Dadaab Refugee Camp Population
The Dadaab refugee complex was established in 1991, when refugees fleeing the civil war in Somalia started to cross the border into Kenya. A second large influx occurred in 2011, when some 130,000 refugees arrived, fleeing drought and famine in southern Somalia. There are now three refugee camps and the Ifo 2 integrated settlement.
Dadaab (Somali: Dhadhaab) is a semi-arid town in Garissa County, Kenya. It is the site of a UNHCR base hosting 426,822 registered refugees and asylum seekers as of 28 February 2025, [1] in four camps (Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo, and Ifo 2), [2] making it one of the largest in the world behind Kutupalong refugee camp. [3][4][5][6] The centre is run by the United Nations High Commissioner for ...
Nestled in the arid terrain of northeastern Kenya, the Dadaab refugee complex stands as one of the clearest examples of a humanitarian system that has lost its way. Established in 1991 as an emergency response to the outbreak of civil war in Somalia, Dadaab was designed to be a temporary solution. But over three decades []
The Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya is home to three times the population it was designed for when it opened 30 years ago. Today, in addition to the 330,000 people living inside the camp, over 135,000 people live outside the official part of the camp, in makeshift huts made from old clothes and branches from bushes. About the Camp: The first camp in Dadaab, Kenya, was established in 1991.
There are three camps in Dadaab: Hagadera, Dagahaley and Ifo. As of March 31st, 2019, the total population was 210,556 (56% are children.) 95% of the refugee population in Dadaab are from Somalia. The voluntary repatriation process has assisted 33,398 returnees to Somalia, with the rest having returned to Somalia ...
Picture a refugee camp with a half a million people. Like a sprawling city of sorts, it houses four camps, including businesses, elementary and secondary schools, shopping centres, hotels and restaurants. As of 30 April 2025, Dadaab population stood at 431,216 individuals.
Under Kakuma the registered population stood at 305,421 with 224,082 in Kakuma Camp 79,035 in Kalobeyei settlement and 2,304 in Eldoret. Under Nairobi, the registered population stood at 112,988 covering Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru town areas. Through focus groups and interviews with 75 refugees in the Dadaab refugee camps, Kakuma Refugee Camp, and Kalobeyei settlement, we find that camp residents experience waiting for resettlement individually and communally.
The Dadaab refugee complex has a population of 211, 701 registered refugees and asylum seekers as at the end of May 2019. Dadaab refugee complex consists of four camps: Dagahaley, Ifo, Ifo2 and Hagadera. The first camp was established in 1991, when refugees fleeing the civil war in Somalia started to cross the border into Kenya.
A second large influx occurred in 2011, when some 130,000 ... Mercy Khalayi Ndongoli & Joseph Karanja Department of Diplomacy and Peace Studies Kenyatta University Email: kmercy28@gmail.com Abstract: This study interrogates the nexus between terrorism threats and the securitization of refugee migration in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp. More specifically, it analyzes how security risks associated with terrorism, i.e., foreign fighter penetration ...
