International bodies in Somalia
UNHCR in Somalia: refugees, returnees and displaced people
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, works in Somalia with refugees and asylum seekers, Somalis returning home and people displaced inside the country, and runs a monitoring network that reports new displacement. OCHA records US$46.4 million of humanitarian funding to UNHCR in 2024 and US$23.8 million in 2025.
What it does
UNHCR works in Somalia with three groups: refugees and asylum seekers living in Somalia, Somali refugees who return, and Somalis displaced inside the country. It runs the Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN, now PSMN), which reports new displacement, and publishes dashboards on its data portal (UNHCR data portal).
Who leads it
On 11 January 2026, Interior Minister Ali Yusuf Ali (Hosh) met Jing Song, described as the new head of UNHCR in Somalia, to discuss displacement and civil registration (Dawan Africa; Ministry of Interior). An earlier ministry notice names Charles Mballa as UNHCR Country Representative (Ministry of Interior).
The money
OCHA's Financial Tracking Service (FTS) records humanitarian funding that donors and agencies report to it. It is not the whole budget of an organisation, and recent years are still being filled in. FTS lists these amounts received by UNHCR for work in Somalia (OCHA FTS):
| Year | Humanitarian funding recorded (US$) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 46.4 million |
| 2025 | 23.8 million |
| 2026, to November | 10.8 million |
The same figures for 212 organisations are on this site's aid funding list.
What it reports
UNHCR flash alerts in 2026 report, for example, that clashes in Lower Shabelle in March displaced 2,364 people, and that Dayniile district near Mogadishu already hosted about 673,000 displaced people (UNHCR flash alert via ecoi.net). Its quarterly reports and annual results report for 2025 are public (UNHCR Q1 2026 report; UNHCR annual results report 2025).
How the work is shared
UNHCR works with the Ministry of Interior, the national refugee agency (National Commission for Refugees and IDPs), the disaster management agency and IOM (IOM in Somalia).
How to use it
Displacement figures by region and month are on the UNHCR data portal (UNHCR data portal).
Sources
- UNHCR data portal · data.unhcr.org
- Dawan Africa · dawan.africa
- Ministry of Interior · moifar.gov.so
- Ministry of Interior · moifar.gov.so
- OCHA FTS · fts.unocha.org
- UNHCR flash alert via ecoi.net · ecoi.net
- UNHCR Q1 2026 report · data.unhcr.org
- UNHCR annual results report 2025 · unhcr.org
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Where this matters
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Marka (Merca) and Lower ShabelleLower Shabelle is Somalia's biggest farming region, along the Shabelle river south-west of Mogadishu, with Marka (Merca) as its capital and about 835,000 to…
- Baydhabo (Baidoa) and BayBay is a farming region in South West State, with Baidoa (Baydhabo) as its main city and about 1.25 to 1.8 million people.
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Every aid organisation funded in Somalia, 2024 to 2026: UN agencies and NGOs by money receivedA directory of every UN agency, international NGO, Somali NGO and other body recorded as receiving humanitarian funding for Somalia in 2024, 2025 and 2026, with the amounts from the UN Financial Tracking Service and a CSV download.
- International bodies in Somalia: the UN, the African Union, the World Bank and the IMFWhich international bodies work in Somalia, what each does, how the UN presence changed in 2024 to 2026, and Somalia's own seats in world bodies.
- UNICEF in Somalia: what it doesWhat UNICEF does in Somalia: its offices, staff and partners, who leads it, the funding it receives, and what it reports about child malnutrition in 2026.
- World Food Programme (WFP) in Somalia: what it doesWhat the World Food Programme does in Somalia: food and cash aid, Baxnaano, school meals, UNHAS flights; who leads it; funding 2024 to 2026; and what it reports about hunger in 2026.
- FAO in Somalia: farming, livestock, fisheries and the FSNAU and SWALIM data unitsWhat FAO does in Somalia: staff, offices and projects, who leads it, funding 2024 to 2026, and what it reports doing in 2026.
- OCHA in Somalia and the Somalia Humanitarian FundWhat OCHA does in Somalia: coordination, the 2026 aid plan, the Somalia Humanitarian Fund, who leads it, and its funding 2024 to 2026.