Map › Africa › ESH
Western Sahara
Non-self-governing territory; shown as in Natural Earth. UNHCR reports figures under "Western Sahara". Boundaries →
Western Sahara — forced displacement statistics — 1951–2025.
Source: UNHCR Refugee Population Statistics Database (data as of 31 December 2025; retrieved 19 August 2026). UNHCR · CC-BY-4.0
Year-end 0
Not reported
UNHCR footnotes (2)
- All · REF · Fled from — According to the Government of Algeria, there are an estimated 165,000 Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps. Statistical data relating to refugees are entirely for humanitarian purposes. The total number of persons in need of humanitarian assistance services is estimated to be far higher than this figure.
- All · REF · Fled from — According to the Government of Algeria, there are an estimated 165,000 Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps.
1951–2025 time series
Source: UNHCR Refugee Population Statistics Database (data as of 31 December 2025; retrieved 19 August 2026). UNHCR · CC-BY-4.0
Age and sex (0)
Age and sex (2016)
A total of 6 was reported for this year, but no age/sex breakdown — common for high-income host countries.
Source: UNHCR Refugee Population Statistics Database (data as of 31 December 2025; retrieved 19 August 2026). UNHCR · CC-BY-4.0
Top countries of origin
Top countries of origin
Not reported
Top host countries
Top host countries (2000)
| Country | Refugees | Asylum-seekers |
|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 165,000 | 0 |
| Cuba | 802 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 6 | 0 |
Source: UNHCR Refugee Population Statistics Database (data as of 31 December 2025; retrieved 19 August 2026). UNHCR · CC-BY-4.0
Sources
| Source | License | data as of | retrieved | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNHCR — Refugee Population Statistics Database — country list | CC-BY-4.0 | 2026-08-19 | 2026-08-19 | up to date |
| UNHCR — Refugee Population Statistics Database — population figures | CC-BY-4.0 | 2025-12-31 | 2026-08-19 | up to date |
| UNHCR — Refugee Population Statistics Database — demographics | CC-BY-4.0 | 2025-12-31 | 2026-08-19 | up to date |
| UNHCR (data: IDMC) — IDMC internal displacement figures via UNHCR API | CC-BY-IGO | 2025-12-31 | 2026-08-19 | up to date |
| UNHCR — Refugee Population Statistics Database — solutions | CC-BY-4.0 | 2025-12-31 | 2026-08-19 | up to date |
| UNHCR — Refugee Population Statistics Database — asylum applications | CC-BY-4.0 | 2025-12-31 | 2026-08-19 | up to date |
| UNHCR — Refugee Population Statistics Database — footnotes | CC-BY-4.0 | 2025-12-31 | 2026-08-19 | up to date |
| United Nations, DESA, Population Division — World Population Prospects 2024 — total population by sex | CC-BY-3.0-IGO | 2023-07-01 | 2026-08-19 | up to date |
| Natural Earth (via world-atlas) — Admin 0 – Countries, 1:50m | Public Domain | 2022-05-01 | 2026-08-19 | up to date |
Snapshot f1a2b53a · Methodology · Boundaries
Data coverage
How complete is the record for this country — metric by metric.
| Value | Hosting / Originating | First reported | First non-zero | Last reported | Years reported | Longest gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refugees | Originating | 1975 | 1975 | 2025 | 51/51 | — |
| Asylum-seekers | Originating | 1975 | 2001 | 2025 | 51/51 | — |
| Others of concern | Originating | 1975 | 1999 | 2025 | 51/51 | — |
| Returned refugees | Originating | 1975 | 2016 | 2025 | 51/51 | — |
A missing year is not zero — it is missing. And the start of counting is not the start of events: several metrics only began collection later (stateless 2004, OIP 2018; the IDP series runs from 1993 and switches to IDMC compilation in 2009).