Section: IDP Population Figures

Sub-section: Numbers of IDPs (by location)

• Last Updated: 4 January 2011
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Estimates for the total number of IDPs for all of Sudan (as of January 2011)

Estimates for the total number of IDPs for all of Sudan (as of January 2011)

The figures presented here give an overview of the total number of IDPs in all of Sudan as of January 2011. See also the separate entries for Southern Sudan, the Three Areas, Eastern Sudan, Darfur and Khartoum respectively. Note that the max figure for Darfur has not been used by the UN agencies in 2010 and that the max cumulative figure is likely around 5 million.

The 2010 Work Plan for Sudan, the Humanitarian Action in Southern Sudan Report (6-20 November 2009), the Humanitarian Update Southern Sudan (Issue No. 1 of 2010), the UNHCR Appeal 2010-2011, and the IOM and SSRRC Village Assessment Southern Kordofan, the OCHA Humanitarian Update 3rd Quarter (October 2010), OCHA Cumulative figures of new conflict related displacement - Status 30/11/2010 (see map in the maps section), the 2011 Work Plan for Sudan (30 November 2010) give the following IDP figures for various parts of the country:

	2010 Work Plan for Sudan (Annex I, pp.108-158; the figures for the 10 Southern States are estimates for the period January - September 2009.)	Humanitarian Action in Southern Sudan Report, 6-20 November 2009 (The figures reflect the situation as of 24 November 2009.)	Humanitarian Update Southern Sudan (17 February 2010, situation as at year end 2009; see also the OCHA map dated 31 Dec 2009.)	UNHCR Global Appeal 2010-2011 (p.52; situation as of January 2010.)	IOM and SSRRC Village Assessment Southern Kordodan (p.4; situation as of June 2009.)	OCHA Humanitarian Update 3rd Quarter (October 2010)	OCHA Cumulative figures of new conflict related displacement - Status 30/11/2010 (see map in the maps section)	2011 Work Plan for Sudan (30 November 2010)
Northern Darfur	508,499
Southern Darfur	1,410,704
Western Darfur	746,912
Total Darfur	2,666,115							1,9 (2,7) million
Central Equatoria	5,043	28,490	27,890				16,098
Eastern Equatoria	1,692	13,900	13,900				0
Jonglei	122,029	115,284	124,355				48,608
Lakes	24,691	32,345	48,122				32,674
Northern Bahr el Ghazal	700	0	0				5,784
Unity	10,000	2,420	3,272				10,859
Upper Nile	58,367	58,367	58,367				10,722
Warrab	30,000	30,935	37,935				27,705
Western Bahr el Ghazal	56,233	812	812				9,110
Western Equatoria	81,378	76,726	76,726				59,513
Total Southern Sudan	390,133	359,279	391,379				221,073	212,000
Southern Kordofan (incl. Abyei)	n/a				60,261
Blue Nile	n/a
Total Transitional States:	n/a				60,261			80,000
El Gezira	n/a
Khartoum	n/a			1.7 million				1,5 million
Northern	n/a
Northern Kordofan	n/a
River Nile	n/a
Sinnar	n/a
White Nile	n/a
Total Northern States:	n/a			1.7 million
Gedarif	n/a
Kassala	n/a					68,000
Red Sea	n/a
Total Eastern States:	n/a

The IDP figures for Darfur of 1,9 (2,7) million include people who were displaced from 2003 up to 2010. As of November 2010, an estimated 268,000 people had been newly displaced in 2010 (2011 Work Plan, 30 November 2010, pp.6, 12).

Figures for Khartoum include people who were displaced mostly from Souhern Sudan from 1983 on but who continued to be displaced in 2010.

In contrast, the figures for the ten states in Southern Sudan are for people who were newly displaced in 2010, and do not include people who were displaced before 2010 but who had not yet been able to return to their homes. (For example, in 2009 390,000 people were estimated to have been newly displaced in Southern Sudan; it is unclear how many of the 390,000 people had been able to return to their homes by the end of 2009.)


Combining these figures produces the following estimate for the total number of IDPs in all of Sudan:

Darfur: 1,9 (2.7) million (from 2003 to 2009) and 268,000 newly displaced in 2010
Khartoum: 1,5 - 1.7 million plus unknown number in other states of North
Southern: 221,000 newly displaced in 2010 plus unknown number of those still displaced from previous years
Transitional areas: 80,000
Eastern States: 68,000(Kassala); (420,000 in Eastern States as of December 2008)

Total: Between 4,5 and 5,2 IDPs, plus unknown numbers of IDPs in the eastern states, the northern states other than the Greater Khartoum area, and Blue Nile state. (No UN agency has used 2,7 million figure for Darfur in 2010. The max number is therefore likely around 5 million.)

Note that some figures have not been updated for several years. There is no updated figure for Eastern States apart for Kassala. Note that in 2010 OCHA and UNHCR have used 1,9 million IDPs for Darfur and not 2,7 million as in 2009.


Note that UNHCR's Global Appeal 2011 uses a lower figure of 4.3 million for all of Sudan as of December 2010: 

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