Chapter 6 Figure 22 | Number of reported stateless people by region | end-2024 Asia and the Pacific West and Central Africa Europe Middle East and North Africa East and Horn of Africa, and Great Lakes Southern Africa Largest country in region Americas All other countries in region 0 500K 1.0M 1.5M 2.0M 2.5M Number of people Based on the available age- and sex-disaggregated demographic data for 76 per cent of the 4.4 million stateless people,188 children account for 44 per cent of stateless people, women for 30 per cent and men for 26 per cent. Where does data on stateless people come from? The above figures were derived from data for 101 countries on known stateless populations reported to UNHCR in 2024, six more than the previous year.189 Just under half of all countries do not report any data on statelessness to UNHCR, including several with significant known stateless populations. In addition, some countries provide data for only a portion of the stateless population within their borders. As a result, the true global number of stateless people is likely much higher. For those countries that have reported stateless populations, in some cases, governments report figures to UNHCR based on administrative population registers, while asylum processing systems may identify stateless individuals among asylum-seekers and refugees hosted in the country. However, in many countries, administrative data on statelessness is unavailable and information must instead be drawn from population censuses, surveys or estimates, provided by governments or UNHCR and its partners. It is crucial that, when using quantitative and qualitative studies to estimate stateless populations, efforts are made to distinguish between those under UNHCR’s statelessness mandate and individuals who lack valid nationality documentation but do not face structural barriers—such as discriminatory nationality laws or practices—to acquiring citizenship or documents proving it. In addition, people of unknown origin who do not cooperate in efforts to establish their identity or nationality do not fall under UNHCR’s statelessness mandate and should also be distinguished and not included in statelessness estimates. 188 Data disaggregated only by sex is available for 81 per cent of the known stateless population. 189 The countries reporting stateless populations for the first time are Lebanon, Namibia and Panama. Colombia, Cuba and Malta have all reported stateless populations previously but did not in 2023. 58 UNHCR > GLOBAL TRENDS 2024