Sudan Hosts More Than 900,000 Refugees and Asylum-Seekers, UNHCR Says
Credit: Sudan Tribune
Sudan was hosting 900,819 refugees and asylum-seekers as of July 31, 2026, with South Sudanese accounting for more than three-quarters of the population, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
The UNHCR population dashboard shows that 682,156 South Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers were registered or recorded in Sudan, representing 75.7% of the total. Eritreans accounted for 15.1%, while Ethiopians made up 7.1%.
Sudan recorded 23,494 new refugee and asylum-seeker arrivals during the first seven months of 2026, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, the dashboard said.
Despite the conflict that has continued since April 2023, Sudan remains a major destination for people fleeing violence and insecurity in the region. The UNHCR data shows that 68% of the refugee population was living in camps, while 32% lived outside camps.
Women and girls accounted for 51% of the overall refugee population, compared with 49% men and boys. Children also represented a significant share of the population, with 25% of registered refugees of primary-school age and 11% of secondary-school age.
The UNHCR dashboard separately recorded 682,156 South Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers in Sudan as of July 31, with 17,906 arrivals recorded during 2026.
Of the South Sudanese population, 73% were individually registered, 9% were registered under household registration and 18% were unregistered. About 65% were living in camps, while 35% were outside camps.
White Nile state hosted the largest recorded South Sudanese refugee population, with 447,804 people. Other significant populations were recorded in South Kordofan, West Kordofan, East Darfur, North Kordofan, Khartoum and Blue Nile.
UNHCR noted that government sources estimate about 1.3 million South Sudanese refugees in Sudan, although the agency said those figures require verification.
The figures underscore the scale of Sudan’s humanitarian burden as the country continues to host hundreds of thousands of refugees while facing the consequences of its own prolonged conflict.
