Stateless Persons habitual residence to the extent that they do not see themselves as being stateless. Even if they do, there is often reluctance to draw attention to this, due to the obvious disadvantages associated with statelessness, which can range from bureaucratic difficulties, to barriers to accessing socio-economic rights, to increased vulnerability to arrest and detention. This means that data collection that relies on self-identification, as is often the case in a national population census, may not be entirely accurate. Instead, more sophisticated methods by means of suitable prox- stateless can be a very difficult exercise, and that ultimately protection and the reduction of statelessness must be at the heart of all such actions. WHAT CURRENT STATISTICAL REPORTING ON STATELESSNESS SHOWS As stated at the outset, statelessness is a problem of global proportions. That is immediately apparent from current statistical reporting on the issue: the total number of persons accounted for in UNHCR’s statelessness statistics is about 3.5 million. 58 Moreover, despite steady im- IN MOST COUNTRIES, STATELESSNESS IS NOT HIGH ON THE POLITICAL AGENDA. CONSEQUENTLY, STATE AUTHORITIES MAY NOT DEEM IT IMPORTANT TO PUT IN PLACE MEASURES TO IDENTIFY STATELESS PERSONS AND ENHANCE THE ACCURACY OF THEIR FIGURES ON STATELESSNESS. ies and complementary surveys are needed to achieve better results. As explained, the categorization of individuals as stateless or otherwise is not always a straightforward exercise. Undocumented persons and those who are of undetermined nationality may be at risk of statelessness and, indeed, some are likely to already be stateless. In a migratory context, a presumption that such persons could be stateless, and giving them the opportunity to be identified as such in line with international guidance, is likely to enhance protection. 57 When such persons are in their own countries, however, they will almost always receive greater protection if confirmed to be nationals. In such situations, the ‘stateless’ label can be counter-productive. Consequently, for persons in their own countries it is better to begin with a process that scrutinizes nationality law and policy and their implementation against international standards. However, even in such situations, where the denial of documentation is long-lasting (even inter-generational), there could come a point when it is better to acknowledge that the person is stateless, rather than leaving him or her in the limbo of having no legal status. These complexities mean that identifying and counting the provement in statistical reporting, many situations of statelessness continue to go unreported or are underrepresented in the figures. For instance, 19 countries in this Yearbook are currently marked with an asterisk, signifying the presence of a significant but as yet unquantified stateless population. 59 Taking this into account, UNHCR estimates the actual total global non-refugee stateless population today to be at least 10 million persons. A closer look at the country-level data shows that, at the end of 2013, 20 countries reported a figure of over 10,000 stateless persons. The total number of stateless persons counted in this limited set of countries is roughly 3.4 million, or 98 per cent of the number of stateless persons reported in UNHCR statistics globally. Less than 84,000 stateless persons are spread across the remaining 55 countries for which a figure on statelessness is reported. Of the 20 countries that report a figure over 10,000, seven are in Europe, six in Asia and the Pacific, four in the Middle East and North Africa, two in sub-Saharan Africa, and one is in the Americas. Of the additional 19 countries UNHCR has marked with an asterisk, nine are in Asia and the Pacific, six in sub-Saharan Africa, three in the Middle East and North Africa, one is in the Americas, and none are in Europe. 57 The process of statelessness status determination in the migration context may also lead to the establishment of nationality – i.e. the person concerned may be found to be a national of country x, resulting in the prevention of statelessness and enjoyment of national protection. 58 Data from some countries also include persons of ‘undetermined nationality’ who may, if nationality verification or statelessness determination were to be carried out, be confirmed as nationals of a particular country rather than found to be stateless. 59 In the first set of statistical reporting on statelessness in UNHCR’s 2004 Global Trends there were 11 countries marked with an asterisk, so this number has increased as new populations affected by statelessness are discovered but continue to elude reliable statistical reporting. UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2013 43