T H E G L O B A L S TAT E O F C I T I Z E N S H I P A global study conducted by GLOBALCIT together with the Institute for Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI) reveals that between 2000 and 2020, the use and scope of citizenship revocation on security grounds has expanded. This ‘securitisation’ trend is especially pronounced in Europe, where 18 countries expanded their powers to deprive persons of citizenship on grounds of national security or as counter-terrorism measures. The MENA is another region where the states’ deprivation powers significantly expanded over this period. A closer look reveals notable regional differences. It is apparent that disloyalty or state security (such acts of treason or terrorism) is by far the most common reason for deprivation. Overall, 132 countries provide for loss of citizenship on this ground. Such provisions are common across all world regions, with a prevalence ranging from 50% in Oceania and 67% in Europe to 83% in Africa. For the other grounds of citizenship deprivation, there is more regional variation. Provisions for loss due to military service or other services to a foreign state are relatively common in Africa and Asia but are not as common in other regions. The same can be said for loss of citizenship due to other offences (i.e., not relating to disloyalty); while two-thirds of African countries provide for loss of citizenship due to other offences, only 12% of European countries provide for loss on that ground. Global patterns of citizenship stripping Our dataset contains four ways in which citizens can be stripped of their status on security grounds: • Service in a foreign army • Other (non-military) service to a foreign country • Disloyalty or state security • Other offences What is the legal procedure for stripping a person of their citizenship? In most countries, citizens can only lose their citizenship through an act of deprivation by the authorities, which means that state authorities must actively decide to deprive a person of their citizenship. In a minority of cases, loss of citizenship takes place by a “lapse” procedure, which means that citizenship is automatically lost the moment a person commits a certain act. However, lapse of citizenship can only be enforced once the authorities discover that such an act has taken place. How common are security-related loss provisions? Overall, nearly 80% of countries have incorporated at least one of these four grounds for loss in their citizenship legislation. 4.2 PREVALENCE OF SECURIT Y-RELATED MODES OF CITIZENSHIP DEPRIVATION, BY WORLD REGION Share of countries with type of deprivation rule | 191 countries | 2024 Service in foreign army 41% Other service to a foreign country 39% Other offences 11% 46% 49% 69% Disloyalty or state security 54% 41% 43% 83% 35% 57% Africa 70% Americas 54 35 YES Source: GLOBALCIT Citizenship Law Dataset, v3 | modes L03, L04, L07, L08 26 19% 29% 12% 43% 50% Oceania Europe 46 NO 43% 67% Asia No. of countries Deprivation ground exists 40% 42 14