African Refugee Camps Dataset

The African Refugee Camps Dataset (ARCD) is a geospatial panel dataset of refugee camps in operation in sub-Saharan Africa from 1999 to 2024. Prior data on refugee camps have lacked verified information on camp location, timing of operations, and size. The ARCD addresses this by including the verified geolocation of each camp, verified opening and closing dates, and verified annual refugee population counts. The dataset also provides information on the conflicts that led to the construction of each camp, and geospatial characteristics of each camp location calculated using publicly available geospatial data. It is part of a broader effort to improve publicly available data on the location, timing, and size of refugee camps around the world. Information on Files: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ARCD_long.dta: "ARCD_long.dta" is the main file for the ARCD and contains all final information on refugee camps operational between 1999 and 2024 in sub-Saharan Africa. It contains geolocational information, opening and closing information, and annual refugee population counts. It also contains data on the conflicts that precipitated the opening of each camp, along with variables measuring the geospatial characteristics of each camp location. "ARCD_long.dta" is organized as balanced panel data where each record is for a camp in a year for each year between 1999 and 2024. Note that there is a camp-year record even for camps in years in which the camp was not operational. The "Camp_ID" variable provides a unique identifier for each record in the dataset. Often camps are organized in a nested structure where a larger camp complex is composed of smaller sub-camps, which are themselves composed of smaller sub-sub-camps. The ARCD contains records for the larger complexes as well as sub-camps and sub-sub-camps. The Camp_ID variable allows researchers to identify which records are for each type and the complexes within which sub-camps and sub-sub-camps belong. The first seven digits of the Camp_ID variable identifies the larger camp complex. The digits in the eight and ninth places identify the sub-camp, which will take the form of 00 if the record is for a larger complex and an integer between 01 and 28 if the record is for a sub-camp. The last digit in the tenth place indicates whether the record is for a sub-sub-camp and will take on the value of 0 if the record is not a sub-sub-camp, and an integer between 1 and 3 if it is for a sub-sub-camp. For example, Nyumanzi I in Uganda is a sub-sub-camp within the sub-camp Nyumanzi, which is a sub-camp within the Adjumani complex. As a result, Adjumani has Camp_ID number of "2320010000", with the last three zeros in the number indicating it is a larger complex. Nyumanzi I is the 11th sub-camp of Adjumani, so its Camp_ID number is "2320010110", sharing the same first seven digits as Adjumani. Nyumazi I is the first sub-sub-camp of Adjumani within Nyumanzi, so its Camp_ID number is ""2320010111". The variables "Subcamp_ID" and "Sub_Sub_ID" identify sub-camps and sub-sub-camps respectively and separate from the Camp_ID variable for researchers to be able to easily identify sub-camp and sub-sub-camps to remove them from the data if they wish. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Codebook.xlsx: "codebook.xlsx" contains all variable definitions and references for variables contained in "ARCD_long.dta". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Metadata.xlsx: "Metadata.xlsx" contains all source information for data contained in "ARCD_long.dta". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Camps.xlsx: "Camps.xlsx" contains the list of camps contained in "ARCD_long.dta" along with opening and closing dates, annual population counts, and geocoordinates, in wide format. Note that variables on geospatial characteristics are not contained in this file. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conflict Notes.xlsx: "Conflict Notes.xlsx" contains source information on the conflicts that precipitated the opening of camps in the "ARCD_long.dta" file. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-Camps.xlsx: "Non-Camps.xlsx" contains the list of refugee locations that our data collection process determined were not refugee camps along with geolocation, refugee population counts, and opening and closing dates. Note this file is in wide format. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ReadME.txt: "ReadME.txt" summarizes the dataset and provides notes on practical use of the data. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Methods: The working paper Anti et al. (2025) contains a description of the methods we used to construct the ARCD. It is currently being revised and we will make the revision available here when it is completed.