KHARTOUM – Sudan was hosting 689,397 refugees and asylum-seekers from South Sudan as of Sept. 30, 2026, with nearly two-thirds concentrated in White Nile State, according to new data from the U.N. refugee agency.
UNHCR said the population comprised 208,908 households, with 65% living in camps and 35% outside camps despite Sudan’s continuing conflict and pressure on essential services.
The agency recorded 22,089 new arrivals from South Sudan during 2026, with White Nile receiving the largest number at 18,894, followed by Blue Nile with 1,708 and West Kordofan with 651.
Sudan has continued to receive refugees even as its own war, which began in April 2023, has displaced millions of Sudanese inside the country and across its borders, placing additional pressure on host communities and humanitarian services.
White Nile hosted 454,895 South Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers, accounting for around 66% of the national total. East Darfur hosted 41,755, South Kordofan 38,532 and West Kordofan 35,558.
Khartoum hosted 27,673, while Blue Nile had 20,421, North Darfur 19,893, South Darfur 13,915 and North Kordofan 12,553.
The distribution leaves significant refugee populations in states affected by insecurity and disrupted supply routes, complicating access to healthcare, food, water, education and protection services.
Among individually registered refugees, 52% were female and 48% male, while children under the age of 18 accounted for about 48%.
UNHCR also recorded 9,079 unaccompanied or separated children and 16,021 persons with disabilities, the latter representing around 3% of the registered population.
Women headed 57% of registered households, while child-headed households accounted for 0.33%.
Children of primary school age, between six and 13 years, represented 27% of registered individuals, while those aged 14 to 17 accounted for another 11%.
Registration data showed that 500,533 people were individually registered, while 59,770 were registered at household level. Another 129,094 people — about 19% of the total — remained unregistered.
UNHCR said the overall figure combines populations registered by the agency and Sudan’s Commissioner for Refugees with registered and unregistered refugees recorded by immigration authorities.
Government sources have estimated that Sudan may host around 1.3 million South Sudanese refugees, but UNHCR said that figure still requires verification and is therefore not used as the official total in the dashboard.
