Displaced Populations in Djibouti

Overall objectives

The main objective of this activity is to strengthen the evidence base on displaced populations in Djibouti—including refugees, migrants, asylum seekers, and undocumented residents—by collecting detailed data on their profiles, socio-economic conditions, and migration flows. This data will inform World Bank programming and support policy dialogue with the Government of Djibouti, IOM, and other stakeholders, aiding prioritization and contributing to the development of future national plans.
Building on previous qualitative research, this quantitative activity provides representative data with tailored questionnaires and sampling methods suitable for ongoing monitoring. The activity also includes technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of the Institute of Statistics of Djibouti (INSTAD) in collecting sensitive data, enhancing government and donor ability to track displaced populations’ living conditions and design evidence-based policies.

Activity description

Using the 2024 census data (RGPH3), a boosted sample of refugees, migrants, and undocumented residents has been included in the national household survey (EDAM5). The survey has been collected in person through the Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) method with a questionnaire largely aligned with the national survey but enhanced by modules tailored to displacement-specific topics such as migration history, access to services, livelihood barriers, and integration indicators.

Key activities include:
– Designing the sampling framework and questionnaire based on qualitative insights and international recommendations, including guidelines from the Expert Group on Refugee, IDP, and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS).
– Strengthening INSTAD’s capacity for data collection on sensitive populations, ensuring sustainable monitoring of displaced and mobile groups in Djibouti.
– Implementing the face-to-face survey nationwide, covering refugees, migrants, undocumented residents, and host populations.
– Analyzing data and integrating findings with previous qualitative research.
– Engaging with government and partners for dissemination, with anonymized microdata to be made publicly available via the World Bank Microdata Catalog.
– Producing analytical reports and policy briefs to support evidence-based dialogue with IOM, UNHCR, and government stakeholders.

Engagement with partners

Engagement with key partners, including UNHCR and IOM, is ongoing. The team maintains contact with UNHCR representatives for consultation on data collection and analysis. The World Bank team supported INSTAD in data collection, preparation and analysis.

Background and Context

In the past decade, Djibouti became both a destination and a transit country for migrants and forcibly displaced populations crossing the Gulf of Aden to and from Yemen. The country hosts refugees fleeing conflict and environmental risks in neighboring countries such as Somalia and Yemen—a role that remains critical amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East. While many migrants in Djibouti are in transit to the Gulf countries, others settle in Djibouti City, putting pressure on social services and limited resources.

Djibouti also faces internal displacement linked to environmental shocks. Prolonged drought, desertification, and the loss of livestock and pastures contributed to displace nomadic communities.

Official figures from UNHCR report over 31,500 refugees and asylum-seekers in Djibouti in 2024. Other estimates suggest the total number of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers could be as high as 150,000 in a country with a population of just over one million. Managing these flows and meeting the needs of diverse displaced groups has become a major policy challenge.

Djibouti has made legal progress in recent years by granting refugees and asylum-seekers access to the labor market through the 2007 and 2017 refugee laws. Despite these efforts, reliable data on the welfare and living conditions of refugees and migrants remain scarce. This gap is increasingly pressing as Djibouti implements digital identification systems that could inadvertently exclude undocumented residents from essential services such as healthcare and education. Improving data collection on displaced populations is also key for informing the upcoming National Development Plan and aligning efforts with Djibouti’s inclusion and sustainable development objectives.