Part I. Introduction and Context of the Union. Even though statelessness and nationality questions were on the agenda, this did not mean that statelessness was resolved. Indeed, many of the instruments in question were only adopted after new occurrences of statelessness, for instance due to the dissolution of states. 2.7. STATELESSNESS IN EUROPE TODAY Today, people remain stateless around Europe and face all kinds of problems with accessing basic human rights. This section aims to set out the contemporary context in which the legal instruments discussed in the next chapters have to be placed, identifying the current numbers, challenges and main causes of statelessness. The latest developments in preventing and solving statelessness in Europe using legal instruments are discussed in more depth in Part II of this research (chapters 3 and 4). Despite efforts aimed at the protection of human rights and inclusion of people in society, a large number of people remain stateless in Europe. Compared to other regions in the world, statelessness is most comprehensively mapped in Europe.448 It is estimated that over 500.000 people remain stateless in this region. For a number of reasons however, the statistics that have currently been collected with regard to the magnitude of the problem grapple with methodological difficulties in mapping statelessness, gaps in data from a more practical perspective, as well as political and capacity limitations.449 When taking a closer look at the statistics available, however, persistent causes and challenges as regards statelessness can be uncovered. Generally, causes of statelessness can be divided in technical causes (such as conflict of nationality laws), causes related to state succession and causes linked to discrimination or arbitrary deprivation of nationality.450 Below, they are discussed from a European perspective together with current challenges and developments and linked to relevant statistics. A more detailed inspection of numbers demonstrates that “over 75% of the total reported stateless population in Europe live in just four countries, all successor states of the Soviet Union: Latvia, the Russian Federation, Estonia and Ukraine. Latvia has the largest stateless population, at 224.844, the only European country with a stateless population of over 100.000. Although numbers in each of these countries are declining, nearly a quarter of a century after state succession took place, 414.050 people remain stateless in these four states. In the six states to emerge from the Socialist Federal 448 449 450 82 ISI, The World’s Stateless (Wolf Legal Publishers 2014) 95. Th is report analyses the statistical reporting (by UNHCR) on statelessness. Ibid; UNHCR, ‘UNHCR Statistical Reporting on Statelessness’ (2019) UNHCR Statistics Technical Series 2019/1 <https://www.unhcr.org/statistics/unhcrstats/5d9e182e7/unhcr-statistical-reportingstatelessness.html> accessed 26 September 2021. See also ISI, ‘Counting the World’s Stateless: Reflections on Statistical Reporting on Statelessness’ in UNHCR, ‘UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2013’ (2014) 41–47. Th is division is also used in UNHCR and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Nationality and Statelessness. Handbook for Parliamentarians No. 22 (2nd ed, UNHCR 2014). Intersentia