Publication

06 December 2019

Unveiling the cost of internal displacement in Africa

Unveiling the cost of internal displacement in Africa

IDMC published in March 2019 the first estimates of the economic impact of internal displacement at the global level, amounting to $13 billion per year of displacement. This report applies the same methodology to all sub-Saharan African countries affected by internal displacement for which data was available: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. These new estimates place the total economic impact of internal displacement in sub-Saharan Africa at $4 billion in 2018, a significant burden for already struggling economies.

The figures presented in this report uncover just part of the hidden cost of internal displacement, but they amount to a noticeable share of each country’s GDP. Highlighting these financial consequences for IDPs, hosts and governments can inform better planning for prevention and response to internal displacement.

Also available in French