Overview
Released in June 2025, the new UNHCR Statistical Quality Assurance Framework for Official Statistics (SQAF) is a significant step
towards achieving and maintaining high quality official statistics. Below, we explain the SQAF to help you understand what it is, why it is
relevant and who should use it.
What is the UNHCR Statistical Quality Assurance Framework (SQAF)?
Essentially, the SQAF is a set of standards designed to assess, improve and report on the quality of UNHCR official statistics.
The SQAF consists of 11 quality principles and 27 objectives, each with key actions that aim to improve the quality of UNHCR official statistics.
The principles are organized in three overarching categories: statistical outputs, statistical processes, and the institutional environment.
The Framework is used internally to guide the implementation of recommended actions to achieve the quality objectives.
Externally, the SQAF demonstrates our commitment to the quality of our official statistics and raises awareness of UNHCR official statistics.
What are UNHCR official statistics and where can they be found?
Official statistics are statistics that have been officially validated and endorsed by UNHCR.
As of June 2025, these included population statistics on forcibly displaced and stateless populations and on refugee resettlement,
which can be found here on the
Refugee Data Finder.
Other data, such as that found on the UNHCR
Operational Data Portal, is not official statistics –
it is operational data that is made available more frequently to facilitate coordination in refugee emergencies and other situations.
Why is a SQAF so important for UNHCR?
Without commonly-agreed quality principles, and a clear understanding of how to implement these through specific actions,
it is difficult to assess the quality of official statistics produced by UNHCR. The SQAF is therefore essential for UNHCR, as it:
- Provides a systematic way to identify statistical quality issues and possible solutions to address them;
- Provides a basis for establishing and maintaining a culture of statistical quality in UNHCR;
- Encourages greater collaboration among UNHCR colleagues in headquarters, regional bureaux and country operations involved in the production or use of official statistics;
- Promotes transparency in statistical production processes, reaffirming UNHCR’s role as a trusted leader in data and information related to refugees and other affected populations;
- Facilitates the exchange of ideas on quality assurance with other producers and users of statistics at the national, regional and global levels; and
- Supports the alignment of UNHCR’s statistical principles and practices with international standards and guidelines.
Who should use the SQAF and how?
The SQAF is a valuable tool for improving the quality of UNHCR statistical activities and outputs at the national, regional and global levels. It serves as a guide for UNHCR colleagues to ensure the quality of UNHCR official statistics. It also helps them to better understand the impact of their actions on the quality of the statistics for governments, UNHCR partners, and non-governmental organizations that collect and provide data for use in UNHCR official statistics.
In addition, UNHCR statistical leads at headquarters who produce UNHCR official statistics can use the SQAF to assess their activities and take action to improve the quality of their statistics.
The SQAF also explains the quality guidelines to senior management, enabling them to better understand UNHCR’s quality principles and their associated actions.
Most importantly, the Framework generates confidence among internal and external users of UNHCR official statistics in the way UNHCR produces official statistics and their resulting reliability and quality, and facilitates the exchange of best practices.
More questions?
If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions about the SQAF, please do
let us know using the feedback link at the bottom of the
home page. We will reply!
