SITUATION REPORT: REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE'S IN AFRICA

As of mid-2001, Africa hosted approximately 5 million refugees and 21 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). The report highlights that IDPs now outnumber refugees globally and that in Africa, 80% of refugees are hosted by least developed countries. Significant displacement is driven by conflict and drought, particularly in Sudan, Angola, and the DRC. Children under 18 make up 56% of all refugees in Africa, exceeding 60% in countries such as Angola, Togo, Guinea, Burundi, Rwanda, Sudan, and the DRC.

• In mid-2001, the OAU Co-ordinating Committee on Assistance and Protection of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons estimated that Africa had approximately 21 million internally displaced people and 5 million refugees.
• Refugee populations in Africa are characterized by a high proportion of children and a reliance on the least developed nations for asylum. Children under 18 represent 56% of all refugees in Africa, and this figure rises above 60% in Angola, Togo, Guinea, Burundi, Rwanda, Sudan, and the DRC. Furthermore, about 80% of African refugees are hosted by countries classified as least developed, which often lack sufficient resources.
• Sudan and Angola are among the countries with the highest numbers of internally displaced persons; as of the period between November 2000 and March 2001, Sudan had 4,000,000 IDPs and Angola had 3,800,000.
• Regional displacement is driven by a combination of armed conflict and environmental factors. In the East and Horn of Africa, displacement was caused by fighting between Ethiopia and Eritrea, violence in Sudan and southern Somalia, and severe droughts in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Somalia.
• The Southern Africa region saw a 7.8% increase in its refugee population during the first six months of 2001, reaching 345,720 people, primarily due to conflicts in Burundi, the DRC, and Angola. Zambia has been particularly affected, hosting 260,000 refugees.

APA

Clover, J. (2002). SITUATION REPORT: REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE'S IN AFRICA. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SITREPREFUGEEIDP.PDF

Chicago

Clover, Jenny. SITUATION REPORT: REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE'S IN AFRICA. Institute for Security Studies, 2002. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SITREPREFUGEEIDP.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Clover |first1=Jenny |title=SITUATION REPORT: REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE'S IN AFRICA |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2002 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SITREPREFUGEEIDP.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clover2002situation, author = {Clover, Jenny}, title = {{SITUATION REPORT: REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE'S IN AFRICA}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2002}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SITREPREFUGEEIDP.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }