Central Asia: Inclusion of stateless people in national censuses & gathering their socioeconomic data
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.
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