     of known stateless persons in the world, with more than half of all the stateless globally living in the region.82 As mentioned, the Rohingya, originally in situ in Myanmar and now in majority displaced across the region but mostly in Bangladesh, comprise the largest stateless population in Asia, around 1.7 million according to the UNHCR (almost one million in Bangladesh alone).83 Such large-scale displacement has reshaped experiences of statelessness across the region, with new scholarship emerging from researchers in Bangladesh, India and Malaysia. Additional large non-Rohingya stateless communities also reside in Myanmar. Other large known stateless populations can be found in Thailand (574,200), Malaysia (115,169), Uzbekistan (27,400) and Vietnam (26,800).84 With the expansion of research, further incidences of statelessness have come onto the radar of international attention over the past decade. For instance, after many years of no data being reported on Cambodia, the figures now show 75,000, most of them belonging to the Vietnamese minority. Statistics on certain stateless populations remain sensitive among some governments in the region, highlighting the often-times political nature of statelessness. The following table shows the spread of statelessness across Asia based on UNHCR figures.85 Beyond numerical data, country-based mapping initiatives have made a contribution to improving our knowledge of the scope and nature of statelessness in the region. Some of these studies were produced by civil society actors, others were supported by the UNHCR in the framework of its #IBelong campaign and efforts to identify stateless populations. Employing different methodologies such mapping reports now exist, The number is 56 per cent according to the most recent data, UNHCR, ‘2022 Asia and the Pacific Regional Trends Report’ (n 12) 6. 83 Of which more than 72 per cent displaced across borders, the rest still in Myanmar, ibid 35. 84 ibid. 85 Table is reproduced from data included in Annex Table 5 ‘Persons under UNHCR’s Statelessness Mandate’ in UNHCR, ‘2022 Global Trends Report’ (n 4) 47, crossreferenced with the list of countries included under UN Major Region Asia in the Table 23 ‘Country Codes, Names, UN Major Areas and UNHCR Regional Bureaux/ Operations’. Countries in Asia that have provided no data on stateless persons or where UNHCR has information about stateless persons but there is no reliable data available, have not been included in this table. 82 https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009399555.003 Published online by Cambridge University Press