How many Somalis are displaced inside Somalia?

How many people are displaced inside Somalia?

On 30 September 2026, humanitarian clusters estimated 3,347,408 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia (UNHCR Operational Data Portal, Somalia). UNHCR's March 2026 dashboard gives the same total (UNHCR Somalia, March 2026). It shows the total near 3.9 million in 2021 and 2022, then falling (same source).

Other counts differ, because they use different methods:

• CCCM Cluster site list, end of 2024: 3,822 verified IDP sites holding about 4,029,000 people (EUAA, May 2026, citing CCCM).
• UN OCHA, July 2025: 4,700 verified IDP sites across the country (same source).
• Somali National Bureau of Statistics, end of 2022: in camps it surveyed, it counted 51.3% of the people the CCCM Cluster had estimated (same source).
• SIPRI, 2026: 3.3 million IDPs, citing UNHCR (SIPRI fact sheet, Nov 2026).

Which regions hold the most displaced people?

Estimated IDPs by region on 30 September 2026, from UNHCR ODP, Somalia (CCCM Cluster):

• Banadir: 1,109,273 (33.1%)
• Bay: 591,660 (17.7%)
• Gedo: 304,711 (9.1%)
• Lower Juba: 262,111 (7.8%)
• Mudug: 131,390 (3.9%)
• Woqooyi Galbeed: 126,463 (3.8%)
• Togdheer: 115,582 (3.5%)
• Bari: 112,829 (3.4%)
• Lower Shabelle: 95,994
• Galgaduud: 86,083
• Hiiraan: 85,373
• Middle Shabelle: 81,368
• Bakool: 69,921
• Nugaal: 58,081
• Awdal: 55,552
• Sool: 36,437
• Sanaag: 24,580

About 74% of IDP sites are in urban areas, and 85% are informal settlements on private land (EUAA, 2026, citing the CCCM Cluster). About 80% of displaced people are women and children (same source).

Mogadishu: why are Daynile and Kahda so large?

In July 2025, Mogadishu held 2,493 verified IDP sites with more than 1.1 million people (EUAA, 2026, citing UN OCHA). In November 2025, Daynile had 1,029 verified sites and Kahda 1,241 (same source). A 2025 risk mapping by the Peace Hub Foundation counted 2,565 sites in Banadir (same source).

In 2012, over 60% of Mogadishu's IDP sites were in Hodan, Wadajir and Dharkenley (EUAA, 2026). In 2013, the federal government set up a task force to move IDPs to the city's edge, including Daynile and the Afgooye corridor (same source). Between 2012 and 2016, the number stayed similar, but people moved within the city, mainly because of evictions (same source).

Between 2023 and 2025, about 250,000 new IDPs arrived in Mogadishu (EUAA, 2026). In 2021 and 2022, about 500,000 arrived (same source). Only about 8,000 IDPs moved back out of Mogadishu between 2021 and 2025 (same source).

Many plan to stay. About 46% of IDPs in Daynile and 55% in Kahda said they would prefer to remain (same source).

• Baidoa: about 740,065 IDPs across 649 sites, most of them informal and without secure land rights (IMPACT Initiatives, 9 Jan 2026). In a 2025 survey, 89% of IDP households said they planned to stay (REACH, Baidoa 2025).
• Kismayo: Lower Juba held 262,111 IDPs in September 2026 (UNHCR ODP). REACH surveyed 1,547 households there in 2025 (REACH, Kismayo 2025).
• Galkayo: Mudug held 131,390 IDPs (UNHCR ODP). Gaalkacyo was among the main destinations of new displacement in April to June 2026 (UNHCR PSMN, Q2 2026).
• Garowe: Nugaal held 58,081 IDPs (UNHCR ODP).
• Hargeisa: Woqooyi Galbeed held 126,463 IDPs (UNHCR ODP). In a 2024 survey, 92% of IDP households planned to stay in their settlement (REACH, Hargeisa 2024).

A 2015 profiling counted 70,465 people in 14 Hargeisa settlements (UNHCR and partners, Internal Displacement Profiling in Hargeisa, Dec 2015). Economic migrants made up 56%, IDPs from Somaliland 19%, and returnees from Ethiopian camps 11% (same source).

In late 2025, leaders of the State House settlement said more than 100 new families had arrived in three months (Radio Ergo, Nov 2025). "The city has become too expensive, and there is no job," said Shukri Yusuf, 60 (same source).

Why do people leave home: conflict, drought or floods?

UNHCR's monitoring network records each new displacement and its main cause. The main cause has changed year by year (UNHCR Somalia, March 2026):

• 2023: floods were the leading cause, at 58%.
• 2024: conflict led, at 53%.
• 2025: drought led, at 52%.
• January to March 2026: drought caused 92% of displacements.

Displacements caused by conflict and insecurity, per EUAA's analysis of UNHCR data (EUAA, 2026):

• 2023: 653,000
• 2024: 290,000
• 2025: 230,000

For all of 2025, UNHCR recorded 664,000 new displacements, up from 547,000 in 2024 (UNHCR Annual Results Report 2025, Somalia). Of these, 345,000 were caused by drought, 230,000 by conflict and 46,000 by floods (same source).

What happened in 2026?

The federal government declared a national drought emergency in November 2025 (SIPRI, Nov 2026). By April 2026, IOM counted nearly 62,000 drought displacements in Baidoa, Daynile, Kahda, Diinsoor and Doolow (IOM, 24 Apr 2026).

In July to September 2026, an estimated 5.1 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity (SIPRI, citing IPC).

What were the largest waves before 2023?

• 2007 to 2010, Afgooye corridor: UNHCR estimated 366,000 IDPs from Mogadishu along this road in September 2009 (UN News, 1 Oct 2010). By October 2010 the estimate was 410,000 (same source).
• 2011 drought and famine: Mogadishu received 31,400 IDPs from January to March 2011 and 35,800 from July to September (UNHCR, Mogadishu IDP influx, 18 Nov 2011). UNHCR linked the 2011 arrivals mainly to drought (same source).
• 2016 to 2017 drought: UNHCR's network recorded 761,000 people displaced by drought from 1 November 2016 to 23 June 2017 (UNHCR PRMN, 29 Jun 2017). In April 2017 alone, 278,000 people were displaced by drought (same source).
• 2021 to 2022 drought: OCHA counted 1,355,797 people displaced by drought from January 2021 to November 2022 (OCHA, Nov 2022).
• 2023 Deyr floods: OCHA gave 1.2 million displaced by 24 December 2023 (ReliefWeb, Somalia floods Oct 2023). The government's needs assessment gave over 2 million displaced and 188 deaths (Somalia 2023 Deyr floods rapid post-disaster needs assessment).

How many displaced people are forcibly evicted?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) counts over 2 million people evicted across Somalia from 2017 to 2025 (EUAA, 2026, citing NRC). Over 1 million of them were in Banadir (same source). Many families have been evicted more than once.

Evictions in Mogadishu by year, as reported by EUAA from NRC data (EUAA, 2026):

• 2023: more than 100,000 people, in 836 incidents.
• 2024: 68,880 people.
• 2025: 149,452 people by year end; another source cited by EUAA gives 143,548.
• January 2026: 7,134 people.

Of the 143,548 evictions in Mogadishu in 2025, 63,132 people were removed from government properties (EUAA, 2026). In the first eight months of 2025, Daynile accounted for 64.7% of the city's evictions (same source). Radio Ergo, citing the UN, reported nearly 142,000 evicted in Mogadishu in 2025, counted as families (Radio Ergo, 13 Oct 2025).

Who carries out evictions, and why?

In a 2021 NRC analysis, 89% of evictions were by private landlords for development, and 11% by the state (EUAA, 2026, citing NRC). Urban land has risen in value with demand, services and relative stability (InterAction, 2024). Landowners often give only a few days' notice (same source).

Halimo Mohamed Abdi lost her home in a government clearance in Mogadishu in July 2025. "They entered without informing us," she said (Radio Ergo, 2025). About 120 families were forced from that site (same source).

Prevention also works. In 2023, more people avoided eviction (242,776) than were evicted (207,851), per the eviction portal (HLP Area of Responsibility, Somalia Eviction Monitoring Portal).

What laws protect displaced people?

In late 2019, the federal government adopted the National Policy on Refugee-Returnees and IDPs (IDLO, 17 Dec 2019). It also adopted National Eviction Guidelines and an Interim Protocol on land for housing (same source). EUAA reports that enforcing these rules remains difficult (EUAA, 2026).

Are minority communities displaced more than others?

No national figure for the share of minority communities among IDPs was found. Recent studies say most IDPs in Mogadishu belong to minority clans and marginalised groups (EUAA, 2026). Many come from Rahanweyn communities (Digil and Mirifle) or from Bantu/Jareer communities (same source).

In the Shabelle and Juba valleys, land pressure from cash crops has pushed Bantu farmers to sell land (EUAA, 2026). In Bay and Bakool, smaller Rahanweyn sub-clans have been affected in the same way (same source).

Many displaced people lack papers. Only 16% of surveyed IDPs nationwide have legally recognised ID (EUAA, 2026, citing UNHCR). In an NRC survey, 98% of minority and marginalised IDP households in Mogadishu had no legal identity documents (NRC, Dec 2024).

Minority Rights Group found that aid does not reach minorities equally (MRG, Oct 2022).

Why it matters (Calankii)

More Somalis live displaced inside their own country than in all the camps abroad. The flag raised in 1960 was meant to cover every Somali on their own land, with a home and papers. Knowing who was moved, from where and why, is how young Somalis can see the full picture.

Related pages

• Somali refugee camps
• Somali refugees by the numbers
• Minority communities
• Mogadishu
• Bay

Sources

1. UNHCR. Operational Data Portal: Somalia, estimated IDPs by region (CCCM Cluster), 30 Sep 2026. https://data.unhcr.org/en/country/som. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. UNHCR Somalia. Refugees and internally displaced people, March 2026, via ecoi.net. https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2140006/UNHCR+Somalia+Forcibly+Displaced+Population+March+2026.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. UNHCR Somalia. Protection and Solutions Monitoring Network quarterly report, Q2 2026, via ecoi.net. https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2142864/UNHCR%20Somalia%20PSMN%20report%202026%20Q2.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. UNHCR. Annual Results Report 2025: Somalia, Jun 2026. https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/unhcr-annual-results-report-2025-somalia.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. European Union Agency for Asylum. Somalia: Displacement in Mogadishu, COI report, May 2026. https://coi.euaa.europa.eu/administration/easo/PLib/2026_05_EUAA_COI_Report_Somalia_Displacement_in_Mogadishu.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
6. SIPRI. Climate, peace and security fact sheet: Somalia, Nov 2026. https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2026-11/climate_peace_and_security_fact_sheet_somalia.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
7. IOM. Drought displaces nearly 62,000 in Somalia as climate shocks intensify, 24 Apr 2026. https://www.iom.int/news/drought-displaces-nearly-62000-somalia-climate-shocks-intensify. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. IMPACT Initiatives. Somalia pilot of the global area-based assessment toolkit, 9 Jan 2026. https://www.impact-initiatives.org/stories/somalia-i-pilot-of-the-global-area-based-assessment-toolkit-to-inform-durable-solutions-planning/. Checked 2026-11-12.
9. REACH. Durable Solutions Readiness Assessment II: Baidoa, 2025. https://repository.impact-initiatives.org/document/impact/7ccbab9a/REACH_DSRA-II_Factsheet_Baidoa_Somalia_2025.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
10. REACH. Durable Solutions Readiness Assessment II: Kismayo, 2025. https://repository.impact-initiatives.org/document/impact/89cd7955/REACH_DSRA-II-_Factsheet_-Kismayo_Somalia_2025.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
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13. Radio Ergo. Rising costs in Hargeisa force poor families into IDP camp, Nov 2025. https://radioergo.org/en/2025/11/rising-costs-in-hargeisa-force-poor-families-into-idp-camp. Checked 2026-11-12.
14. Radio Ergo. Cruel evictions leave thousands of people pushed back into poverty in Mogadishu, 13 Oct 2025. https://radioergo.org/en/2025/10/cruel-evictions-leave-thousands-of-people-pushed-back-into-poverty-in-mogadishu/. Checked 2026-11-12.
15. InterAction. Disrupting the cycle of forced evictions in Somalia, 2024. https://protection.interaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Disrupting-the-Cycle-of-Forced-Evictions-in-Somalia-1.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
16. HLP Area of Responsibility. Somalia Eviction Monitoring Portal. https://response.reliefweb.int/somalia/hlp. Checked 2026-11-12.
17. Norwegian Refugee Council. Community-driven consultations on HLP needs among minority, marginalised and displaced communities in Mogadishu, Dec 2024. https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/community-driven-consultations-on-hlp-needs-among-minority-marginalised-displaced-communities-in-mogadishu. Checked 2026-11-12.
18. Minority Rights Group. Minority exclusion in Somalia, Oct 2022. https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MRG_Somalia_EN_Oct22.pdf. Checked 2026-11-12.
19. IDLO. Somalia launches first policy on displaced persons, refugee-returnees, 17 Dec 2019. https://www.idlo.int/news/somalia-launches-first-policy-displaced-persons-refugee-returnees. Checked 2026-11-12.
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21. UNHCR Somalia. Mogadishu IDP influx, 18 Nov 2011. https://data.unhcr.org/fr/documents/download/31268. Checked 2026-11-12.
22. UNHCR PRMN. Somalia drought related displacements to 23 June 2017, 29 Jun 2017. https://data.unhcr.org/fr/documents/details/58292. Checked 2026-11-12.
23. UN OCHA. Somalia drought and famine displacement monitoring dashboard, Nov 2022. https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/somalia-drought-and-famine-displacement-monitoring-dashboard-november-2022. Checked 2026-11-12.
24. ReliefWeb. Somalia: Floods, Oct 2023. https://reliefweb.int/disaster/fl-2023-000190-som. Checked 2026-11-12.
25. Federal Government of Somalia with UN, World Bank and EU. Somalia 2023 Deyr floods rapid post-disaster needs assessment. https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/somalia-2023-deyr-floods-rapid-post-disaster-needs-assessment-report. Checked 2026-11-12.