Central Asia: Support for the inclusion of stateless people in national population censuses and gathering of additional socioeconomic data on stateless populations

Context

In June 2021, approximately 77,000 persons were identified as stateless in Central Asia. However, only Kyrgyzstan has conducted a comprehensive countrywide mapping campaign, whereas data on statelessness in other countries in the region remains incomplete. New cases of undocumented citizens, undetermined nationality or statelessness are identified each year. Population censuses conducted in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan between 2021 and 2023 provide a unique opportunity to gather data on these people and determine the extent of statelessness in the region.

Activity

Capturing persons who are stateless or of undetermined nationality in population censuses requires more than adding questions about statelessness in the census questionnaire. The JDC-supported census activities in Central Asia comprise two main components. First, improving the capacity and technical infrastructure of National Statistical Offices (NSOs), and training census enumerators on citizenship status and statelessness. Second, conducting information campaigns to increase public awareness of potentially stateless persons and encourage their participation in censuses.

Moreover, the census work will be complemented with a survey on stateless persons in Tajikistan. This survey will capture the socioeconomic situation of stateless people in Tajikistan and identify their socioeconomic vulnerabilities, especially of those who fall under the Amnesty Law. The socioeconomic information that the survey reveals will be crucial to codify rights, such as freedom of movement, and to provide them with services such as education, healthcare, and access to formal employment. The survey will collect information on stateless populations’ economic well-being, labor market participation, human capital, access to basic services, formal and informal transfers as well as social networks and aspirations.

Partners

NSOs are the main government counterparts on the national population censuses. The UN Refugee Agency also collaborates with the UN Population Fund, the World Bank and other partners about statelessness in the censuses of Central Asian states.

Contact

For further details on the JDC support for this activity, please contact:

• contact@jointdatacenter.org
• Felix Schmieding, JDC Focal Point, schmiedf@unhcr.org