and increasing response rates, close

community involvement can also be instrumental in obtaining second-stage list sampling frames

if needed for the sampling scheme.

211. In addition, effective enumerator training is important to ensure good coverage of the

stateless persons in a survey. Key considerations for enumerator training in surveys are similar to

those outlined for census (see paragraph 176 above).

7. Quality Considerations and Data Protection

212. Sensitivities surrounding the confidentiality of data require particular attention, and their

data will need to be carefully protected by the statistical authorities and not shared with, for

instance, immigration authorities. Protocols for data security including storage and confidentiality

of use are critical and should be in place before data collecting begins, along with privacy

protection and sensitivity protocols for release of data.

120

213. Moreover, when conducting surveys, obtaining informed consent from respondents is good

practice.

121

This is true for survey respondents in any context, but particularly important when

120

IRRS paras. 582 and 584

121

European Data Protection Board, Guidelines 05/2020 on consent under Regulation 2016/679, 4 May 2020, Version 1.1

(available at: https://edpb.europa.eu/our-work-tools/our-documents/guidelines/guidelines-052020-consent-under-regulation-

2016679_en).

surveying marginalised and vulnerable populations. It ensures that the respondents are reassured

about the purpose of the study the use to which the data will be put and that their safety would not

be jeopardised in answering the questions. Respondents are required to give free, prior and

informed consent to participate in the survey and for the information they provide to be put to

subsequent use. Free consent refers to an individual being given a genuine choice to participate in

the survey and is able to refuse or withdraw consent without adverse consequences. Consent is

informed if the person concerned received explanations which allow for full appreciation and

understanding of the circumstances, risks and benefits of the processing of data that will come out

of the research. The information needs to be provided in simple jargon-free language yet be

complete.

C. ADMINISTRATIVE DATA

1. Introduction

214. At the national level, much data are collected for various administrative purposes and can

in many cases be reused for statistics production. Alongside censuses and surveys, it is important

to identify the potential use of administrative data sources for the production of statelessness

statistics in order to capitalise on this wealth of existing data. For this purpose, several

considerations are discussed and recommendations provided to support countries in this effort.

2. Description of Data Source

215. There are a range of administrative data systems that exist in different national contexts

which may contain information on populations included in the statelessness statistical framework.

Two key examples are civil registration and population registries, but several other functional

databases and registers may also contain relevant information. Administrative data are not

collected primarily for statistical purposes, but under the right conditions, they can also be used to

produce statistics.

216. For producing statistics on statelessness, administrative data have several advantages over

other data sources. If an administrative data source can be accessed for statistical purposes, has

identifiable information about the stateless population and is of sufficient quality (e.g. coverage

and completeness), then it can be used at low-cost for statistical purposes. If implemented properly,

information is collected continuously and thus data can provide timely information at any point in

time.

217. On the other hand, administrative data sources often come with limitations. The key

potential limitation in the context of statelessness is imperfect coverage, possibly under-

representing or completely excluding stateless and other vulnerable populations entirely. Other

limitations include incompleteness of the register, irregular updating and challenges with

interoperability with other data sources. In addition, statisticians may have limited access to the

relevant administrative data sources for practical or legal reasons, often linked to privacy, data

protection and security measures. How easy it is to facilitate access will depend on the willingness

from the administrative data holder to safely share data and the legal frameworks in place. In some

countries, a formal bilateral agreement or Memorandum of Understanding can be sufficient, in

other contexts there may be a need for more time-consuming efforts to develop a legal foundation

to access the data by changing the legal mandate of statistical offices.

218. Once data are obtained, it is common among NSOs to create copies that are more adjustable

for statistical purposes. These are often referred to as statistical databases or registers. An example

is a statistical population register which takes information from administrative registers, but has

more freedom to make adjustments that are needed for statistics production. Often these statistical

registers also combine different administrative and other data sources together to create a more

holistic picture of the area the statistics should be produced for.

219. Despite the challenges in making use of administrative registers for statistics, given the

vast potential these sources hold, their coverage of stateless populations, quality and accessibility

should be explored. This is further underlined by the range of different administrative registries

that could be relevant in different contexts. There are many kinds of administrative data sources,

the most relevant to stateless populations are civil registers, population registers (also those

managed by local authorities/departments) and other more specialised functional databases and

registers such as on immigration, refugees and asylum seekers, education, health and social

services. Specialised functional registers will often only cover a sub-set of the population, but may,

nevertheless, be useful to get a better understanding of vulnerabilities, inclusion and access to

services.

a. Civil registers and legal identity

220. Civil registration is defined as the continuous, permanent, compulsory and universal

recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events pertaining to the population, as

provided through decree or regulation in accordance with the legal requirements in each country.

122

Civil registers record persons’ vital events such as birth, marriage, divorce and death; they are

guided by the country's civil status law and family code. When universal and complete, civil

registration records may be helpful in estimating the size of the population in scope of these

recommendations.

221. In practice, however, civil registration in many countries is of varying quality.

Completeness and coverage of death registration is usually lower than that of births,

123

and

marriage and divorce registration is often even lower. Data from civil registration do, however,

provide a useful potential resource regarding statistics on stateless populations in countries where

they are not prevented from registering and where they can be identified in the records.

222. There is a difference between civil registration and identity management, although birth

and death certificates and other vital events confirmation are an input to an identity management

system. Focusing only on identity management will damage the civil registration process in

general, limiting its potential to offer correct vital statistics to inform the policies and to contribute

122

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Principles and Recommendations for a Vital

Statistics System, 2014, Revision 3 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/standmeth/principles/m19rev3en.pdf).

123

Increased attention to birth registration is linked to the UN Legal Identity Agenda (UN LIA) task force which is focused on

coordination and supporting member states to achieve SDG target 16.9 on legal identity for all, including free birth registration.

to other crucial decisions in the country, including for stateless people.

124

Birth registration does

not convey citizenship but creates a permanent legal record of the child’s existence. However, a

birth registration record containing information about an individual’s parentage, birth location,

parents’ nationality, marriage and death is often helpful in establishing citizenship.

223. The operational United Nations definition of legal identity is the basic characteristics of an

individual’s identity e.g., name, sex, place and date of birth, conferred through registration and the

issuance of a certificate by the civil registration authority following the occurrence of birth. In the

absence of birth registration, legal identity may be conferred by a legally recognised identification

authority; this system should be linked to the civil registration system to ensure a holistic approach

to legal identity from birth to death. Legal identity is retired by the issuance of a death certificate

by the civil registration authority upon registration of death.

125

224. In addition to civil registers, identity management systems and their databases may also be

a relevant data source for statelessness statistics as these systems also include those who have

applied for and been granted or rejected a national ID. It may also be possible that reasons for

rejection is stated which can serve as relevant information to assess statelessness using the relevant

basic classificatory variables (see Chapter 4, paragraph 110-111).

225. Refused applications for nationality documents both in civil and national ID registers, if

maintained and accessible, would also be worth exploring. This data is currently available for

internal processes in at least some countries, but not usually reported. However, even if the data is

not currently available, countries could adjust their system to record the basis on which an identity

document was refused (including the question of “real” or “perceived” links to another

country/ies), and what other nationality it is believed that the person may hold.

b. Population registers

226. Some countries have utilised civil registration and other data to form a Population Register.

The organisation and operation of such a system must have a legal basis, which among others,

includes that registration should be compulsory. According to the United Nations, the term

“population register” refers to:

“an individualised data system, that is, a mechanism of continuous recording, and/or of

coordinated linkage, of selected information pertaining to each member of the resident

population of a country in such a way to provide the possibility of determining up-to-

date information concerning the size and characteristics of that population at selected

time intervals”.

126

124

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Handbook on Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management

Systems: Communication for Development, 2019, Final Draft, para. 8 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-

social/Standards-and-Methods/files/Handbooks/crvs/CRVS-IdM-E.pdf).

125

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Handbook on Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management

Systems: Communication for Development, 2019, Final Draft, para. 16 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-

social/Standards-and-Methods/files/Handbooks/crvs/CRVS-IdM-E.pdf).

126

The term "population register" was defined in 1969, in the Methodology and Evaluation of Population Registers and Similar

Systems (available at: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/504741). Also see the UNSD definition of population registers

(available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/sconcerns/population_registers/#overview).

227. The basic characteristics that may be included in a population register are date and place

of birth, place of residence, sex, date and place of death, date of arrival/departure, citizenship(s)

and marital status, many of which are basic classificatory variables for the statelessness statistical

framework (see Chapter 4, paragraph 110-111). Each person is assigned a unique identifier which

enables information across different registers (i.e., birth, death, marriage etc.) to be linked and for

central records to be updated. In a complete population register a person’s place of residence (or

address) should be included and, if it is updated with date of arrival/departure (moves), should be

able to provide information on foreign and national migration. This is a key difference from a civil

registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system where changes to place of residence are often only

picked up on if a new vital event is registered (also requiring that the vital events in the civil

registration system are linked).

228. There can be different registers for citizens and foreigners. The registers often include only

those who are legally resident and may also omit those who lack formal nationality or residence

permits. In practice this presents a major limitation for the inclusion of many stateless persons and

those without a recognised nationality status within population registers despite clear guidance

from international recommendations to include them (see paragraph 245-248 below).

229. Several countries are working towards or already implement register-based censuses using

population and other registers.

127

This means that data from identified administrative registers are

used to collect data which would traditionally have been collected through a questionnaire.

Countries which have sufficient data and identifiers that allow linkage across data sources in place

can with this approach conduct a census at any point in time.

c. Other government registers

230. Other registers and databases owned by the government can also record information on

stateless populations for specific purposes. They are usually guided by specific laws, ordinances

and decrees that target certain policies of a government, for example health provision, social

security assistance, employment guarantee programs, etc. A list of potential administrative

registers that could contain relevant information for statelessness statistics production include

residence permit registers, work permit registers, records on naturalisation applications,

immigration records,

128

border management registers, tax registers, social security registers, social

welfare registers, shelter registers, health management information systems, education

management information systems, registers of refugees and asylum-seekers, etc.

231. In countries where statelessness determination procedures are established (see Chapter 2,

paragraph 50-52) data maybe collected in a statelessness-specific register, however it is more

likely to be included in a migration register or civil register directly. Given this data is derived

directly from statelessness determination processes they also present an important potential source

of statistics on statelessness. However, like other administrative data, they will likely only cover

part of the population of interest.

127

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Handbook on Registers-based Population and

Housing Censuses, 2022 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/publication/handbook-registers-phc.pdf).

128

Migration records would normally be included in a population register but are listed here as well because they are relevant as a

data source of their own in countries where no population register exists.

232. While these registers in most cases may only cover a sub-set of the stateless population,

they may provide valuable information that helps to identify relevant population groups if they are

not included in civil registration, legal identity or population registers and may also give an

indication of the access to services of stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality

status. Some of these registers may also provide information on rejected applications and reason

for rejection, which may provide useful data in the context of statelessness. It will be different

from country to country which registers hold the relevant information, so national assessments will

be important to carry out, both to assess if stateless populations can be identified in the registers

and if they are included or not.

233. How stateless persons or those without a recognised nationality status are identified in

administrative data sources will depend on the approaches taken in each country. While registers

on vital events should include and allow identification of these populations groups (see paragraph

245-250 below), it is not always advisable to advocate for their inclusion which may require a

change in legal framework governing these systems. While their inclusion would be useful for

statistics production, there may be other implications, such as access to services, that may be

affected, if changes are made.

234. Another important potential use of administrative data for statelessness statistics, is when

data from these functional registers can be linked with data where stateless persons are already

recognised. This requires interoperability of data but, when feasible, could present a rich source of

policy-relevant data on statelessness (see Chapter 5, paragraph 287-302).

3. Using Administrative Data for Measuring the Number and Characteristics of Stateless

Persons

235. As outlined above, there are a variety of potentially relevant administrative data sources

available in countries and what is available varies substantially. This section is therefore structured

by type of administrative data source, rather than stocks flows and characteristics.

236. Population registers of good quality and include record details of all residents, including

foreign-born residents and non-citizens, are an ideal source of data for measuring both categories

B ‘persons with a recognised statelessness status’ and C ‘persons without a recognised nationality

status’. Nationality is usually stated and where there is no or unknown nationality, this will also

be recorded in those cases. Other classificatory variables, such as the place of birth and the parents’

nationality is almost always recorded in birth registration. The specification of native born vs

foreign born should therefore also be possible to calculate.

237. The stocks of these groups can in these cases be measured at any point in time since the

possible to disaggregate the data by age, sex and location.

238. Well-functioning population registers can also be a useful source of data to estimate flows

of stateless people, provided the contextually relevant classificatory variables are included (i.e.

births, citizenship status, migration and death). With continuously updated information on these

variables, flows in the stateless population can be captured, incoming through births and

immigration, outgoing through emigration, change of stateless/nationality status and deaths.

129

Since the data source remains the same and is, in theory, a continuous full count, flows would be

measured by defining the required period of time and calculating the new inflows and outflows as

defined in Chapter 3, accordingly (see paragraphs 98-100). The overall change from one period to

the next can also be measured by specifying the difference from one stock figure to the next.

239. Population registers may also provide information on basic demographic and migration

characteristics of population groups included in the statelessness statistical framework (see Table

5.3 below).

240. In the absence of a population register and depending on how advanced the civil

registration system is, that is to what extent it is possible to link vital events through unique

identifiers, as well as their quality and coverage, civil registration may also potentially be a good

source to measure the stock of the stateless populations. This will, however, also depend on

whether the stateless population is mobile or not as civil registration does not usually cover

migration. In contexts where statelessness is related to migration, to get a full overview of the

stock of stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status, civil registration

records may need to be linked with migration records. Similarly, unless combined with migration

records, flow measurements derived from civil registers will be limited to births and deaths, as

well as potentially change in citizenship/nationality status.

241. Civil registration can further be used for measuring some basic characteristics of the

population in question, although data content on this will usually be limited (see Table 5.3 below).

242. Other government administrative data sources may be considered as complementary

sources for measuring the stock of stateless populations if they are not fully included, nor

identifiable in the above-mentioned registers. Often different data sources provide information on

a subset of the stateless population in a country. For example, in work permit registers only the

working age stateless population can be identified while those in school/study are excluded.

Combined with other data sources, or in combination with modelling, stocks could potentially be

estimated for the stateless population overall.

243. Other administrative registers also have a value added in providing information about the

basic characteristics of stateless populations. Education information management systems can

provide data on access to education for example, and may also be able to provide information on

language, literacy, education level etc. Similarly, health management information systems can be

a source of data on characteristics related to health as can registers of other social protection

measures, including pensions, disability benefits, income support and others.

244. Table 5.3 outlines possible administrative data sources (i.e., if the stateless can be identified

either directly in the database or by integration with other data sources), for each of the

characteristics outlined in Chapter 4 of these recommendations (see paragraph 130). In practice,

129

In many contexts emigration data is not adequately captured which may limit the possibility of fully calculating outflow

statistics

coverage will differ in each national context, therefore a context-specific mapping exercise to

identify relevant information will be necessary.

Table 5.3 IROSS Recommended Variables for Analysis of Characteristics of Stateless

Persons using Administrative Data Sources

Variables for Analysis of Characteristics of

Stateless Persons (from Chapter 4)

Potential administrative data sources

Demographic and Migration:

Age or age group

Civil registration/population register

Sex

Civil registration/population register

Country of birth

Civil registration/population register

Ethnicity

Civil registration/population register

Religion

Civil registration/population register

Reasons for migration

Population register/ immigration data/ residence

permits etc.

Years of residence in the current country of residence

Civil registration/population register

Marital status

Civil registration/population register

Education:

Literacy

Education Management Information System

Education level

Education Management Information System

and/or education qualification register

Economic and property rights:

Labour force status and status in employment

Labour market information system/employment

service records

Sector of activity/ industry

Labour market information system/employment

service records

Occupation

Labour market information system/employment

service records

Access to/possession of land

Cadastre/title registries

Housing tenure

Housing register

Living conditions:

Poverty and material deprivation or wealth index

Registries on social assistance

Housing conditions

Housing register

WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene)

Drinking water registry

Access to electricity

Access to social welfare (social security)

Registries on social assistance and pensions

Legal identity, freedom of movement and access to justice:

Birth registration

Civil registration/population register

Access to travel documents

Access to courts

Health:

Access to health care

Health management information systems (HMIS)

Immunisation/Vaccination coverage

HMIS/vaccination registers

Reproductive health

HMIS

Nutritional status

Mortality (under-five)

Civil registration/population register

4. Existing International Recommendations on Administrative Data Sources

245. The Guidelines on the Legislative Framework for Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and

Identity Management, 2019

130

are intended to complement the Principles and Recommendations

for Vital Statistics System and the Handbook on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems.

131

The Guidelines update and replace the 1998 Handbook on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics

Systems: Preparation of a Legal Framework.

132

246. International recommendations clearly specify that stateless persons and those without a

recognised nationality status should be included in civil registration systems, as for instance stated

in the Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System: “Instructions should be given

for the disposition to be made of (a) stateless persons, (b) persons with dual nationality, (c) persons

in process of naturalisation and (d) any other groups of ambiguous citizenship”.

133

Similarly, the

Guidelines on the Legislative Framework for Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity

Management advise that “civil registration requirements must apply to the entire population in the

country without discrimination or distinction based on sub-national geography; racial, ethnic or

religious group; sex; status as a member of a nomadic, displaced, native, indigenous or aboriginal

population; status as a refugee, asylum-seeker or foreign national born in the country, or temporary

worker; or any other characteristic”.

134

This principle of universality includes populations who are

stateless, or those without a recognised nationality status.

247. As already mentioned above, the 2019 Guidelines stress the importance of the universal

civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, which are important for the inclusion of

stateless and related populations. Civil registration and vital statistics should not be limited to

citizens and those with proof of legal residence in a country but include all regardless of nationality

and ethnicity.

248. Moreover, the Guidelines stress the rights of all children to be registered in their country

of birth, and to grant nationality to a person born in its territory who would otherwise be stateless.

Abandoned infants or foundlings should be considered to have parents possessing nationality of

that state unless there is proof to the contrary.

“Everyone has the right to a nationality…. Certain vital events (such as marriage,

dissolution of marriage, legitimation, recognition or adoption) can affect a person’s civil

130

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Guidelines on the Legislative Framework for Civil Registration, Vital Statistics,

and Identity Management, 2019 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/Standards-and-

Methods/files/Handbooks/crvs/CRVS_GOLF_Final_Draft-E.pdf).

131

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Handbook on Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management

Systems: Communication for Development, 2019 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/SeriesF/Seriesf_121e.pdf).

132

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Handbook on Civil Registration and Vital

Statistics Systems: Preparation of a Legal framework, 1998 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/SeriesF/SeriesF_72E.pdf).

133

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Principles and Recommendations for a Vital

Statistics System, 2014, Revision 3, para. 175 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/standmeth/principles/m19rev3en.pdf).

134

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Guidelines on the Legislative Framework for Civil Registration, Vital Statistics,

and Identity Management, 2019, para. 31 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/Standards-and-

Methods/files/Handbooks/crvs/CRVS_GOLF_Final_Draft-E.pdf).

status and nationality. If the act of registering a vital event has the effect of terminating a

person’s nationality, then the registering state must ensure the affected person is still

recognised as a national of another state. This is particularly important in the context of

gender and marriage issues. Children are especially vulnerable to non-registration if their

parents are not citizens or nationals of the country where the child is born. Whether their

parents are citizens, permanent residents, refugees, asylum-seekers, tourists, migrant

workers, undocumented residents, or otherwise stateless, all children have the right to be

registered in the country where they are born – irrespective of nationality laws.”

135

249. Moreover, the CRVS Systems Improvement Framework

136

sets out recommendations on

improving CRVS systems and includes some recommendations on improving registration for

marginalised groups, including stateless people.

250. The Bali Process Civil Registration Assessment Toolkit make recommendations for

strengthening the registration of stateless persons and persons without a recognised nationality

status in CRVS systems,

137

and several actions are proposed for improving the business processes

to improve coverage and data quality. This includes aspects such as development of standard

operating procedures outlining the responsibility of all civil registry offices in registering the vital

events of stateless persons and persons without a recognised nationality, as well as to address any

common misconceptions surrounding the registration of vital events for these populations; making

standard operating procedures readily available to all civil registry staff, especially to those in

remote locations; providing training to all civil registry staff on procedures and others.

5. Specific Recommendations on Modifying Forms/Instruments

251. An essential condition for the usability of administrative data sources in producing

statelessness statistics is the possibility of identifying stateless populations in the data source. Care

should be taken to ensure that stateless people are enumerated where there is a higher chance of

them being excluded from administrative registers. To identify population categories within the

statelessness statistical framework in administrative registers and databases, the inclusion of a field

on nationality with ‘stateless or without a recognised nationality status’ and ‘unknown

nationality/citizenship status’’ in an expanded list of response options will be necessary (NB – this

recommendation aligns to those for census instruments outlined in paragraph 165 above). This

addition may require changes to the legal framework which governs the registers. For data sources

beyond civil registration and national ID, it should also always be considered if singling out these

populations does not negatively impact their access to services. If this is the case, the modification

would not be advisable.

135

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Guidelines on the Legislative Framework for Civil Registration, Vital Statistics,

and Identity Management, 2019, para. 162 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/Standards-and-

Methods/files/Handbooks/crvs/CRVS_GOLF_Final_Draft-E.pdf).

136

See table 6 of the CRVS Improvement Framework, 2021 (available at: https://getinthepicture.org/resource/crvs-systems-

improvement-framework).

137

The Bali Process, Bali process Civil Registration Assessment Toolkit, 2018 (available at:

https://getinthepicture.org/resource/bali-process-civil-registration-assessment-toolkit).

6. Specific Recommendations on Ensuring Appropriate Coverage of Stateless Persons

252. In addition to identification, the extent of the register’s coverage of stateless population

groups is critical. Coverage should ideally be universal and all records be filled completely to

produce reliable statistics on statelessness from administrative registers, however there are various

obstacles, including legal, administrative and social ones, that can limit coverage of stateless

persons; these obstacles, alongside steps to remove/minimise them, are outlined in the paragraphs

below. In general, as stateless populations are in many contexts considered a hard-to-reach

population group, governments should take additional measures to ensure that they are included,

taking into account the obstacles outlined here. Inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms to

enhance CRVS efforts, should be capitalised on to include a dedicated workstream on statelessness

and persons without a recognised nationality status.

253. Even if the administrative data source does not have universal coverage and completeness,

they may be used for the production of statistics if the data are adequately representative for the

population, including the stateless. Completeness assessment and cross-validation of

administrative registers, particularly at the subnational level, can be used to identify differential

completeness/inclusion of populations by socio-demographic and geographic characteristics.

138

The NSO will often be in a position to lead the assessment and validation work in collaboration

with the administrative data holders, with a prerequisite that they are granted access to the data at

microdata level.

a. Removing legal obstacles to the registration of stateless people

254. In the past, vital events statistics often covered only the “usually resident population”. The

term “resident population” may reflect various concepts of population and could refer to the legal

or registered (resident) population, perhaps only including non-citizens with a residence permit.

This may have excluded some of the population in scope of these recommendations, who may not

have been considered to be legally resident in a country. While this goes against current

international recommendations and guidelines (see paragraphs 245-248), there are still examples

of countries with older civil registration and legal identity laws, or no law at all, which only allow

citizens or persons with proven nationality or legal identity to register. If someone is excluded

from the civil register or population register for legal reasons, then the likelihood of them being

excluded from other functional registers greatly increases.

255. It is therefore recommended for those involved in the production of statelessness statistics

to become familiar with existing national legal framework on civil registration and where this is

outdated or not aligned to current international recommendations concerning the principle of

universality to advocate for appropriate changes to be made (see paragraphs 245-248).

b. Removing administrative obstacles to the registration of stateless people

138

UNDESA Manual X: Indirect Techniques for Demographic Estimation, 1983 (available at:

https://www.migrationdataportal.org/resource/manual-x-indirect-techniques-demographic-estimation) and UNFPA, Tools for

Demographic Estimation, 2013 (available at: https://iussp.org/en/tools-demographic-estimation).

256. The need for documentation as a requirement to register vital events, or to prove

entitlement to nationality, may also prevent a person without proof of identity from registering.

Procedures and the need for supporting documentation requirements may be prohibitive, especially

to more vulnerable populations (e.g., if parents do not have legal ID documents, or a marriage

certificate, or do not have proof of a child’s father, then they may not be able to register the child’s

birth). To avoid situations like these, governments should ensure that all have access to

documentation needed for registration.

257. Stateless persons and persons without a recognised nationality status may be confined to

camps, detention centres or certain, possibly remote, geographic areas, which prohibit them from

travelling to civil registration offices. There may be other barriers to registration, such as

complicated and lengthy registration processes, length of travel to registration offices, restrictions

on when the registration should be done after a birth or death, language, fees, or registration offices

that are insufficient in number or inaccessible.

258. Different strategies may be pursued to address these administrative obstacles. Mobile

registration units or establishing offices in camps can help to improve registration of stateless

populations. Ensuring registration is free of charge, and waiving time-limitations for registering

vital events for a specified period can also help minimise the negative impact of these obstacles.

Overall, investing adequate resources to ensure good capacity and reach of registration offices,

including facilitation of registration in different languages where appropriate, will be important.

259. The roles and responsibilities of each government office responsible for recording the vital

events of foreign citizens, refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons and persons without a

recognised nationality status may be ambiguous or not stated. Decentralised systems may collect

information in non-systematic ways, and this can result in inconsistent interpretations of the law.

For example where local level civil registration staff may be unaware of their responsibility to

misconceptions about conferring nationality through birth registration.

139

260. Many vital events have gone unregistered for generations, and the need to identify and

retrospectively register them is required to achieve better completeness. There may be lack of

clarity about where a past vital event occurred, and which State is responsible for the registration

for nomadic populations or populations that reside in porous border areas.

261. These complex administrative obstacles can be difficult to overcome, however clear and

accessible guidance and regular training of registration staff can help mitigate these challenges and

improve associated data quality issues.

c. Reducing social obstacles to people registering their vital events

262. Stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status may not be willing to

exposes stateless people to possible action from immigration authorities and may result in them

139

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, NQAF Manual, 2019 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/dataquality/un-nqaf-manual/).

being vulnerable to discriminatory practices. There is often reluctance to notify authorities of vital

events out of a real or a perceived fear of negative consequences. Other social barriers to

registration include local customs, traditions and beliefs which may limit peoples’ willingness to

be registered, a lack of understanding of how to register vital events, and confusion about the

difference between a birth notification or registration and a birth certificate and misconceptions

that the two documents are interchangeable.

263. Addressing or reducing these social obstacles is not straight forward. Targeted information

campaigns in relevant geographic locations and communicated accessibly in relevant languages

can be helpful to address some of the social barriers mentioned. There may be a need for the

population to be incentivised to register. Positive reasons for registering should be identified and

communicated in a context-sensitive manner, as stateless populations may experience

disincentives to registering. Service provision should, however, not be strictly linked to

registration.

7. Quality Considerations and Data Protection

264. Administrative data are primarily collected for legal or other official administrative

purposes, not for statistical use. Often many fields are left incomplete, data are not updated

regularly, or coverage and completeness of the population is poor. Those collecting the data are

government officials, not statisticians, and thus may not understand the importance of making sure

all records are complete and of high quality. Thus, before a register can be used for statistical

purposes they should be carefully reviewed for quality. This includes assessment of various data

quality dimensions, as well as concepts, standards and definitions. Regular reviews and measures

for improvements should be carried out on a continuous basis. NSOs in many countries are

experienced in carrying out quality assessment and assurance procedures and can guide and

support administrative data holders in these processes.

265. The UN National Quality Assessment Framework (NQAF)

140

can provide useful, general

insight on which quality aspects to consider, independently of the data source. Many regions and

countries have also developed regional or national quality assessment frameworks which are more

concrete. The Collaborative on Use of Administrative Data for Statistical Purposes

141

has been

collecting relevant resources and is developing new practical tools and guidance materials that

specifically address the use of administrative data. In this context, resources on quality in

administrative data are already available and more are expected to be published in the course of

2023, also in collaboration with the Expert Group on NQAF. More specific quality guidance is

also available in the various thematic recommendations and guidelines. The earlier mentioned

recommendations and handbooks on CRVS are an example. Further, a practically oriented guide

on Production of a Vital Statistics Report

142

gives hands-on input on how to process civil

140

Ibid.

141

Collaborative on the Use of Administrative Data for Statistics (available at: https://unstats.un.org/capacity-

development/admin-data/).

142

See the Guidelines and Template for Developing a Vital Statistics Report, published by ECA, ESCAP, and Statistics Norway

in 2020 (available at: https://getinthepicture.org/resource/guidelines-and-template-developing-vital-statistics-report).

registration data for statistics production. Other resources helpfully outline the challenges in using

administrative data

143

and present a useful set of indicators for assessing quality dimensions.

144

266. The key questions to be considered in identifying suitable administrative databases include:

• Do the laws and regulations permit the recording of births, deaths and marriages, as

well as national ID and migration information, that occur in the territory among the

stateless populations and those without a recognised nationality status, and what

documentary evidence is needed?

• Are stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status identifiable in

the source administrative database records, and if so which categories?

• What is the precise coverage and completeness of the database/data? Is the

administrative register comprehensive, or is there a possibility that some individuals in

scope of these recommendations are excluded or omitted from the register due to

specific legal, administrative or social barriers? Among those covered, how complete

are the data? Which time period do the data cover?

• If the data do not directly identify stateless populations, do key variables exist which

are needed to estimate their number using proxy variables or can administrative data

be linked to other sources such as other registers or population census records that can

be used to directly (through unique identifiers) or indirectly identify stateless persons?

• How are individuals removed (or marked) from the database, and are the contents

updated, in what circumstances and with what frequency?

• What regulations are in place to enable statistical access to the database or register?

• How are data protected from access for other actors, is there for instance a firewall in

place which prevents the details of stateless and those without a recognised nationality

status from being passed to immigration enforcement agencies?

267. Once an assessment of the quality is carried out, stakeholders, particularly the

administrative data holder and the NSO, should sit down together and consider how to address the

challenges identified. While the data source may not be of sufficient quality for use at the time of

assessment, improvements can be made with the aim of using the data source once the challenges

have been addressed. NSOs in many countries play a coordination and quality assessment role for

data and statistics. Where feasible, these offices should be involved in the quality assessment

process.

143

See also Quality control of Dutch Administrative Registers: An inventory of Quality Aspects, 2011 (available at:

https://www.oecd.org/sdd/38883259.pdf).

144

Piet Daas and Sasjua Ossen (CBS), Report on Methods Preferred for the Quality Indicators of Administrative Data Sources,

2011 (available at: http://www.pietdaas.nl/beta/pubs/pubs/BLUE-ETS_WP4_Del2.pdf).

268. Data should ideally be shared with the NSO at microdata level for statistics production

where the administrative data holder does not publish statistics on the stateless population

themselves and/or where data need to be gathered across different data sources. For this to be

feasible, the parties should explore and potentially adjust legal frameworks, develop data sharing

agreements that outline the conditions and responsibilities. Confidentiality of respondents should

always be ensured beyond the staff that work with the data and the parties should ensure security

of information technology (IT) solutions both on premises and during sharing. Continuous

oversight that data are handled safely should also be put in place. Overall prioritisation by the

government to strengthen inter-agency coordination and data governance mechanisms will help

these processes and ensure populations are not put at risk.

D. DATA SOURCES DEVELOPED BY NON-GOVERNMENT ACTORS

1. Introduction

269. Traditionally, data sources such as surveys, censuses and administrative data are developed

by government authorities and used to produce official statistics within the framework of a

country’s national statistical system (NSS). However, the nature of statelessness means that

stateless populations are often hard-to-reach, statistically speaking, and data sources developed by

government actors may significantly underestimate their number. This presents challenges in

regard to the identification and inclusion of stateless populations in national statistical processes.

In many contexts, the most readily available data on stateless populations are produced by non-

government bodies and thus can offer a strategy to overcome or minimise these issues when certain

quality standards are met. In this section, the potential use of data sources developed by non-

government actors to produce or supplement official statistics on statelessness is considered.

2. Defining Data Sources Developed by Non-Government Actors

270. Data developed by non-government actors can include traditional data sources such as

surveys and administrative data held by other stakeholders, but it can also include non-traditional

data sources and methods, some of which are often referred to as big data.

145

In the context of the

SDGs, there is a growing recognition of the value of data sources developed by non-government

actors to produce statistics on hard-to-reach groups, including stateless populations. The use of

new data sources has been encouraged by the UNSC, the body has also emphasised “the

importance of ensuring the quality of data derived from new sources and new data providers,

including those outside the official statistical system”.

146

145

The framing is this Section – to include traditional data sources as well as others – introduces some overlap with previous

Sections of this chapter. This overlap is intentional given the importance of dedicating attention to non-governmental data

sources due to their prevalence in the context of statelessness. The overlap is minimised by ensuring that recommendations

concerning the use of survey and administrative data is prioritized in Sections B and C.

146

United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC), Report on the 49

Session, 6-8 March 2018 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/49th-session/documents/Report-on-the-49th-session-E.pdf ). See E/2018/24, decision 49/107.

271. Data sources developed by non-government actors may include the following:

147

a. Cross-country sample surveys by supranational organisations or international

enterprises

b. Data compiled and maintained by private professional organisations or business

associations, or by non-profit institutions in general

c. Data and records compiled and maintained and/or owned by enterprises that cover

large parts of the population of statistical units, in particular e-commerce, media

and telecommunications providers (i.e., including mobile phone data/call records

and social media data), but also other enterprises that provide services directly to

individuals or businesses, such as insurance companies, banks and airlines

d. Earth observation and remote sensing

e. Web scraping

f. Thematic mapping and monitoring systems (e.g., field-monitoring stations for

water quality, air pollution, etc.)

g. Research/scientific and pilot studies

h. Citizen-generated data.

272. Data sources developed by non-government actors have the potential to leverage the

variety of data produced by different stakeholders. These data sources may be relatively

inexpensive in comparison to traditional data sources and could be used to overcome challenges

associated with resource limitations. In addition, these data sources may allow for the production

of timelier, more responsive and granular disaggregated data. Often data sources managed by non-

government actors are developed in close collaboration with affected communities and therefore

minimise the challenge of non-response rates due to increased levels of trust in data collectors.

273. However, despite the potential benefits associated with the use of data sources developed

by non-government actors, there are key challenges that must be acknowledged and addressed

prior to their use. Many of the limitations associated with these data sources arise because the data

producers and owners are entities outside the NSS. Consequently, issues regarding data quality

restrict how these data sources can be used. More specifically, there are challenges associated with

legal rights to the access of data and data sharing principles; limited adherence to international

statistical concepts, definitions, classifications and standards which impacts the accuracy,

reliability and comparability of data; potential lack of metadata regarding how the data were

produced and the risk of non-representative samples increases the risk of bias; and how the

utilisation of such data may breach the confidentiality and privacy of vulnerable populations if

consent was not secured from them.

147

List derived from paragraph 7.6 of UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, United

Nations National Quality Assurance Frameworks Manual for Official Statistics Including recommendations, the framework and

implementation guidance, 2019 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/dataquality/references/1902216-

UNNQAFManual-WEB.pdf).

274. Keeping in mind the benefits and challenges of using these data sources, it is important to

note, that these sources should only be used for official statistics if they have been developed in

close collaboration with the NSO and adhere to international standards. Guidance concerning

efforts to strengthen collaborative work streams, improve coordination and increase statistical

capacity are further discussed in Chapter 6.

275. There is significant work at national, regional and international levels to explore the

possibilities of using data sources developed by non-government actors and non-traditional

methods for the production of official statistics or to supplement them. However, there are

currently only limited examples of these data sources being used for analysis of stateless

populations. Therefore, the remaining part of this section will highlight the potential of citizen-

generated data, which has been used in a few contexts.

3. Citizen-Generated Data

276. Citizen-generated data (CGD) is defined as:

“Data produced by non-state actors under the active consent of citizens to tackle social issues

explicitly. This definition denotes three distinguishing features of CGD that help NSOs and

other stakeholders to identify and understand the nature of CGD.

a. Who produces CGD? Non-state actors, particularly individuals or civil society

organisations (CSOs).

b. How is CGD produced? CGD is actively given by citizens. This approach to data

collection requires data providers to consciously give information, feel comfortable

about it, and spend time entering the data.

c. Why is CGD produced? The primary purpose of CGD production is to monitor

demand or drive change on issues affecting citizens or their communities, and not

the production of official statistics.”

148

277. This definition is supported by other sources.

149

150

151

Despite using the term “citizen”, it

remains relevant for stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status, as many

data sources covering these populations fit well the description of this data source.

278. Like many data sources developed by non-government actors, CGD are not collected for

the purpose of producing official statistics, however given the prevalence of CGD on stateless

populations and their benefits, as well as the limitations of traditional data sources, specific

148

Paris 21, Global Citizen Generated Data, 2017 (available at: https://paris21.org/cgd).

149

Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, Choosing and Engaging with Citizenship Generated Data, 2018

(available at: https://www.data4sdgs.org/resources/choosing-and-engaging-citizen-generated-data-guide).

150

Christopher Wilson and Zara Rahman, Citizen Generated Data and Governments, 2015 (available at:

http://civicus.org/images/citizen-generated%20data%20and%20governments.pdf).

151

UN Women, Methodological Guidelines on the Collection and Use of Citizen Generated Data for Reporting SDG5 and

Gender Specific Indicators in Other SDGs, March 2020 (available at:

https://data.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/documents/Publications/CGD-Methodological-guidelines_March-2020.pdf).

attention should be given to this data source considering its potential to contribute to the production

of official statistics on statelessness. Moreover, there is emerging practice of NSSs making use of

CGD setting a clear precedent for NSSs to follow.

152

153

279. The benefits of CGD in the context of official statistics on statelessness include: the

potential to fill data gaps, track stateless-related issues at the granular level, strengthen

engagements with data users, and enhance the public perception of government data. Given the

active inclusion of target populations in CGD, they can also help to raise awareness on key issues

that impinge communities’ rights and empowers citizens to engage in data collection activities

thus helping to produce citizen informed policies. Given its granular nature, CGD can often be

disaggregated by key characteristics in order to compare population groups for more nuanced

analysis. Additionally, CGD can be used to produce qualitative or quantitative data on stateless

populations regardless of the methodology used to compile the data.

280. Despite the benefits associated with CGD, there are limitations that must also be

considered. In most cases, it is not possible to draw general conclusions from CGD as samples are

unlikely to be representative of the population in question. In addition, quantitative data collected

may not have followed standard statistical methodologies. However, CGD may, with careful

consideration, be used to supplement official statistics.

4. Using CGD Sources for Official Statistics

281. The use of CGD in tandem with traditional data sources will depend on 1) the traditional

data source in question; 2) the statistical purpose; and 3) the capacity to utilise the data.

282. There are several different use cases of CGD; nevertheless, below three use cases of how

CGD can be used to supplement traditional data sources are outlined:

a. Census planning: Censuses capture the whole population at a specific period;

therefore, stateless populations should be included in national census data (see

Chapter 5, paragraph 154). However, as stateless populations are in many cases

hard-to-reach, it is often difficult to include them in census exercises. In this regard,

data sources developed by non-government actors, particularly CGD, may be used

to canvas the geographic spread of the stateless population prior to the initiation of

the census and can be used to determine the best strategy to reach stateless

populations in the census.

b. Survey Development & Execution: Accurate and representative sampling frames

are essential prerequisites to conduct a survey (see Chapter 5, paragraph 190-192).

Without knowledge of the distribution or density of the population in question, it

will not be possible to develop representative sampling frames. CGD can be used

to collect up-to-date information about the stateless population and thus enrich the

152

Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Citizen Generated Data Toolkit, 2021 (available at: https://africa.unwomen.org/en/digital-

library/publications/2021/12/citizen-generated-data-toolkit).

153

Jonathan Gray, Danny Lämmerhirt and Liliana Bounegru, Changing What Counts: How Can Citizen-Generated and Civil

Society Data Be Used as an Advocacy Tool to Change Official Data Collection?, March 2016 (available at:

http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2742871).

survey sampling frame. Similarly, geographic data can be used to identify the

location of stateless populations as a precursor to conducting surveys. In addition,

CGD can inform the development of survey instruments to ensure they address the

key policy-relevant characteristics impacting the stateless populations and those

without a recognised nationality status.

154

c. Supplementing Administrative Data: In theory, government administrative data

should include stateless populations; however, this is not always the case in practice

(see Chapter 5, paragraph 216). In some cases, CGD can be used to supplement

data from national registries and thus illuminate how stateless populations engage

with public services.

283. However, given the limitations described above, there are important quality guidelines that

should be considered prior to their use in official statistics. The following sections will explore

how the quality of data sources produced by non-government actors, specifically CGD, should be

assessed to determine its usefulness, outline how CGD can supplement traditional data sources,

and identify methods to enhance the usefulness of data sources produced by non-government

actors for official statistics.

5. Quality Considerations

284. Data must meet the standards outlined by the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics

to be used in official statistics. However, the very nature of data developed by non-government

actors means that they are unable to satisfy the criteria stipulated in the Fundamental Principles,

particularly Principle 1 which states that official statistics “are to be compiled and made available

on an impartial basis by official statistical agencies”.

285. Nevertheless, the benefits associated with data sources developed by non-government

actors, particularly CGD, means that despite their “unofficial” status, government authorities may

still find them useful when developing statistics on stateless populations. Therefore, NSOs, in

collaboration with relevant non-government data producers and informed by the Fundamental

Principles of Official Statistics, should establish a set of statistical, context-specific standards that

determine the use of these data sources for official statistics. Data sources developed by non-

government actors deemed to meet quality standards may then be considered as an additional or

supplementary data source for official statistics. Important considerations that should be evaluated

include: periodicity of data collection, disaggregation of the data, data collection methodology

used, population coverage, data storage and protection considerations, and ownership and access

to data. In cases where the minimum quality criteria for official statistics have not been met, CGD

producers can be assisted to strengthen the quality of data produced (see Chapter 6, paragraph

366).

154

Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS), Country Examples of Data Collection on Statelessness

Statistics, background document on the Côte d’Ivoire Statelessness Survey and the Kenya Shona Survey, January 2022, pp. 4 and

5 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/53rd-session/documents/BG-3f-Country-examples-of%20data-collection-on-

statelessness-statistics-E.pdf).

286. The Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21) developed a

quality assessment framework that can be used to validate CGD.

155

NSOs should assess CGD

against relevant frameworks to evaluate the quality of data and determine whether it should be

used. The outcomes of quality assessment evaluations should be incorporated into national

frameworks to enhance the quality assessment of statistics produced using data sources developed

by non-government actors. Additionally, before use in official statistics, potential biases in CGD

should be corrected using an appropriate methodological and statistical data processing approach.

E. DATA INTEGRATION

1. Introduction

287. Data on stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality are often scarce,

available only on subsets of the population of interest or collected infrequently. Data integration

by pulling together data from diverse sources such as censuses, sample surveys, administrative

data, and new sources of data including geospatial information and big data may assist with

providing more frequent, timely, complete and disaggregated data and statistics.

288. The following paragraphs briefly introduce data integration requirements for the

consideration of countries either to enhance their official statistics on statelessness or to invest in

complementary/experimental statistics. Further information about data integration can be found in

the Asia-Pacific Guidelines to Data Integration for Official Statistics

156

which is an adapted

version of the Guide to Data Integration for Official Statistics developed by UNECE.

157

2. Data Integration

289. Data integration is the combination of technical and business processes used to combine

data from disparate sources into meaningful and valuable information for data users, i.e., policy

makers or development partners working on a specific issue. Data sources may include censuses,

sample surveys, administrative data, or new data sources including geospatial information or big

data.

290. Data integration can enable the provision of more frequent, timely, complete and

disaggregated data and statistics at a lower cost than traditional approaches. Although data

integration approaches are promising, challenges need to be overcome to realise their full potential.

Data integration requires a wide range of institutional and technical capacities, from appropriate

coordination and collaboration mechanisms among stakeholders to the core technical skills needed

to address data issues and record linkage (see Chapter 6, paragraph 370). Access to data and

metadata, data quality, interoperability, privacy and confidentiality, and limited technical capacity

are among the major challenges.

155

Paris 21, A Quality Framework for National Statistical Office-Civil Society Organisation Engagement, 2021 (available at:

https://paris21.org/node/3377).

156

Asia-Pacific Guidelines to Data Integration for Official Statistics (available at https://www.unescap.org/kp/2021/asia-pacific-

guidelines-data-integration-official-statistics).

157

Guide to Data Integration for Official Statistics (available at

https://statswiki.unece.org/display/DI/Guide+to+Data+Integration+for+Official+Statistics).

291. The challenges, issues and requirements of data integration can be classified into three

categories: a) legal and institutional, b) managerial, and c) methodological and technical.

a. Legal and institutional

292. One of the most important requirements is the existence of a legal basis (including

legislation, codes of practice, protocols, and policies) that supports the use of and access to

administrative data and other data sources - which are external to the National Statistical Office

(NSO) - for statistical purposes. In most cases, the Statistical Act includes specific provisions for

the NSO to use and access administrative data free of charge, while in most cases it remains silent

about other sources of data.

293. Microdata access and use are sometimes regulated by legislation that safeguards

confidentiality and privacy. Given the sensitivity, for the purpose of statistics on statelessness, the

collaboration between data providers and NSO should be open and transparent, with strict privacy

and confidentiality safeguards in place. Furthermore, the benefits of data integration and efforts to

protect individual data should be communicated to the public, and particularly to representatives

of the affected community.

294. Mechanisms for collaboration with data providers should be built to facilitate data flow.

These may take the form of formal agreements that specify the duration of data sharing and data

retention, types of data and metadata required, frequency of data supply, quality standards,

technological standards such as security measures and the mode of transmission to be used. This

is more critical when NSOs are working with NGOs providing data, which may be the case with

regards to statelessness statistics. These mechanisms can ensure a smooth data flow while

minimising any issues between the data provider and the NSO. Another aspect to consider is

building effective partnerships with data producers, data users, and providers of information and

communications technology (ICT) infrastructure. Establishing close connections across

organisations, providing feedback on data, identifying shared benefits and opportunities, educating

data users, including the representatives of the stateless communities, and defining governance in

joint projects have all been identified as critical drivers.

b. Managerial

295. The managerial category mainly refers to required resources. Budget constraints may

prevent obtaining the necessary resources; they can represent a substantial investment. The human

resources required are broad and include methodologists, IT experts, and statisticians who hold a

range of skills such as leadership, negotiation, relationship-building, data protection, and

communication. They should also be familiar with the numerous laws and rules that govern data

access and use. The availability of appropriate IT infrastructure, including hardware and software,

facilitates the flow and utilisation of data from different sources.

296. The use of administrative data, the data held by non-government actors may introduce

some risks that should be managed. One example is interrupted data sources that require

contingency plans to be in place if the data source becomes unavailable. Another managerial

challenge is the NSO’s resistance to initiating a new way of producing data or in some cases

changing an ongoing production process by replacing it with an external data source when existing

procedures are widely accepted, and expertise and experience have been acquired.

c. Methodological and technical

297. The amount of literature available on different types of data integration varies. While there

is extensive material and experience in the use of administrative data,

158

159

160

new data sources

such as geospatial information and big data are still in their early stages, with some countries and

agencies starting to experiment with them. A challenge often encountered by NSOs trying to utilise

data integration techniques is that there are limited commonly recommended methods available,

and the methodology largely depends on the data sources in use.

298. One first technical requirement is to identify available data sources that are best suited for

producing the statistics of interest on statelessness. This needs a deep understanding of the

available data sources, which can be obtained through their metadata. However, metadata is not

always available. Administrative data and data developed by non-governmental actors are not

initially produced for statistical purposes, and NSOs have limited influence over data collection

and processing (see paragraph 215 and 278). Thus, one major issue is a lack of interoperability

resulting from inconsistency in the concept, classification, coverage, data format, reference

periods, and unavailability of a unique identifier, among others. When using such data sources, it

is necessary that potential sources of bias be identified in order to be avoided or resolved. In

addition, proper approaches should be selected to handle data quality issues, such as missing data,

inconsistency, and error; data quality can be particularly challenging in contexts where

administrative data sources are not actively being updated. The availability of metadata together

with ongoing informal dialogues with data providers can assist in detecting sources of bias and

issues related to interoperability and data quality, as well as analysing their impact and deciding

on solutions.

299. Another technical difficulty is combining microdata from different data sources. Record

linkage refers to the process of identifying and combining records that relate to the same entities

across two or more data sources. Record linkage methods fall into two categories:

a) Deterministic matching (or exact matching) refers to the cases when data sources

have a formal decision rule (usually in the form of unique identification numbers)

that can be utilised for matching,

b) Probabilistic matching refers to cases when strict decision rules are not applicable,

so complex probabilistic decision rules are established based on a set of common

variables.

158

Using Administrative and Secondary Sources for Official Statistics: Using Administrative and Secondary Sources for Official

Statistics: A Handbook of Principles and Practices (available at

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/Using_Administrative_Sources_Final_for_web.pdf).

159

Register-based Statistics in the Nordic Countries –- Review of Best Practices with Focus on Population and Social Statistics

(United Nations publication, Sales No E 07.II.E.11) (available at

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/Register_based_statistics_in_Nordic_countries.pdf).

160

Anders Wallgren and Britt Wallgren, Register‐Based Statistics: Statistical Methods for Administrative Data (John T. Wiley

and Sons, Inc., 2014).

300. In countries, where stateless people are registered, the identification number can be used

for exact matching, when integrating different data sources.

301. Regardless of the data source or methodology used, the quality of the data sources and the

statistics produced should be investigated, measured, managed, and published. One critical

consideration is effectively communicating the produced data and statistics to users, which entails

a) speaking with stakeholders, including the representatives of the stateless community, and data

users to capture and understand data needs, b) finding the most efficient way to meet those needs,

c) explaining the methods and results, and d) seeking their feedback to improve the data and

statistics produced continuously.

302. Some potential examples of how data integration can assist the production of stateless

statistics include:

a) In cases where different groups of stateless persons are covered by different

registers or administrative data sources, integration of these sources can result in a

list with improved coverage of the stateless population. This list can be used for

conducting targeted surveys to gather further information on stateless persons.

b) Data from a targeted survey of stateless persons can be integrated with other

available data sources, such as censuses, surveys or administrative data, to

investigate the coverage of the stateless population and obtain additional

information on their characteristics, e.g., information on their employment status

by combining with the census, labour force survey and data from unemployment

registers.

c) In cases where the stateless population is dense in some specific areas, the

integration with geospatial information can provide insights into their housing

situation, for example, their access to electricity, road, services or their vulnerability

to natural disasters.

d) Under the right conditions, data can be integrated from different sources, including

census, administrative data and surveys, to undertake experimental population

projections and other analyses that can enhance and/or supplement official statistics

on statelessness.

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F. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

303. The traditional data sources discussed in this chapter, namely censuses, surveys and

administrative data, and data sources developed by non-government actors are relevant sources of

data that can be used to produce, enhance or supplement official statistics on stateless populations

and those without a recognised nationality status. There are advantages and limitations to each

data source, which must be carefully considered. The chapter presented concrete recommendations

on how data sources can be used and adapted to produce stock and flow statistics on populations

161

See Workstream 2: Modelling Methods on Statelessness Statistics (available at: https://www.jointdatacenter.org/developing-

statistical-standards-on-statelessness/).

included in the statelessness statistical framework. In addition, how data concerning the

characteristics presented in Chapter 4 can be captured using the different data sources covered.

304. The recommendations encourage countries to first map available data produced by both

traditional and non-traditional means against the statelessness statistical framework, as in some

instances countries will already be able to produce statistics on the population categories defined

in Chapter 3. However, in some contexts, it will be necessary to make adjustments to existing data

sources and/or initiate new data collection activities to capture the necessary data accurately. In

these instances, efforts should be made to identify relevant opportunities to enhance inclusion of

stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status in existing national surveys,

censuses and administrative data workstreams, following the recommendations outlined in this

chapter.

305. Per data source, this chapter has provided concrete guidance on methods to adjust the

different data sources to produce statistics on stateless populations. For example, in Section A, it

is recommended that when using a census, national statistical authorities should include the

following responses to questions concerning citizenship: 1) stateless or no recognised

nationality/citizenship status, 2) unknown nationality/citizenship status. In Section B, the

recommendations highlight the usefulness of surveys for collecting characteristics data on stateless

populations. In Section C, the recommendations provide guidance to enhance the use of

administrative registers including through implementation of the principle of universality in

population registers and CRVS systems and various methods to enhance the identification and

coverage of stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status. In addition, Section

D encourages national authorities to consider data sources developed by non-government actors

as a potential source of data that can strengthen or supplement official statistics on stateless

populations in a number of ways.

306. The chapter concludes by discussing importance of data integration approaches to produce

more frequent, timely, complete and disaggregated data, particularly within a growing data

ecosystem where new producers of data continue to emerge. The recommendations outline key

considerations on legal, managerial and technical matters related to data integration that are

relevant in the context of statelessness statistics. Data sharing and protection principles remain key

as does effective coordination between data producers and users through the process.

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CHAPTER 6: STATISTICAL COORDINATION AND THE DATA

ECOSYSTEM

307. The international statistical system largely derives its core data from national data

ecosystems. At the centre of the national data ecosystem is the NSS which encompasses the entire

network of official data collectors, data producers, data analysts and other data users that directly

or indirectly collect, process, disseminate, analyse, and/or otherwise consume data and associated

services within a specified country. The data ecosystem also includes the data holders and

providers of national administrative records, citizen generated data, private third-party data

(including that related to big data) and other data communities such as researchers and academia.

These systems and their governance vary from country to country, depending on the national

administrative and governance structures, the evolution of the country’s statistical system and the

resources available for official statistics.

308. This chapter will focus on principles and mechanisms to improve coordination of statistics

on statelessness at the national, regional and international levels. Section A defines coordination

and discusses why it is an important component to improve statelessness statistics; Section B sets

out some of the challenges which exist today in coordination at the national level and provides

recommendations on methods to improve national coordination; Section C discusses the

challenges related to regional and international coordination and then presents specific

recommendations to improve coordination at these levels and Section D discusses the capacity

development initiatives that should be conducted at the national, regional and international

statistical levels.

A. WHAT IS COORDINATION AND WHY IT IS NEEDED?

1. Introduction

309. Coordination is the eighth Fundamental Principle of Official Statistics and is considered

an essential prerequisite to achieve consistency and efficiency in statistical systems.

162

This

essential component is applicable across the data ecosystem including national, regional and

international statistical systems. This section aims to present clear guidance on the necessary

coordination requirements to support the production of high-quality and comparable statistics on

statelessness.

2. What is Statistical Coordination?

310. Statistical coordination has been described in various ways; however, the most

comprehensive definition describes statistical coordination as a process that “enables the

components of the statistical system to act as a coherent system. Coherence is ensured by the ability

to mobilize budgetary resources to meet broad priorities, exploit potential synergies and

162

UN General Assembly, Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, March 2014 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/dnss/gp/FP-New-E.pdf). See A/RES/68/261.

101

efficiencies, ensure consistency of the outputs of the system and defend the system against political

interference”.

163

For the purposes of these recommendations, coordination tools are based on those

presented in the Handbook on Management and Organization of National Statistical Systems.

164

311. In practice, coordination means that, within a system, activities, responsibilities, command

and control structures are synchronised, harmonised and, when appropriate, integrated. To improve

coordination within a system, responsible parties should use common statistical definitions and

classifications, ensure all available data are produced, shared and used to the fullest extent possible,

reduce data wastage and mainstream the topic of concern (in this case statistics on statelessness)

in national and international policy agendas.

312. The advantages of a coordinated data ecosystem are the following:

• Efficiency and synergies of operations by avoiding overlapping efforts, duplication of

work and reducing the response burden through data sharing

• Effectiveness by addressing demands for data and statistics in an organised and timely

manner through the capability to jointly produce expected outputs

• Quality, coherence, comparability, and accessibility of data and statistics within and

across domains through the harmonisation of methodology, classifications and

dissemination channels

• Develop a corporate identity, and secure trust in data and statistics

165

• Represent a country’s international interests through coordination of international

policies

• Comparability of statistical outputs based on efforts to harmonise statistical concepts,

definitions and classifications

3. Why is Statistical Coordination Important and What are the Prerequisites?

313. Given the complexity of measuring statelessness and its characteristics, many different

types of data from a variety of data owners and stakeholders will be required. For these data to

have the desired impact, they need to reach a variety of policymakers and users, requiring a whole-

of-government approach. Thus, a coordinated effort is imperative, ensuring identification and

inclusion of all relevant stakeholders. In this context, data communities within countries—from

traditional to non-traditional producers and users of data— are challenged to work together and

163

Ivan P. Fellegi, Characteristics of an Effective Statistical System, International Statistical Review / Revue Internationale de

Statistique 64, no. 2, pp. 165–87, 1996 (available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1403738).

164

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Handbook on Management and Organization

of National Statistical Systems, 2021, 4

Edition (available at: https://unstats.un.org/capacity-

development/handbook/index.cshtml).

165

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Governance Beyond the National Statistical System, 16 August 2021 (available

at: https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/d8files/event-

documents/UNSD_Governance_beyond_the_NSS_Stats_Cafe_16Aug2021.pdf).

102

demonstrate collaboration and greater coordination of efforts. While on the surface this is a

technical exercise, it is also a political one requiring establishing a culture of trust as well

accelerating improvements in monitoring, accountability and decision-making within countries

thus providing an advocacy tool for improving outcomes for stateless populations, through

shedding light on often hard-to-reach communities and populations that may otherwise be

excluded from the benefits of sustainable development.

B. COORDINATION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

1. Introduction

314. NSSs, in most contexts, are central to the national data ecosystem. Other national, regional

and international actors organise themselves in response to the established workstreams, and

therefore it is imperative that national systems are effectively coordinated. Despite the potential

challenges, there are key recommendations that can be incorporated into established systems to

support national coordination and subsequently improve statelessness statistics.

315. This section briefly describes the common challenges for national coordination of

statelessness statistics, before presenting a series of recommendations to strengthen it in practice.

2. Existing Challenges in National Statistical Coordination on Statelessness

316. The statelessness data ecosystem involves several institutions at the national level. In

different contexts this can include ministries of interior affairs and immigration; legislative bodies;

local authorities; the judiciary; national human rights institutions and NSOs. Beyond government

institutions, the statelessness data ecosystem can also include academic institutions, civil society

and humanitarian organisations working with stateless persons. Indeed, in many contexts,

countries rely on non-government actors, including international agencies, for estimates on

stateless populations. Coordinating efforts amongst so many different stakeholders with different

mandates, priorities, resources and capacities is inherently challenging.

317. In contexts where the capacity of the NSS is limited and coordination mechanisms less-

well established, efforts to coordinate on a specific data issue such as statelessness can be even

more challenging. National priorities to enhance statistical coordination are likely to have a

different focus.

318. The different sources and multiple approaches available for the collection of data on

statelessness presents a further challenge. Data can be sourced from administrative registers,

population censuses, surveys or combinations of these, as well as data sources available in the

wider data ecosystem such as citizen generated data. In most countries, data are collected using

multiple sources with each method bringing its own strengths and limitations (see Chapter 5,

paragraphs 151-153 on census, 189-193 on surveys, 215-234 on administrative data and 276-280

on citizen generated data). Whilst data integration - attempting to use all possible sources of data

help to obtain more timely, frequent, and granular data at less cost and respondent burden –

presents a significant opportunity, challenges related to access, lack of harmonised definitions and

coordination, among others, are common (see Chapter 5, paragraphs 289-302).

103

319. Moreover, in many contexts the topic of statelessness is politically sensitive and data

quality varies significantly. Stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status

often reside in the margins of society (they are a clear example of a statistically hard to reach

population) and are unwilling to identify themselves or their location for fear of persecution. This

reality further hampers effective coordination of statistics.

3. Recommendations to Improve Statistical Coordination at the National Level

320. Improving coordination of statelessness statistics at the national level requires a concerted

and sustained effort and clear political leadership. Any established coordination system will set up

effective and meaningful linkages among data producers and users. This supports the components

of the statistical system to work in a coherent manner and allows for synergies among the key

actors. Many statistical laws and regulations allow for the setting up of technical coordination

bodies, with a view to harmonising data and ensuring a flow of data for statistical purposes. Whilst

the composition, structure, and governance modalities of a NSS and a wider data ecosystem will

vary widely between countries, certain commonalities and recommendations can be applied

broadly.

321. Building on this opportunity, a series of practical recommendations are outlined below.

a. Inclusion in statistical development strategies and plans

322. Countries may decide to include statelessness in the National Strategy for the Development

of Statistics (NSDS), or other multi-annual plans (such as the annual statistical programme) for

developing the statistical system, which is an important step to help improve coordination between

different actors at the national level. These strategies/plans are often aligned to national

development plans, which are part of the national policy cycle. The NSDS or similar plan sets the

goals for where the NSS should be in 5–10 years, and the priorities and processes for getting there.

It is developed among relevant stakeholders through a collaborative process, focusing on assessing

user needs and finding ways to meet them.

166

323. The inclusion of statelessness into the NSDS or similar plan can help mainstream the

production of official statistics on statelessness and improve their quality and availability through

resourcing and capacity building, even when the primary focal point for data production is not yet

part of the NSS (see paragraph 365). The NSDS can also be used to develop statistical policy for

the development of new statistical series, including technical committees to oversee the

development of statistics on statelessness.

167

b. Legal foundation

324. Statistics laws determine the basic principles and standards concerning the production and

organisation of official statistics. In addition, statistical laws grant NSOs the authority to compile

and assess the quality of data and official statistics. In contexts where this is not an NSO, statistical

laws should define the mandates of the relevant statistical agencies that comprise the official

166

Paris 21, 2019 NSDS Progress Report (available at: https://paris21.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/NSDS-Progress-Report-

2019.pdf).

167

Paras. 323 and 324 are based on the recommendations presented in the IRRS (please consult for more information:

https://egrisstats.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/International-Recommendations-on-Refugee-Statistics.pdf).

104

national statistical system. This is particularly important for statelessness statistics where a variety

of national ministries, departments and agencies, including the country UNHCR office, could be

involved in producing statelessness data.

325. There should be a legal basis for the collection of statistics which cover marginalised and

vulnerable populations, such as stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status,

which is anchored in the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.

168

The law should define

the national coordinating role regarding all activities for the development, production and

dissemination of official statistics. Any law should also oblige all producers of such official

statistics to apply the same set of standards, methods and definitions based on international

recommendations and statistical legislation should extend to all those involved in this process.

169

Data protection laws should ensure that statelessness data are shared in a unidirectional manner

e.g., from the data producers to compilers of official statistics, as a means to protect the data of

stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status.

c. Whole of government approach

326. A whole-of-government approach should be implemented to raise the importance of

statelessness among government ministries, departments and agencies. This will also enhance the

harmonisation and alignment of data between and among government agencies. This is likely to

improve service delivery and strengthen efforts to generate evidence-based and data-driven

policies, plans and programmes. Harmonisation procedures and agreements should help to address

the constraints regarding data sharing. This usually requires the establishment of inter-agency

working groups, which may require special arrangements for sub-national regions where particular

minorities affected by statelessness are found.

327. In the context of the Agenda 2030, Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) that help monitor

implementation progress can be capitalised on to further support a whole of government approach

and enhance the visibility of stateless persons in national dialogues on development. VNRs should

be compiled through an inclusive, participatory, transparent and thorough in country review

process before they are formalised through a country report that is presented to the High-level

Political Forum on Sustainable Development. VNR reports usually include appendices with a

detailed overview of nationally relevant SDG indicators and detailed disaggregation of indicators

on important socioeconomic and ethnocultural variables. As the guidelines to prepare VNR reports

include the principle of leaving no one behind, the inclusion of statistics on statelessness and

persons without a recognised nationality status in this reporting process presents an important

opportunity. Given that the VNRs are national processes and the NSO often leads the data

collection in that regard, the statistics produced can thus be considered official.

d. Partnerships

328. In addition to the government institutions involved in the NSS, the statelessness data

ecosystem can also include academic institutions, civil society and humanitarian organisations –

including UNHCR - working with stateless persons. These stakeholders can contribute with

168

The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, 2014 (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/dnss/gp/fundprinciples.aspx).

169

See the UNSD Good Practices Database (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/dnss/gp/searchgp.aspx).

105

specific expertise on statelessness and complement with additional resources and capacities. In

some cases, they may be able to contribute with relevant data, which, given the holistic data

ecosystem promoted in this context, may contribute to the production of statistics on statelessness

even though it would be non-official and/or operational in nature. The potential contribution of

operational and/or non-official data for official statistics is discussed further in the IRRS

(paragraphs 547-548) and IRIS (paragraphs 363 - 365), and equally relevant for statistics on

statelessness (see Chapter 5, paragraphs 270-275).

329. Due to the complex nature of identifying stateless persons and those without a recognised

nationality status, as well as others who fall within the statelessness statistical framework (see

Chapters 3 and 4), the involvement and advice of relevant organisations with expertise on

statelessness will be critical for the production of quality statistics on statelessness. In particular,

given the varied causes of statelessness and the legal expertise required in many contexts to

properly identify it and therefore select the appropriate basic classificatory variables, liaising with

relevant statelessness experts will be essential. Given its mandate on statelessness, statistical

authorities should seek UNHCR’s expert advice for this purpose (see Chapter 2, paragraphs 26-

27).

e. Coordination role

330. As countries will likely have more than one organisation involved in the development,

production and dissemination of official statistics on statelessness, in both the NSS and the data

ecosystem models, a clearly designated responsible agency for coordination is required. The NSO,

or primary statistics agency responsible, must have a clear coordinating role recognised by other

partners. This should include overall responsibility for the integrity and validity of all official

statistics and coordination of the process to ensure effective planning, coordination and

dissemination of related data. Although there are differences between centralised and decentralised

statistical systems, a central coordination role is strongly recommended.

331. In a modern data ecosystem, the NSS may need to acquire new coordination capacities.

These new capacities are at times better captured in the concepts of data governance and data

stewardship, which emerged from the private sector.

170

For statistics on statelessness, this should

also include civil society (see paragraph 365). New developments within NSSs and NSOs on new

co-ordination capabilities complying with data governance and data stewardship roles, in order to

accommodate the rising data demands in the modern data ecosystem should be followed by those

responsible for statistics on statelessness to ensure that these developments are fully

accommodated.

332. To support this institutional coordination function for statelessness statistics, a dedicated

national statistical coordinator who is responsible for championing this area of work should be

appointed. This individual should be of an appropriate seniority within their organisation and have

the necessary subject-matter knowledge to deliver on coordination objectives and identify working

synergies at the national and sub-national levels. In collaboration with national counterparts,

national statelessness statistical coordinators should work to identify opportunities to establish

170

Paris 21, Coordination Capacity in National Statistical Systems – Background Report, 2021 (available at:

https://paris21.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/Coordination_Capacity_in_NSS.pdf).

106

regional networks, where they can exchange knowledge and identify capacity development needs

across the regional statistical system (paragraph 369).

f. Sub-national coordination

333. Sub-national coordination should occur between provincial, city, municipal and local

statistical units/committees.

171

This is especially true for statelessness which can be localised and

where local links and partnerships are key within a holistic ecosystem. The nature of coordination

at this level strongly depends on the structure of the NSS (decentralised vs. centralised) where

decentralised NSSs give more room for provincial and municipal level but even centralised NSSs

could benefit from local advisory committees that can support the NSO activities.

334. Regardless of the overall structure of the NSS, avenues to enhance sub-national

coordination should be considered and pursued as part of an effective strategy to enhance statistics

on statelessness. For examples, NSSs should work to sufficiently include the information needs of

key partners at sub-national level to further increase effective coordination and strengthen

statelessness statistics.

g. Data sharing and data protection

335. Data sharing and data protection are critical aspects of effective national statistical

coordination. Although data protection is always important, particular care should be taken to

protect personal data concerning vulnerable populations such as stateless persons and persons

without a recognised nationality status.

172

Following appropriate data protection principles can

facilitate safe and responsible data sharing which plays a critical role in effective coordination as

it helps to minimise duplication, better manage limited resources, enhance data analysis and

increase trust between partners and with data subjects.

336. Key principles for the protection of personal data, such as those outlined in the UN Personal

Data Protection and Privacy Principles

173

are critical for the safe and responsible management of

personal data, including on stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status.

Whilst data sharing and protection considerations have been outlined previously per data source

(see Chapter 5, paragraphs 183-186 on census, 212-213 on surveys, 268 on administrative data,

and 292-293 on data integration), including the importance of informed consent, purpose

specification, security and transparency, other principles are especially pertinent in relation to data

sharing and the context of analysis, dissemination and publication of results. Of particular

relevance here is the principle of confidentiality to avoid risks associated with reidentification of

data subjects when sharing microdata. For instance, any staff working with the data should sign

confidentiality agreements, IT systems should ensure that access is not possible for third parties,

and MoUs (or similar agreements) between data sharing partners should be established to facilitate

safe and responsible data sharing where necessary.

171

Ibid.

172

UNHCR General Policy on Personal Data Protection and Privacy (GDPP) – soon to be made available online.

173

The principles include: fair and legitimate processing, purpose specification, proportionality and necessity, retention,

accuracy, confidentiality, security, transparency, transfers and accountability (available at:

https://unsceb.org/sites/default/files/imported_files/UN-Principles-on-Personal-Data-Protection-Privacy-2018_0.pdf).

107

h. Dissemination and transparency

337. Statistics on statelessness can be politically sensitive although levels of sensitivity may

vary in different regions or national contexts. Reference is made to Principles 3 and 4 of the United

Nations’ Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics where statistical agencies are to present

information according to scientific standards on the sources, methods and procedures of the

statistics to facilitate a correct interpretation of the data and that statistical agencies are entitled to

comment on erroneous interpretation and misuse of statistics. This is particularly important for

statistics on statelessness. NSOs could also establish a mechanism for the peer review of relevant

concepts and analysis procedures prior to statistical release and ensure that results are released free

from political interference.

338. National authorities should publish official statelessness statistics (agreed-on indicators

with detailed accompanying metadata) on an online platform at regular intervals. When possible,

non-confidential microdata should be also made available. Where such a national platform exists,

data users could extract the information needed directly, thus reducing the burden on agencies

responsible for the publication of data to respond to requests.

339. Where such a platform does not exist, it is important that national authorities share data on

statelessness with UNHCR and other international actors to support their mandated efforts to

compile global population statistics on statelessness (see Chapter 2, paragraph 27 and below). Non-

confidential/anonymized micro-data can also be published, when relevant, on UNHCR’s

microdata library.

174

C. COORDINATION AT THE REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL

LEVELS

1. Introduction

340. International statistical systems and other stakeholders rely on effective coordination at the

national level, as national entities are responsible for the production of official statistics. However,

regional and international bodies play an important role in supporting the production of high-

quality, comparable statelessness statistics at the national level, through adherence to international

statistical standards and by providing mechanisms to increase national statistical capacity.

Improved international coordination on statelessness statistics will help to align statistical

reporting on statelessness and support efforts to identify trends that can inform effective

policymaking, planning and international responses to the issue of statelessness.

341. This section aims to outline the challenges associated with the international and regional

coordination of statelessness statistics, present practical recommendations for regional and

international organisations to follow in efforts to improve statelessness statistics.

2. Challenges Concerning Statistical Coordination at the Regional and International Levels

174

UNHCR Microdata Library (available at: https://microdata.unhcr.org/index.php/home).

108

342. The development of comparable statistics on statelessness across time and space is an

important issue for planning and policymaking, public debate, the international community and

affected countries. International statistics on statelessness are dependent on official national data;

therefore, the production of international statelessness statistics is often complex and faces various

difficulties and limitations.

175

343. One of the major challenges to compiling global data on stateless persons concerns the

different methodological definitions used by countries and organisations to estimate these

populations. Although there is a clear legal definition, until now, no comparable statistical

definition has existed, and practice has varied across countries and stakeholders (Chapter 2,

paragraphs 28-34). The different contributory causes of statelessness – in law and in practice –

further adds to this methodological challenge.

344. Statelessness is a politically sensitive topic in many contexts, as it may result from

discrimination towards some groups of people, or deprivation of nationality among other groups.

This may limit the willingness of some countries to report their data, particularly where the

recommended definitions conflict with national laws and procedures. Differences of opinion and

gaps in legislation between countries on whether specific population groups should be considered

nationals of one or the other state are often at the very core of the problem of statelessness, and

this also affects the reliable compilation of statistics on stateless persons at the international level.

3. Recommendations to Improve Statistical Coordination at the Regional and International

Levels

345. Improving regional and international coordination of statelessness statistics is inherently

linked to improved coordination at the national level. Building on the recommendations outlined

above (paragraphs 322-339), therefore, a series of practical recommendations for regional and

international partners are outlined below.

a. Use of/alignment to relevant standards and mandates

346. To address the issues related to regional and international coordination, it is important that

any work conducted by regional and international partners takes into account the existing standards

and mandates that govern the production of statistics. In particular,

• The IROSS should provide foundational guidance to both international and regional

bodies working to improve statelessness statistics.

• Statistics on statelessness are often based on population and housing censuses and

should be aligned with the Principles and Recommendations for Population and

Housing Censuses (UN P&R).

176

175

Lily Chen, Petra Nahmias, Sebastien Steinmuller, UNHCR Statistical Reporting on Statelessness, October 2019 (available at:

https://www.unhcr.org/en-in/statistics/unhcrstats/5d9e182e7/unhcr-statistical-reporting-statelessness.html).

176

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, UN Principles and Recommendations for

Population and Housing Censuses (UN P&R),Revision 3, 2017, para. 4.67 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-

social/Standards-and-Methods/files/Principles_and_Recommendations/Population-and-Housing-Censuses/Series_M67rev3-

E.pdf).

109

• Inclusion of stateless persons in CRVS systems should be done in accordance with the

Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System.

177

• Where statistics relate to migratory contexts, reference should be made to the work of

the Expert Group on Migration Statistics and its ongoing work, including the recently

adopted conceptual framework.

178

• Where statistics relate to forced displacement contexts, reference should be made to

the IRRS and the IRIS. Many of their recommendations apply to statistics on

statelessness, such as the principles for the coordination of statistics.

179

• The work of statistical agencies should be guided by the Fundamental Principles of

Official Statistics, with international agencies further encouraged to adhere to the

Principles Governing International Statistical Activities.

180

• NSSs, and the wider data ecosystem, should align their operation and organisations

with the Handbook on Management and Organization of National Statistical Systems,

including with respect to statistics on statelessness.

• The UNHCR mandate on statelessness gives it the responsibility to compile country

level data and publish global statistics on stateless populations (see Chapter 2,

paragraph 27 and below).

b. Key bodies and principles

347. The UNSC is the highest body of the international statistical system and is integral to the

international coordination of statistical activities. The UNSD falls under the leadership of the

UNSC, which oversees the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) who

adopted the Principles of Governing Statistical Activities in 2005.

181

The Committee focuses on

improving statistical coordination through six main activities:

182

a) Efficient functioning of the statistical system

b) Common standards and platforms

c) Development of methodologies

d) Inter-institutional support

177

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) – Statistics Division, Principles and Recommendations for a Vital

Statistics System, 2014, Revision 3 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/standmeth/principles/m19rev3en.pdf).

178

UN Expert Group on Migration Statistics, Final Report on Conceptual Frameworks and Concepts and Definitions on

International Migration, 27 April 2021 (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/migration-expert-group/task-

forces/TF2-ConceptualFramework-Final.pdf).

179

See IRRS, paras. 488-496 and 512-517; IRIS, paras. 348-359.

180

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Principles Governing International Statistical Activities, 30 August 2013, Item 3

(available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/accsub/2013docs-22nd/SA-2013-8-FP-UNSD.pdf)

181

Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities, Principles Governing International Statistical Activities, 3 March

2014 (available at: UNSD — Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities).

182

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (available at:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/accsub-public/workpartner_ccsa.htm).

110

e) Outreach

f) Advocacy for statistics

348. Regional organisations of States, such as the OECD, European Union (EU), Pacific

Community and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as intergovernmental

bodies such as the UN Regional Commissions, regularly produce recommendations with the

objective to improve the comparability and quality of statistics. Consequently, these bodies play a

significant role in advocating for legislative changes and thus have the potential to strengthen

regional-level coordination of statistical data collection, including on statelessness.

349. Regional and international bodies and organisations should adhere to the principles

articulated by these bodies and capitalise on their positions and existing partnerships to improve

the overall quality and visibility of statistics on statelessness, including through the development

of shared strategies specifically related to the development of statelessness statistics.

c. UNHCR & inter-agency cooperation

350. The UNHCR is the international organisation responsible for the protection of stateless

persons as outlined in the 1954 and 1961 Conventions on statelessness and several General

Assembly resolutions (see Chapter 2). As part of its mandate, the UNHCR is responsible for

compiling country level data and publishing global statistics on stateless populations, as well as

the other groups of persons of concern

183

(see Chapter 2, paragraph 26-27).

351. As part of its mandate on statelessness, the UNHCR has a responsibility to work with other

international and regional actors to support the production of statelessness statistics and strengthen

statistical reporting on statelessness. Many other entities, regional and international, support the

production and are engaged in the compilation and use of statistics on statelessness, and thus the

UNHCR needs to coordinate closely with governments, international and regional organisations,

and civil society in this regard. In addition, the UNHCR should capitalise on established regional

processes to strengthen coordination streams with relevant partners as a mechanism to improve

statelessness statistics (see below).

352. The cross-cutting nature of statistics on statelessness makes coordination with various

agencies more necessary to ensure internationally compiled estimates are harmonised and

compliant with international standards. Further cooperation includes work with organisations such

as United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), International Organization for Migration (IOM),

OECD, World Bank (WB) and UNSD on strengthening statistical systems. Recently, in

collaboration with the WB, the UNHCR has established the Joint Data Center on Forced

Displacement (JDC), which includes work to improve statelessness statistics in its scope.

184

353. Collaborative mechanisms, such as working groups and advisory bodies, between the

international, regional, and national statistical systems and stateless data producers, would enhance

the quality of statelessness statistics and reduce duplication and inconsistency. In addition,

183

Data concerning these groups are recorded in the Population Statistics Reference (PopStats) database, which are recorded

twice a year and serve the basis of the Global Trends and Mid-Year Trends Reports.

184

Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement (JDC), Improving Statistics on Statelessness (available at:

https://www.jointdatacenter.org/improving-statistics-on-statelessness/).

111

collaboration enables international and supranational bodies to collect the data that NSOs produce,

to assess them, and to publish data which meet international standards, classification, concepts and

methods.

d. Support to countries

354. In lower resource settings, international organisations should support the

acquisition/augmentation of financial and human resources to assist countries in efforts to produce

these statistics. International and regional actors should aim to coordinate on the provision of

technical support and capacity building activities (see paragraph 357). This should include

supporting NSSs to manage and meet public demands for data, for example through the creation

of accessible online databases or websites. It should also include providing training on effective

ways to present technical analyses of statistics, to facilitate engagement and demand for these types

of data. Relevant international/regional actors should be the custodian of capacity-building

materials related to the implementation of these recommendations.

355. In addition, international bodies should encourage national authorities to share relevant

data with clear metadata based on internationally agreed standards to serve as a mechanism to

harmonise international estimates.

e. Transparency and data sharing

356. The UN Principles of Governing International Statistical Activities sets out guidance

concerning the collection, collation and dissemination of statistics. In particular, Principle 4 states

that “Concepts, definitions, classifications, sources, methods and procedures employed in the

production of international statistics are chosen to meet professional scientific standards and are

made transparent for the users”. Therefore, it is important that international agencies publish full

metadata pertaining to the production of national estimates and why this may differ from any

nationally published data. Additionally, international organisations should share data between

themselves to avoid burdening NSOs, establishing relevant framework agreements where

necessary. At the same time good communication is needed between international agencies and

the NSOs on national estimates.

f. Regional advocacy and policy processes

357. Regional commitments and related processes can increase the visibility of statelessness,

enhance political commitments at the national level to address statelessness, and subsequently

inform improvements to statelessness statistics. Building regional consensus to address

statelessness can support improvements to statistics on stateless populations through, for example,

commitments to ensure compliance with relevant legal, policy and institutional frameworks for

eradicating statelessness and commitments to strengthen data management systems to better

include stateless persons. The Abidjan Declaration

185

and associated Banjul Plan of Action of The

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the Eradication of Statelessness 2017

185

The Abidjan Declaration was adopted during the first Ministerial Conference on Statelessness in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in

February 2015. The Abidjan Declaration recognises that statelessness is a significant issue in the region and sets out 25 specific

measures to put an end to statelessness by 2024. The Abidjan Declaration was endorsed by in May 2015 in Accra, Ghana

(available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/54f588df4.html).

112

– 2024

186

presents an example of strong regional commitments that include improvements to data.

The Regional Support Officer of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons

and Related Transnational Crime (Bali Process)

187

, presents another example which, through its

work on civil registration in particular, has resulted in concrete progress to assess the inclusion of

stateless persons and those without a recognised nationality status (amongst others) in civil

registration systems.

188

Furthermore, regional commitments such as the Asia-Pacific Ministerial

Declaration on Building a More Resilient Future with Inclusive Civil Registration and Vital

Statistics,

189

which specifically calls for the inclusion of stateless persons in CRVS systems, can

create momentum for further progress.

358. Further examples of regional commitments to improve statelessness statistics are below in

Box 6.1.

186

See the Banjul plan of action of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the Eradication of

Statelessness 2017-2024 (available at: https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5915c88a4.pdf ).

187

The Bali Process is a forum for policy dialogue, information sharing and practical cooperation to help the region address

challenges associated with people smuggling, trafficking and related transnational crime. It is guided by its 2018

Declaration adopted by the Seventh Bali Process Ministerial Conference (see: https://www.baliprocess.net/).

188

See Bali Process Civil Registration Assessment Toolkit (available at: https://getinthepicture.org/resource/bali-process-civil-

registration-assessment-toolkit).

189

UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Ministerial Declaration on Building a More

Resilient Future with Inclusive Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, 2021 (available at:

https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/d8files/event-

documents/ESCAP_MCCRVS_2021_8_Add.1_ministerial_declaration_English.pdf).

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Box 6.1 High-level Segment on Statelessness

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359. Joint regional approaches to garner progress in an emerging area of official statistics is

often more effective than independent national efforts. They can help to increase visibility and

enhance political commitments which can help secure required funding for capacity development;

they can facilitate progress at the national level through peer-to-peer exchange and experience-

sharing; they can enable more coherent/coordinated progress through developing and working

towards a common framework and avoiding duplication of efforts that can often arise as a

consequence of siloed working. Considering the integral role that regional political consensus-

building processes can play, countries and international organisations should work collaboratively

with regional bodies to support their development, management and implementation as necessary.

360. Given the nature of the work entailed to strengthen statelessness statistics, such regional

efforts to support this work could benefit from being integrated/included in processes with a

broader objective. For example, initiatives to improve CRVS systems or to ensure the inclusion of

vulnerable groups in national census could present important opportunities to include stateless

persons and those without a recognised nationality status, through dedicated working groups and

advisory bodies that include representatives from relevant national, regional and international

stakeholders. the international, regional, and NSSs and data producers. The Asian and Pacific Civil

190

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), High-Level Segment on Statelessness: Results and Highlights, May 2020

(available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5ec3e91b4.html).

Pledges made by Regional Organisations during the High-level Segment (HLS) on Statelessness

“On 7 October 2019, the HLS gave States an opportunity to highlight their achievements to date and

make pledges to be implemented during the second half of the #IBelong Campaign. International

organizations (including other UN agencies), regional organizations and civil society organizations

also made pledges. A total of 360 pledges were made. 252 of these pledges were made by 66 States

and 108 pledges by 32 international/regional organizations and civil society organizations.”

“The African Union Commission commits to continue mainstreaming statelessness into the AU

Commission’s work until the end of 2024 by collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data on

statelessness and groups at risk through the implementation of the Nouakchott Declaration and the

operationalization of programs such as the Africa Programme for Accelerated Improvement of Civil

Registration and Vital Statistics (APAI-CRVS).”

“The Commission for the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC)

Commission is committed to developing, by 2020, a Regional Action Plan to eradicate statelessness in

Central Africa, in accordance with the resolutions expressed in the N'Djamena Initiative adopted by its

Member States and Partner States on 12 December 2018. In order to facilitate understanding of the

relevance of this Regional Plan of Action, the CEMAC Commission also commits to organize broad

communication campaigns in 2020 on the phenomenon of statelessness and its consequences.”

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Registration and Vital Statistics Decade (2015-2024), provides a good example of this in

practice.

191

D. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

1. Introduction

361. According to the PARIS21 Capacity Development 4.0 framework (CD4.0), statistical

capacity development is defined as the “process through which a country’s NSS, its organisations

and individuals obtain, strengthen and maintain their abilities to collect, produce, analyse and

disseminate high quality and reliable data to meet users’ needs”.

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Statistical capacity is an

ongoing process with many dimensions and extends far beyond technical know-how, and includes

administrative and management skills, essential infrastructure and ICT, strong demand for the

outputs and financial and human resources.

362. Statistical capacity development mechanisms specific to this topic are needed to support

and strengthen systems to implement the statistical recommendations and improve the quality of

data on statelessness while being mindful of associated sensitivities. In recognition of the different

statistical capacities of stakeholders at national, regional and international levels, and using the

CD4.0 conceptual framework as a point of departure,

193

this section outlines key capacity

development recommendations that aim to help strengthen the production of statelessness

statistics. More specifically, this section will discuss different capacity development approaches,

explore how advocacy and sensitivity training can increase awareness of statelessness data, and

recommend methods to integrate statelessness-specific capacity development activities into

relevant existing/broader initiatives.

2. Capacity Development Conceptual Framework

363. The CD4.0 conceptual framework is intended to support NSOs in efforts to collect,

produce, analyse, and disseminate high quality data to meet users’ needs and help to develop

country-led, sustainable capacity development initiatives.

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CD4.0 conceptualises capacity

development at three levels which collectively comprise the data ecosystem. Each level represents

a semi-closed system that is susceptible to activities and decisions that occur in other sections of

the ecosystem. The data ecosystem consists of the following components:

• the systemic level, for example a collection of the organisational and individual categories

and elements that connect them, which may be hard (statistical laws and development

plans) or soft (political will/interest);

191

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Regional Action Framework on

CRVS (2015-2024) (available at: Asian and Pacific Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Decade 2015 - 2024 (unescap.org)) and

Progress Report (available at: https://getinthepicture.org/).

192

Paris 21, Proposing a framework for Capacity Development 4.0. (available at: https://paris21.org/sites/default/files/inline-

files/CD4.0-Framework_final.pdf).

193

Paris 21, Guidelines for Developing Statistical Capacity: A Roadmap for Capacity Development 4.0., 2020 (available at:

https://paris21.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/UNV003_Guidelines%20for%20Capacity%20Development%20WEB_0.pdf).

194

Paris 21, Assessing the Capacity of National Statistical Systems: A User’s Guide, Paris, 2018 (available at:

https://paris21.org/sites/default/files/2018-08/NSS-Assessment-Guide%20-%20WEB.pdf).

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• the organisational level, for example the NSO or line ministry;

• and the individual level, for example a statistician or an employee of an NSO.

Figure 6.1 The Various Levels of the Data Ecosystem

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3. Capacity Development Recommendations

a. Capacity development at the systemic level

364. National capacity development needs are vast in many contexts. Therefore, in resource

limited settings, stateless-related capacity development initiatives may be difficult to prioritise.

Despite this difficulty, it is still important to formulate capacity development programmes that

educate relevant stakeholders about how to collect statelessness data to support adherence to

international commitments such as “Leave no one behind”, which is central to the 2030 Agenda.

196

195

Image copied from the following resource: Paris 21, Proposing a framework for Capacity Development 4.0. (available at:

https://paris21.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/CD4.0-Framework_final.pdf).

196

UN General Assembly, Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (available at:

https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda). See A/RES/70/1.

116

365. Government authorities may wish to consult entities within the ecosystem (e.g., non-

governmental organisations and civil society) to identify statelessness specific capacity

development synergies and work to incorporate these areas into the NSDS or similar multi-annual

plans (paragraph 322-323). Including statelessness statistics into the NSDS will help to raise

awareness of the issue and support efforts to appropriately fund and resource capacity development

programmes.

366. Given the range of actors involved in the production of statelessness statistics, capacity

needs may vary. Some will have capacity gaps on the topic of statelessness but be well versed in

statistics, others may have good knowledge on statelessness but less on relevant statistical/data

collection subjects. Stakeholders outside of NSOs (e.g., civil society partners, policy makers, those

managing non-traditional data sources and regional coordinators) should be offered basic statistical

training programmes tailored to their needs. This is particularly important for stakeholders, such

as policy makers, who use statistics to develop national laws that ultimately impact the lives of

stateless persons. Therefore, including such groups in training programmes will help to establish

a collective understanding on the production and use of statelessness statistics. This approach will

facilitate statistical collaboration across the data ecosystem.

b. Capacity development at the organisational level

367. On the other hand, NSOs and other statistical experts may have good statistics skills but be

less familiar with statelessness. Beyond the IROSS itself, relevant international partners are well

placed to provide training and guidance in this area. For example, countries may decide to consult

UNHCR for statelessness concerns and UNICEF on birth registration, and work with these

partners to strengthen specific capacity development initiatives. Additionally, NSOs may wish to

consult policy makers, legal personnel and civil society within their national context to learn more

about local statelessness dynamics thus informing how to better include stateless populations in

data collection activities. Such efforts serve to enhance collaboration between NSOs and other

statelessness statistics stakeholders to strengthen the data ecosystem as a whole.

368. As statelessness statistics are concretely linked to larger statistical processes (e.g., CRVS

and census), NSOs may choose to harness this overlap and expand established data source-specific

capacity development mechanisms to include stateless specific modules e.g., census regional

statistical workshops or CRVS e-learning tools. These programmes will simultaneously increase

national and stateless-specific statistical capacity. In addition, this synergy provides an avenue to

incorporate other global recommendations into national capacity development workflows to

further advocate for improved statistics in the wider statistical community. Furthermore, thematic

training sessions focused on improving the statistical engagement of hard to reach and vulnerable

populations, including in the context of the SDGs, may also incorporate stateless-specific modules.

These modules should draw attention to the unique vulnerabilities faced by stateless persons and

equip enumerators with the skills to engage with this group e.g., mechanisms to handle fearful

respondents.

369. A national statistical coordinator familiar with operational activities within NSOs should

work to champion the capacity development agenda at the national level (see paragraph 332). The

terms of this position should be determined by NSOs. National statistical coordinators should

117

collaborate with other national counterparts and establish a regional hub, where they can set-up

capacity development networks, exchange knowledge and develop mechanisms to report on efforts

and coordinate stateless-related statistical capacity development initiatives at the regional level.

c. Capacity development at the individual level

370. Training programmes to strengthen the capacity of statistical personnel, and other relevant

stakeholders, should be based on established national and organisational priorities as well as

capacity development needs assessments. These initiatives should take the form of practical,

contextually sensitive training modules in either the e-learning

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or face-to-face format,

depending on the financial and human resources available. Due to sensitivities concerning stateless

populations, capacity development training should integrate the principles of do no harm into

activities. Assuming the training sessions consist of fundamental statistical principles, programmes

should comprise the following stateless-specific elements:

• Statelessness statistical framework and linkages between the different population

categories.

• Use of stateless-specific basic and supplementary classificatory variables, as

stipulated in Chapter 4.

• Inclusion of statelessness into national census and survey plans.

• Use of administrative data for producing statelessness statistics.

• Use of data sources developed by non-government actors to supplement traditional

data sources.

• Operational procedures in data collection.

• Methods to ensure appropriate coverage of stateless populations e.g., sampling

methodology.

• Technical skills related to data integration e.g., record linkage.

• Enumerator training on statelessness data collection.

• Data protection and security laws.

• Disclosure avoidance.

• Outreach and community sensitisation with stateless populations and community

members.

371. In some contexts, it will be feasible to monitor the national capacity development

curriculum through assessments. Completion of such programmes may be acknowledged by

awarding trainees with widely recognised accreditations. This approach serves as an incentive to

197

An e-learning based on content from the IRRS and IRIS has been developed by EGRISS in collaboration with UNSIAP.

EGRISS plans to develop similar e-learning modules based on the IROSS which should be made available to NSO practitioners

and others in the future.

118

encourage others to participate in statistical training and can be used to assess NSOs technical

capacity, identify areas for future development, and support coordination and cooperation within

NSOs and other relevant stakeholders. Additionally, this approach can be used to evaluate the

effectiveness of delivered capacity development training sessions.

F. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

372. Coordination is an essential component of the data ecosystem and is a necessary

prerequisite to improve national, regional and international statistics on statelessness. Given its

importance, there are clear recommendations to improve coordination efforts of all elements of the

data ecosystem.

373. At the national level, authorities are encouraged to work collectively and establish

partnerships with different stakeholders, including civil society, academics and humanitarian

organisations to develop a national statelessness statistical strategy in an effort to mainstream

statelessness statistics. A legal basis for data collection efforts is essential for establishing a whole-

of-government approach to statelessness data, ensuring the harmonisation of data, and for the

development of evidence-based programmes and data-driven policies. Coordination at the national

and sub-national levels requires close collaboration of activities, as well as the of sharing statistical

outputs, according to scientific standards.

374. At the regional and international levels, coordination activities will inevitably span varying

geographical, political and economic contexts. Despite these inherent differences and associated

challenges, in the case of statelessness, there will be underlying similarities that can be drawn upon

to strengthen statistical reporting. Due to its mandate, the UNHCR is uniquely positioned to

support these efforts and improve coordination by working closely with governments, international

and regional organisations. Regional and international organisations should coordinate to provide

technical support and capacity development opportunities. Regional processes to enhance political

commitment have proven to be effective to help improve statelessness statistics.

375. Capacity development programmes should be informed by the national statistical agenda,

appropriately funded, and include both fundamental and stateless-specific statistical capacity

development modules. Additionally, due the various stakeholders involved in the production of

statelessness statistics, it is important to pursue an inclusive capacity development approach that

targets a range of partners across the data ecosystem including data producers and users. It is

recommended to integrate statelessness specific modules into existing data-source specific and

thematic statistical training programmes and equip stakeholders with both general and

statelessness-specific statistical knowledge and facilitate the statistical inclusion of stateless

persons and those without a recognised nationality status. The IROSS should be consulted to

support the development and implementation of effective capacity development initiatives.

119

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