Kenya Hosts 871,568 Refugees and Asylum-Seekers as of August
Creator: Photojournalists Photojournalists/The East African
Kenya was hosting 871,568 refugees and asylum-seekers as of Aug. 31, 2026, according to the latest statistics released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The figure represents an increase of 6,570 people from 864,998 recorded in July, mainly due to new registrations, births and arrivals from Somalia, South Sudan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.
Of the total population, 640,091, or 73 percent, were refugees, while 231,477, or 27 percent, were asylum-seekers.
The UNHCR Kenya Statistics Package for August shows that Dadaab hosted the largest number of refugees and asylum-seekers, with 429,352 people.
Kakuma Camp had 234,542 people, while the Kalobeyei Settlement hosted 86,547. A further 2,573 refugees and asylum-seekers were registered in Eldoret, while 118,554 were living in urban areas, including Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru.
South Sudanese accounted for 213,245 of the total population, making them the second-largest refugee and asylum-seeker group in Kenya after Somalis, who numbered 481,801.
Other major groups included refugees and asylum-seekers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 67,143 people, Ethiopia with 43,356 and Burundi with 35,131.
The report said 6,161 people were registered during August, including 3,174 new arrivals, 2,887 new birth registrations and 100 in-situ registrations.
Dadaab recorded 5,814 registrations in the camps, while urban areas recorded 347.
The refugee population increased by 6,570 people compared with July, despite 871 records being closed or inactivated during continuous registration activities. The changes included data cleanup, spontaneous departures, erroneous entries and reported deaths.
The report also said 631 people were reactivated after re-establishing contact with the Department of Refugee Services.
As of the end of August, 158 people had been assisted to voluntarily return to their countries of origin. A total of 299 people had departed to resettlement countries in 2026, although the report notes that the resettlement departure figure was recorded as of July.
The statistics show that Kenya’s refugee and asylum-seeker population has continued to grow over the past five years, rising from 573,508 in 2022 to 691,868 in 2023, 823,932 in 2024, 835,793 in 2025 and 871,568 in 2026.
UNHCR said it continued using its biometric identity management system to protect the identities of refugees and asylum-seekers and reduce identity fraud.
The agency also used its Global Distribution Tool to verify beneficiaries receiving assistance and the Self-Service Kiosk to help refugees access appointments, documentation and other services.
