Refugee Economies Programme 2016-2018

Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, 2016 - 2018

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Reference ID

AFR_2016-2018_REP_v01_M

Producer(s)

University of Oxford, Refugee Studies Centre

Collection(s)

United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

Metadata

Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON

Study website

Created on

Nov 20, 2025

Last modified

Nov 20, 2025

Page views

12946

Downloads

707

Identification

Survey ID number

AFR_2016-2018_REP_v01_M

Title

Refugee Economies Programme 2016-2018

Abbreviation or Acronym

REP 2016-18

Country/Economy

Name	Country code
Kenya	KEN
Uganda	UGA
Ethiopia	ETH

Study type

Sample Frame, Households [sf/hh]

Abstract

Between 2016-2021, the Refugee Economies Programme undertook research on the economic lives of refugees. The aim was to make an evidence-based contribution to the ways in which governments, international organisations, NGOs, and businesses support the socio-economic inclusion of refugees. The survey collected data on income, expenditure, assets, health, education, migration, attitudes, and more, enabling us to explore a series of correlations. Drawing on this dataset, we have been able to explore themes such as the role of development indicators in influencing refugees’ mobility choices and the determinants of variation in refugees’ income levels. It has also allowed us to theorize a broader set of questions such as what is economically distinctive about refugees.

This cross-sectional dataset contains data on refugees only. It combines household survey data from six separate data collection exercises:
2016: Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya
2017: Nairobi, Kenya
2018: Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda
2018: Kampala, Uganda
2018: Dollo Ado Refugee Camp, Ethiopia
2018: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Kind of Data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Unit of Analysis

Household

Version

Version Description

Version 2.1: Edited, cleaned, and anonymised data.

Version Date

2024-09-30

Scope

Notes

The scope includes:

income
expenditure
assets
health
education
migration
attitudes

Topics

Topic
Protection
Health
Education

Keywords

Refugee Economies Kenya Uganda Ethiopia Cross-country 2024 Household Survey Economic Lives

Coverage

Geographic Coverage

Kenya (Kakuma, Nairobi), Uganda (Nakivale, Kampala), Ethiopia (Dollo Ado, Addis Ababa)

Universe

All refugee households residing in the survey areas from Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia between 2016 and 2018.

Producers and sponsors

Primary investigators

Name
University of Oxford, Refugee Studies Centre

Sampling

Sampling Procedure

Various sampling strategies applied for each survey.

Survey instrument

Questionnaires

The questionnaire covered socio-economic indicators, including income, expenditure, assets, health, education, migration, and attitudes.

Data collection

Dates of Data Collection

Start	End
2016-01-01	2018-12-31

Data Collection Mode

Face-to-face [f2f]

Data Collectors

Name
University of Oxford, Refugee Studies Centre
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA)
Relief Society of Tigray
ZOA
Women and Pastoralist Youth Development Organization

Data Collection Notes

Data was collected via face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires.

Access policy

Citation requirements

University of Oxford, Refugee Studies Centre (2024). Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia: Refugee Economies Programme. Accessed from: https://microdata.unhcr.org

Contacts

Name	Affiliation	Email
Olivier Sterck	University of Antwerp	olivier.sterck@uantwerpen.be
Jade Siu	University of Oxford	jade.siu@qeh.ox.ac.uk
Curation team	UNHCR	dencomdl@unhcr.org

Metadata production

DDI Document ID

DDI_AFR_2016-2018_REP_v01_M

Producers

Name	Abbreviation	Affiliation	Role
UN Refugee Agency	UNHCR	UN	Documentation of the study
Development Data Group	DECDG	World Bank Group	Metadata adapted for World Bank Microdata Library

Date of Metadata Production

2024-09-30

Metadata version

DDI Document version

Identical to a metadata (JDC_EHAGL_econ_prog_2024) published on UNHCR catalog (https://microdata.unhcr.org/index.php/home). Some of the metadata fields have been edited.

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