the global statistical reporting in 2017, with reference made to new data collection efforts in both countries which would lead to the publication of updated figures. Three years later, both countries remain marked with an asterisk and many of the other asterisks have been in place for longer still – some since data reporting began in 2004 – showing the persistence of data gathering challenges. With the only aggregate figure now reported being the counted stateless population in 78 countries, i.e. 3.9 million, and a departure from the use of the wider estimate of a global stateless population of 10 million, the situation in these countries marked – persistently – with an asterisk may drop further off the radar. While there may be no accurate figures for these countries, there are minimum estimates, which provide a clearer picture of the global scale of the issue. Further, the statistics for many of the 78 reported countries also remain incomplete. There are also nearly 100 states for which there is no data and no indication of any potential statelessness problem at all, while it is understood to be a phenomenon that affects people, in small numbers at least, in all countries of the world. ▪ Data mismatches and data aging The arrival of significant numbers of stateless asylum seekers in the EU (according to Eurostat, nearly 40,000 in the period 2015-2018) and concern that increasing numbers of children are also being born stateless in the EU as a result of new displacement and migration trends has placed the issue – and with it, the data – under increased scrutiny in this region. One of the key questions being asked is whether, and by how much, the numbers are increasing. Exploring this question through UNHCR’s global statistical reporting reveals the following: overall, the number of reported stateless persons in the EU has gone down over the past 5 years by almost 30,000; yet, if the data for Estonia and Latvia (together accounting for over 82% of all stateless persons reported in the EU) are removed from the equation, there has indeed been an increase, of nearly 19,000.19 Over the last five years, Finland, France and Germany have seen a growth of 20% or more in their reported stateless population; while in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Spain, the reported numbers show a more than 100% increase. At the same time, eight countries have reported the same figure since 2014, without change. In some cases, this can be explained by the data source, which is indicated in footnotes for a number of these countries to be the 2011 population census (including in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia). If this is maintained as the sole source of data then there will be a welcome update following the next census round in 2021, but data that is updated only every ten years is of questionable utility as a measure of the situation on the ground in between these data collection moments. In other cases, the reason for static – or near-static – data is less apparent. In the Netherlands, the source is not specified within the data published but the number aligns with old data from the National Statistics Bureau and seems to have been maintained without change. In fact, in the Netherlands, new data made available by the same statistics bureau upon an inquiry from the national media in mid-2019 showed that the number of persons recorded as stateless in population data now stands at close to 13,000 – a six-fold increase on the data reported in the global statistics.20 Mismatches in data and ageing data present significant challenges for the consistency, accuracy and utility of global statelessness statistics. ▪ Statelessness “hotspots” The task of addressing statelessness not only encompasses identifying and assisting individuals or groups who are already without a nationality, it includes efforts to predict, pre-empt and prevent statelessness from arising. This means that statelessness “hotspots”, where the issue is considered 19 See Table 3 in the Annex for a full overview of the data for EU member states. Data published in Petra Vissers (Trouw), Gemeenten willen niet langer wachten op wetgeving en gaan mensen zonder paspoort zelf helpen, 8 June 2019, available at: https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/gemeenten-willen-niet-langer-wachten-op-wetgeving-en-gaan-mensen-zonder-paspoortzelf-helpen~b45cb795b/. 20 7