Abstract

Since 1992, Kenya has been a generous host of refugees and asylum seekers, a population which today exceeds 500,000 people. The Kakuma Refugee Camps have long been among the largest hosting sites (about 40% of the total refugees in Kenya), and have become even larger in recent years, with an estimated 67 percent of the current refugee population arriving in the past five years. In 2015, UNHCR, the Government of Kenya, and partners established Kalobeyei Settlement, located 40 kilometers north of Kakuma, to reduce the population burden on the other camps and facilitate a shift towards an area-based development model that addresses the longer term prospects of both refugees and the host community. The refugee population makes up a significant share of the local population (an estimated 40 percent at the district level) and economy, engendering both positive and negative impacts on local Kenyans. While Kenya has emerged as a leader in measuring the impacts of forced displacement, refugees are not systematically included in the national household surveys that serve as the primary tools for measuring and monitoring poverty, labor markets and other welfare indicators at a country-wide level. As a result, comparison of poverty and vulnerability between refugees, host communities and nationals remains difficult. Initiated jointly by UNHCR and the World Bank, this survey replicates the preceding Kalobeyei SES (2018), designed to address these shortcomings and support the wider global vision laid out by the Global Refugee Compact and the Sustainable Development Goals. Data was collected in October 2019 to December 2019, covering about 2,122 households.

Geographic coverage

Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya

Analysis unit

Household and individual

Universe

Sampled household survey, representative of all refugees living in Kakuma refugee camp.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The Kakuma SES utilized a two-stage sampling process where the first stage samples dwellings, stratified by subcamp, followed by second-stage households. Dwellings were drawn as the primary sampling unit (PSU) from an up-to-date list of all dwellings in the camp provided by UNHCR shelter unit, which serves as the sampling frame. The sample was drawn with explicit stratification for the four Kakuma subcamps, with uniform probability for Kakuma 1-3. For Kakuma 4, the selection probability was slightly increased because of higher expected nonresponse

The survey was designed to accurately estimate socioeconomic indicators such as the poverty rate for group sof the population that have at least a 50 percent representation in the population. A 3 percent margin of error at a confidence level of 95 percent is considered accurate, resulting in a sample size of 2,122. Considering a 10 percent nonresponse rate, the target sample size was 2,347.

Sampling deviation

None

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

The following sections are included: household roster, education, employment, household characteristics, assets, access, vulnerabilities, social cohesion, coping mechanism, displacement and cunsumption and expenditure.

Cleaning operations

The dataset presented here has undergone light checking, cleaning and restructuring (data may still contain errors) as well as anonymization (includes removal of direct identifiers and sensitive variables, recoding and local suppression).

Response rate

The SES has a non-response rate of about 5%, mainly due to absence of respondent and refusal to participate in the survey