The International Recommendations on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (e-Learning course)

The numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) have increased rapidly in recent years, with UNHCR estimating over 117.8 million forcibly displaced persons by the end of 2025. Similarly, the issue of statelessness continues to persist in society, with 4.5 million people currently estimated to be stateless. With the growing prominence of displacement and statelessness, there is increasing interest at national, regional and international levels in statistics on refugees, IDPs and stateless persons, including complete, accurate, timely and internationally comparable estimates on the numbers of people impacted, their well-being and vulnerabilities. Good-quality statistics are a requirement for developing, implementing and monitoring national, regional and international policies and agreements concerning refugees, IDPs and stateless persons. 

The course introduces the “International Recommendations on Refugee Statistics” (IRRS), the “International Recommendations on IDP Statistics” (IRIS) and the “International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics” (IROSS). These sets of recommendations were endorsed by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 2018 (IRRS), 2020 (IRIS) and 2023 (IROSS), respectively. The course is spread over six substantive modules and provides details on the statistical framework for compiling refugee, IDP and stateless persons statistics. It introduces concepts, definitions, classifications and methodologies relevant to collecting, compiling, analyzing and disseminating data and indicators on refugees, IDPs and stateless persons, including Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators. The course also includes information on data sources, institutional mechanisms, and coordination.