Political instability and armed conflict in West and Central Africa are expected to drive the number of forcibly displaced and stateless people up by 9% to 13.6 million in 2024, 8.4 million of them internally displaced. New conflicts, increased competition over resources due to the effects of climate change, poverty, and inflation are increasing humanitarian needs.
The region has endured protracted displacement and long-standing conflicts in Chad and around the Lake Chad Basin, and the new crisis in Sudan has driven more refugees into Chad and the Central African Republic. Political instability and worsening insecurity in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have led to new arrivals in the coastal countries of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo.
The Gulf of Guinea Joint Response Plan launched in 2024 and led by WFP, UNICEF, UNHCR and IOM is a humanitarian response plan that interacts with existing development interventions in the northern regions of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo. Its aim is to support national authorities to bridge the gap between humanitarian and development interventions by ensuring complementarity with development initiatives.
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Populations
figures
Note: The "Stateless" category does not include stateless people who are also in other categories, to avoid double counting. The total number of stateless, across all categories, is .
Source: UNHCR Refugee Data Finder.
Population by country
Source: UNHCR Refugee Data Finder.
Population by origin
Source: UNHCR Refugee Data Finder.
Financials
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Budget by Impact Areas
Source: 2024 budget and 2023 current budget are taken from the budget document approved by UNHCR's Executive Committee in October 2023.
Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas
Source: 2024 budget and 2023 current budget are taken from the budget document approved by UNHCR's Executive Committee in October 2023.
Budget by operation
Source: 2024 budget and 2023 current budget are taken from the budget document approved by UNHCR's Executive Committee in October 2023.