EVALUATION OF UNHCR-LED INITIATIVES TO END STATELESSNESS – FINAL REPORT – VOLUME I
99. Reporting on the indicator “% of stateless persons for whom nationality granted or confirmed” illustrates
the data quality and target setting challenges identified by the evaluation. Within the underlying data the
reported total number of stateless persons (denominator) does not correspond to the number of stateless
persons reported in the annual Global Trends Report. Table 8 shows a comparison between the
statelessness population statistics in the Global Trends Report and those recorded for calculating results
under this indicator. It is understandable that some operations use higher figures than the official
estimates, given known problems with official statistics. Yet, in other places UNHCR has recorded a
much lower number of stateless persons than is officially reported (colored red in Table 8). This could
suggest data entry errors, lack of clarity on how to apply target setting guidance, issues with the inclusion
(and definition) of persons undetermined nationality or at-risk of statelessness, or possibly efforts to set
more achievable targets.
Table 8 – Discrepancies between official PoC statistics and those used for indicator reporting67
Year
Data source
Cameroon
2017 stateless PoC
Global
Trends
Report
2018 stateless PoC
Focus - Indicator
nationality
granted68
Global
Trends
Report
2019 stateless PoC
Focus - Indicator
nationality
granted
Global
Trends
Report
Focus - Indicator
nationality
granted
-
60,000
-
not reported
-
not reported
Cote d'Ivoire
692,000
50
692,000
345,000
955,399
5,000
Iraq
47,630
500
47,515
not reported
47,253
23,625
Kenya
18,500
10,000
18,500
10,000
18,500
not reported
Kyrgyzstan
855
6,526
548
6,854
58
not reported
Malaysia
10,068
6,197
9,631
5,206
108,332
6,538
Philippines
2,678
4,373
1,068
4,373
383
4,373
-
175,000
-
175,000
-
175,000
10,500
14,767
4,616
17,210
7,151
6,076
Sudan
Tajikistan
Relevance and appropriateness
Finding 7: Most UNHCR-led statelessness initiatives have been highly relevant and appropriate,
taking into account key drivers of statelessness and contextual factors.
100. Section 4.2 described the key drivers of statelessness globally. While different key drivers of
statelessness can overlap, and there is no data source to objectively measure the correlation between
specific drivers and the related number of cases of statelessness, evidence from key informants, survey
responses and document review suggest that UNHCR statelessness initiatives are relevant and
appropriate (with more evidence collected for countries covered by case studies). The survey asked
respondents to identify the main drivers of statelessness in their country. Weighted analysis of the results
shows that the most frequently cited driver was lack of birth registration, followed in declining order by
lack of nationality documentation, other administrative barriers and costs, children born to stateless
parents, forced displacement, and migration. Figure 12 shows the most frequently cited drivers by region
(N = 363 UNHCR staff).
67
68
30
According to the Global Trends Report, data reported with a dash (« -« ) indicates that the value is zero, not available, or not applicable.
Data extracted for 2017, 2018, and 2019 from Focus using the reported “denominators” in Indicator Aggregation Report
UNHCR / May, 2021