Dadaab and Kenya's Somali refugee camps

How many Somalis live in Kenya's camps and cities?

On 31 October 2026, Kenya hosted 334,733 refugees and 156,636 asylum seekers from Somalia (UNHCR ODP, Kenya). Somalis were 51.5% of all refugees in Kenya and 65.9% of all asylum seekers (same source).

Most live in Dadaab, in Garissa County. Another 41,080 Somalis lived in Turkana County, home of Kakuma (UNHCR ODP, Turkana). In Nairobi, 25,281 refugees and asylum seekers came from Somalia (UNHCR ODP, Nairobi).

Dadaab: when did it open and how big did it get?

Dadaab sits about 100 km from the Somali border (UNFPA, 4 Oct 2011). It was set up in 1991 for people fleeing the war in Somalia (Al Jazeera Liberties, 18 May 2026). Ben Rawlence's book dates its continuous population from 1992 (Kirkus review of City of Thorns, 2016).

Dadaab was designed for 90,000 people (Ikanda, bpb, 10 Nov 2020). In 2011, about 130,000 people arrived, fleeing drought and famine (Al Jazeera Liberties, 2026).

The peak is reported differently:

• UNFPA, October 2011: over 470,000 people, the largest refugee camp in the world (UNFPA).
• Al Jazeera, 2026: more than 500,000 in 2011 (Al Jazeera Liberties).
• Ikanda, 2020: about 450,000 in the mid-2010s (bpb).

The lowest recent point came after voluntary returns. At the end of March 2020, Dadaab held 217,511 refugees (bpb, 2020).

What are the Dadaab camps, one by one?

Population on 31 October 2026, from UNHCR ODP, Garissa:

• Hagadera: 145,449 people (33.1% of Dadaab).
• Dagahaley: 109,154 people (24.9%).
• Ifo: 95,398 people (21.7%).
• Ifo 2: 88,963 people (20.3%).
• Kambioos: no separate figure is published on the portal.

Ifo 2 and Kambioos were set up in 2011 to absorb new arrivals (The Star, 10 Jan 2023). Kambioos closed in 2017 and Ifo 2 in 2018 (bpb, 2020). UNHCR handed both empty camps to the Kenyan government in June 2019 (VOA, 21 Jun 2019).

In January 2023, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki designated Ifo 2 and Kambioos as refugee camps again (The Star, 10 Jan 2023). The reason given was about 24,000 new arrivals from Somalia living in makeshift shelters (same source).

How many people were born and grew up in Dadaab?

Of 425,008 Somalis in Dadaab on 31 October 2026, 244,119 were children under 18 (UNHCR ODP, Garissa, demographic breakdown).

Of those children, 70,354 were under five years old (same source). In 2011, UNFPA reported that about 60% of Dadaab's people were young (UNFPA, 2011).

Reports on the third generation differ:

• Nation (Kenya), citing UNHCR: more than 100,000 second-generation refugees, and about 15,000 third-generation (Daily Nation).
• Devex, 2011: about 10,000 third-generation refugees whose parents were also born in the camps (Devex).

A young woman born in Dagahaley told MSF in 2021, "All my life, I have only known Dagahaley." Her three children were also born in the camp (MSF, 18 Jun 2021).

A young man born in Ifo in about 1991 told UNFPA that at 20 he still had no Kenyan ID card. "At times I ask myself if I am a Somali, or if I'm Kenyan citizen since I was born here," he said (UNFPA, 2011).

Can children go to school in Dadaab?

In February 2024, UNHCR supported 45,651 students in Dadaab, 20,042 of them girls (UNHCR Kenya Operational Update, Feb 2024). They studied in 23 primary schools and six secondary schools (same source).

In 2011, about 48% of children were enrolled, and Dadaab had only one secondary school (UNFPA, 2011). UNHCR estimates about half of school-age refugees in Kenya are still out of school (UNHCR Kenya, education).

Can refugees in Kenya work or leave the camps?

Refugees need special permits to leave the camps, and jobs are scarce (Al Jazeera Liberties, 2026). Food aid fell to 28% of a full ration by mid-2025, and cash assistance ended (same source).

Kenya's Refugees Act 2021 was signed on 17 November 2021 and took effect on 21 February 2022 (Refugees Act 2021, Judy Legal). Section 28(5) gives refugees the right to work, run a business or practise a profession (HIAS analysis).

The same Act keeps "designated areas" where refugees must live (Refugees Act 2021, sections 30 to 33). HIAS notes the Act is silent on freedom of movement and continues the camp policy (HIAS).

What is Kenya's Shirika Plan?

The Shirika Plan was launched in March 2025 as an eleven-year plan (Al Jazeera Liberties, 2026). It aims to turn Dadaab and Kakuma into municipalities shared by refugees and Kenyan hosts (same source). Its estimated budget is $943 million (same source).

The plan promises refugees access to IDs, business permits, banking and services (AllAfrica, Jul 2025). Refugees who do not join can choose voluntary return or, if vulnerable, resettlement (same source).

When did Kenya try to close the camps, and what did courts say?

• 6 May 2016: Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho said Kenya would stop hosting refugees and disband its Department of Refugee Affairs (Human Rights Watch, 6 May 2016). Kenya then hosted over 463,000 Somali refugees (same source).
• 9 February 2017: High Court Justice John Mativo ruled the closure order null and void (Amnesty International, 9 Feb 2017). The case was brought by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and Kituo Cha Sheria (same source).
• March 2021: Interior Minister Fred Matiang'i gave UNHCR two weeks to produce a closure plan (Al Jazeera, 29 Apr 2021).
• April 2021: The High Court issued a temporary 30-day order blocking the faster closure (same source).
• 29 April 2021: Kenya said both Dadaab and Kakuma would close by 30 June 2022 (same source). They did not close by that date (Al Jazeera opinion, 28 May 2022).

What were Kenya's coastal camps in the early 1990s?

In the early 1990s, Kenya set up 17 refugee camps; most closed by the mid-1990s (bpb, 2020). In May 1994, UNHCR listed 13 camps, including Utange, Marafa, Jomvu, Hatimy and Swaleh Nguru (IRB Canada via ecoi.net).

• Swaleh Nguru ("Benadir camp"), Mombasa: 4,542 Benadiri refugees in May 1994 (same source). It still ran in 1997, after the 1995 closures brought other Somali groups (same source).
• Utange and Marafa: closed in 1995, per UNHCR (same source).
• Jomvu and Hatimy: named in Kenya's June 1994 request to close the coastal camps (same source).

In June 1994, UNHCR reportedly moved 7,394 refugees from the coast to Kakuma and 1,483 to Dadaab (same source). In March 1997, it began moving 16,704 Somali refugees to Kakuma and Dadaab (AFP, cited in same source).

What was Liboi?

Liboi is a Kenyan border town. From late 1991, refugees crossed there or arrived by boat on the coast (UNHCR evaluation, via CORE). People crossing at Liboi were screened on arrival, then moved on to the Dadaab camps (same source).

Kakuma: how many Somalis live there?

Kakuma, in Turkana County, opened in 1992 after the arrival of the "Lost Boys of Sudan" (UNHCR Kenya, Kakuma). Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement was added in 2016 (same source).

On 31 October 2026, Kakuma held 240,551 people and Kalobeyei 89,101 (UNHCR ODP, Turkana). Of the county's camp population, 41,080 came from Somalia, 12.5% of the total (same source).

Anthropologist Catherine-Lune Grayson studied Somali young people raised there (Berghahn Books, Children of the Camp, 2017).

Related pages

• Somali refugee camps
• Kenya
• Somali Bantu resettlement
• Eastleigh: the Somali trading hub of Nairobi
• Somali refugees by the numbers
• Ifo and Ifo 2 refugee camps
• Hagadera refugee camp
• Dagahaley refugee camp

Sources

1. UNHCR. Operational Data Portal: Garissa (Dadaab), 31 Oct 2026. https://data.unhcr.org/en/country/ken/794. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. UNHCR. Operational Data Portal: Kenya, 31 Oct 2026. https://data.unhcr.org/en/country/ken. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. UNHCR. Operational Data Portal: Turkana (Kakuma, Kalobeyei), 31 Oct 2026. https://data.unhcr.org/en/country/ken/796. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. UNHCR. Operational Data Portal: Nairobi, 31 Oct 2026. https://data.unhcr.org/en/country/ken/187. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. The "Benadir" refugee camp, via ecoi.net. https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/194780. Checked 2026-11-12.
6. Ikanda, F. N. The Snake's Head? Mistrust of Somali Refugees and the Encampment Policy in Kenya. bpb, 10 Nov 2020. https://www.bpb.de/themen/migration-integration/laenderprofile/english-version-country-profiles/318374/the-snake-s-head-mistrust-of-somali-refugees-and-the-encampment-policy-in-kenya. Checked 2026-11-12.
7. UNHCR. Review of UNHCR's programme in Kenya, via CORE. https://core.ac.uk/download/46721357.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. Amnesty International. Kenya: Historic ruling blocks closure of Dadaab refugee camp, 9 Feb 2017. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/02/kenya-historic-ruling-blocks-closure-of-dadaab-refugee-camp-2/. Checked 2026-11-12.
9. Human Rights Watch. Kenya: Ending refugee hosting, closing camps, 6 May 2016. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/05/06/kenya-ending-refugee-hosting-closing-camps. Checked 2026-11-12.
10. Al Jazeera. Kenya says Dadaab, Kakuma refugee camps to close next year, 29 Apr 2021. https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2021/4/29/kenya-says-dadaab-kakuma-refugee-camps-to-close-next-year. Checked 2026-11-12.
11. Al Jazeera. Refugees in Kenya's Kakuma and Dadaab camps are still in limbo, 28 May 2022. https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/opinions/2022/5/28/refugees-in-kenyas-kakuma-and-dadaab-camps-are-still-in-limbo. Checked 2026-11-12.
12. MSF. Return not a solution, say refugees in Dadaab after camp closure announcement, 18 Jun 2021. https://www.msf.org.za/news-and-resources/latest-news/return-not-solution-say-refugees-dadaab-after-camp-closure. Checked 2026-11-12.
13. VOA. Kenya retakes control of two emptied refugee camps, 21 Jun 2019. https://www.voanews.com/a/africa_kenya-retakes-control-two-emptied-refugee-camps/6170429.html. Checked 2026-11-12.
14. The Star (Kenya). CS Kindiki designates two more refugee camps in Garissa, 10 Jan 2023. https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/realtime/2023-01-10-cs-kindiki-designates-two-more-refugee-camps-in-garissa. Checked 2026-11-12.
15. Republic of Kenya. Refugees Act, 2021 (No. 10 of 2021), via Judy Legal. https://www.judy.legal/legislation/akn/ke/act/2021/10. Checked 2026-11-12.
16. HIAS. Kenya's Refugee Act 2021: opportunities for refugee livelihoods and self-reliance. https://hias.org/wp-content/uploads/kenyas_refugee_act_2021-_opportunities_for_refugee_livelihoods_and_self-reliance_-final_draft31.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
17. Al Jazeera Liberties. A city born of crisis: Dadaab, 18 May 2026. https://liberties.aljazeera.com/en/a-city-born-of-crisis-how-dadaab-one-of-the-largest-and-oldest-refugee-settlements-on-earth-faces-an-uncertain-future-amid-funding-collapse-political-ambition-and-fragile-hope/. Checked 2026-11-12.
18. AllAfrica. Kenya's Shirika Plan: a new dawn for refugee rights and integration, Jul 2025. https://allafrica.com/stories/202507080002.html. Checked 2026-11-12.
19. Odiwuor, K. No direction home: a generation shaped by life in Dadaab. UNFPA, 4 Oct 2011. https://unfpa.org/news/no-direction-home-generation-shaped-life-dadaab. Checked 2026-11-12.
20. Daily Nation. "I'm not really a Somali, yet I'm not Kenyan either." https://nation.africa/kenya/life-and-style/dn2/i-m-not-really-a-somali-yet-i-m-not-kenyan-either-i-think-i-am-more-of-a-dadaabian-1028402. Checked 2026-11-12.
21. Devex. Dadaab turns 20, 2011. https://www.devex.com/news/dadaab-turns-20-77563. Checked 2026-11-12.
22. UNHCR Kenya. Operational Update, February 2024. https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/2024-05/UNHCR%20Kenya%20Operational%20Update%20February%202024.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
23. UNHCR Kenya. Education. https://www.unhcr.org/ke/what-we-do/education. Checked 2026-11-12.
24. UNHCR Kenya. Kakuma refugee camp and Kalobeyei settlement. https://www.unhcr.org/ke/node/296. Checked 2026-11-12.
25. Rawlence, B. City of Thorns. Picador, 2016. Kirkus review. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ben-rawlence/city-of-thorns/. Checked 2026-11-12.
26. Grayson, C.-L. Children of the Camp. Berghahn, 2017. https://berghahnbooks.com/title/GraysonChildren. Checked 2026-11-12.