Population figures
Total country population
46,278,752
Forcibly displaced population
Refugees (under UNHCR's mandate):
182,949
Asylum-seekers:
4,008
IDPs (of concern to UNHCR):
0
Other people in need of international protection:
0
Other
Statelessness persons
0
Host community
0
Others of concern to UNHCR
0
Country context
Algeria, located in North Africa, shares borders with Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Western Sahara, and Morocco. Algeria is both a country of transit and a country of destination hosting migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. The political, security and economic situation in the Sahel region has lately been characterized by coups d’état, armed conflict, and extreme poverty indicate that forced displacement into Algeria is likely to continue. The Sahrawi refugee community, which has been residing in the country for several decades, primarily lives in camps near Tindouf, while other refugee populations are found in urban areas, including the capital, Algiers.
The Sahrawi refugees reside in five refugee camps that are governed by a self-administered system, with Sahrawi authorities issuing personal documentation such as identification cards, birth certificates and passports through the Sahrawi Identification Centre. The refugee camps have essential infrastructure such as health services, but challenges remain, including insufficient housing, limited educational opportunities, and reliance on humanitarian assistance, especially for food and water.
...In urban areas, refugees and asylum-seekers come from a variety of countries in the Sahel and Middle East, including Sudan, Mali, and the Central African Republic. These individuals have access to public education and primary health services. However, they do not enjoy access to formal work or national social protection systems. Language barriers and bureaucratic hurdles can limit their integration into the national education system. Social and community support structures for these populations are often weak, and many rely on humanitarian assistance for their basic needs.
Algeria is a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, having ratified the former in 1963 and acceded to the latter in 1967. Additionally, Algeria ratified the 1969 Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa in 1974. Algeria has also acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons in 1964. However, Algeria has not ratified the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
There is no comprehensive asylum legislation in the country. Decree No. 63-274 of 25 July 1963 relates to the modalities for the application of the 1951 Convention and established the Bureau Algérien pour les Réfugiés et Apatrides (BAPRA) within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to oversee the legal and administrative protection of refugees and stateless persons. In the absence of a national legislative framework for refugees, UNHCR conducts, pursuant to its mandate and consistent with its seat agreement with Algeria, registration of asylum-seekers and refugee status determination.
In terms of durable solutions, local integration options remain extremely limited while voluntary repatriation opportunities are largely non-existent for the populations. Resettlement is the main durable solution available for refugees in Algeria who are prioritized based on their vulnerability.
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