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How many years have refugees been in exile ?

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  • Devictor,Xavier
  • Do,Quy-Toan

Abstract

The estimated duration of forced displacement situations is a key parameter in defining an adequate response to the crisis. Where the crisis is short, humanitarian aid may suffice; when it lasts, development interventions are required. Using data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, this paper proposes propose a new approach to estimate the mean and median durations of exile, and their variations over time. The analysis finds that people who were refugees at the end of 2015 have been in exile for an average duration of 10.3 years and a median duration of 4 years; the average duration of exile has varied between 10 and 15 years since the late 1990s. The number of people who are in protracted situations (over five years) has been steady at 5 million to 7 million since the mid-1990s, and currently stands at 6.6 million. For those people, the average duration of exile is as long as 21.2 years. All these estimates are very sensitive to two situations: Afghanistan, where the crisis has been ongoing since 1979 and increases all averages, and the Syrian Arab Republic, which is relatively recent and lowers the averages.

Suggested Citation

  • Devictor,Xavier & Do,Quy-Toan, 2016. "How many years have refugees been in exile ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7810, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7810
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    Cited by:

    1. Steven Gronau & Brigitte Ruesink, 2021. "What Makes Me Want You Here? Refugee Integration in a Zambian Settlement Setting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Barberis, Virginia & Brouwer, Laura & von der Goltz, Jan & Hobden, Timothy & Saidi, Mira & Schuettler, Kirsten & Seyfert, Karin, 2022. "Cost-Effectiveness of Jobs Projects in Conflict and Forced Displacement Contexts," Jobs Group Papers, Notes, and Guides 32579793, The World Bank.
    3. A Stefano Caria & Grant Gordon & Maximilian Kasy & Simon Quinn & Soha Osman Shami & Alexander Teytelboym, 2024. "An Adaptive Targeted Field Experiment: Job Search Assistance for Refugees in Jordan," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 22(2), pages 781-836.
    4. Sonja Fransen & Hein de Haas, 2022. "Trends and Patterns of Global Refugee Migration," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 48(1), pages 97-128, March.
    5. Joireman, Sandra F. & Tchatchoua-Djomo, Rosine, 2023. "Post-conflict restitution of customary land: Guidelines and trajectories of change," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Conflict and Fragile States;

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