The total registered population for refugees and asylum seekers was 35,672 individuals, the majority of whom reside in Somaliland (20,685 representing 58%) and Puntland State in Bossaso (10,834 representing 30%); the remainder, (4,153 individuals, or 12%) are hosted elsewhere in Somalia mainly in Banadir, Nugaal, Mudug, Togdheer, Awdal and Lower Shebelle. During 2019, UNHCR concluded new registrations of 2,995 refugees and asylum seekers mainly from Ethiopia and Yemen. The new registration of refugees and asylum-seekers led to a 7.8 per cent increase in the overall population of refugees and asylum-seekers in Somalia in comparison to 2018.
Refugees from Yemen constituted the largest single population, with 13,235 individuals (74%), while Ethiopians were the second largest (4,287 individuals, 24%). Among asylum-seekers, Ethiopians were the majority (17,477 individuals, 98%). Considering the continuing volatile and unpredictable situation around the region, the projected increase in the refugee and asylum-seeker populations was approximate to 17.6% and 17.8% respectively, whereas the actual increments remained at 6.8% and 8.7 % respectively.
UNHCR Somalia received and assisted a total of 4,041 individual returnees among whom 1,682 were assisted spontaneous returns (ASR) and 2,359 were Somali registered returnees through facilitated process, mainly from Kenya (2,134 individuals). South Central remained the highest in terms of numbers of returnees for final destinations, mostly in Lower Juba . Compared to previous years, facilitated returnees in 2018 decreased significantly, dropping from 35,409 individuals in 2017 to 8,162 individuals in 2018 ( a 78% drop). At the same time the office recorded a 69 per cent increase in the number of ASR from Yemen when compared to 2017from 814 individuals to 2,591 individuals.