South Africa
South Africa
South Africa continues to host a large number of refugees and asylum-seekers in the region, most of whom live in urban areas and face ongoing challenges related to documentation, xenophobia, and access to services.
Are you a refugee, asylum-seeker or stateless person looking for help? Visit the HELP site to find support and services from UNHCR.
Key statistics
171,841
people were displaced or stateless (or returning from forced displacement) within the country at the end of 2024
6,120
South Africans were refugees, asylum-seekers or in need of international protection worldwide at the end of 2024
$33 million
are needed in 2025 to ensure operations covered by the South Africa multi-country office* are sustained
*UNHCR’s operations in South Africa are managed by the South Africa multi-country office, which also oversees operations in Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia and Seychelles, with needs budgeted jointly.
In 2024, South Africa continued to host of refugees and asylum-seekers in the region, with over 250,000 registered forcibly displaced, primarily from countries such as Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe. Unlike in many neighbouring countries, South Africa does not implement a camp policy, and most refugees live within urban communities.
Despite this more open settlement model, the protection environment remains fragile. Rising xenophobia, misinformation, and socio-economic pressures have increasingly undermined social cohesion. The government’s proposed White Paper on Refugee Protection has raised serious concerns due to its regressive provisions, though advocacy efforts successfully discouraged a proposal to withdraw from the 1951 Refugee Convention.
UNHCR continues to support the Government of South Africa in addressing key protection challenges, including helping clear the asylum backlog and advancing efforts to end statelessness.
Strategy and results
This section provides key information related to the Global Appeal and Global Report.
Operations in South Africa are overseen by the South Africa multi-country office, with strategy and results reported only at the multi-country level.
Strategy
Latest multi-year strategy, outlining key priorities and a comprehensive overview of operational plans as part of the Global Appeal.
Indicators and targets
Indicators and targets enable operations to establish their benchmarks and targets for comparison with results.
Annual Results Report
Latest Annual Results Report highlighting key achievements from the year and published as part of the Global Report.
Latest updates
Population and financial overview
Data on population and financials are available at the multi-country office level, which oversees operations across several countries.
South Africa
Use the year selector to access information from previous years.
Populations
Population types
Population types
Population by country
Population by country
Population by origin
Population by origin
Financial
Budget and expenditure trend
Budget and expenditure trend
Budget by pillar
Budget by pillar
Budget by objective
Budget by objective
Expenditure by Outcome Area
Expenditure by Outcome Area
Budget by Impact Area
Budget by Impact Area
Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas
Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas
Budget by Impact Area
Budget by Impact Area
Budget by Impact Area
Budget by Impact Area
Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas
Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas
Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas
Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas
Budget by Impact Area
Budget by Impact Area
Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas
Budget by Outcome and Enabling Areas
yearselected
Strategy - Country
Strategy
Office contact details
For information about our operation in South Africa, please contact us through our Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
