About EGRISS
A member-driven structure built for collaboration — bringing together national statistical offices, regional bodies and international organisations under a shared commitment to better statistics on forced displacement and statelessness.
UN Mandated
Established by the UN Statistical Commission to develop global standards for forced displacement statistics.
Multi-stakeholder Group
Membership comprising 62 national statistics authorities and 40 regional and international organisations.
Fourth Consecutive Mandate
Current Terms of Reference (2026-2030) focus on implementation, advocacy, dissemination, and regional engagement.
WHAT IS EGRISS?
Our story
The Expert Group on Refugee, Internally Displaced Persons, and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS) is a multi-stakeholder group mandated by the United Nations Statistical Commission to develop international recommendations, standards, and guidance for improved forced displacement and statelessness statistics. Since its establishment in 2016, EGRISS has made significant progress supporting countries and regional and international organisations to enhance their collection, production, and dissemination of official statistics on the populations that give its name.
EGRISS comprises members from 62 national statistics authorities from different regions of the world and 40 regional and international organisations. Openness and inclusivity are critical aspects of our working methodology, welcoming collaboration with new, relevant partners from the statistical and policy-making communities.
The Group’s first mandate (2016-2019) included the development of the International Recommendations on Refugee Statistics (IRRS) and the Technical Report on Statistics of Internally Displaced Persons, formally adopted at the 49th session of the UNSC in 2018. The second phase (2020-2022)produced the International Recommendation on IDP Statistics (IRIS) and the Compilers’ Manual — a hands-on guide for implementation of the recommendations on refugee and IDP statistics.
The third mandate (2023-2025) introduced the International Recommendations on Statelessness Statistics (IROSS), endorsed at the 54th session of the UNSC in 2023, focused on strengthening national statistical capacity and peer-to-peer learning. The fourth and current mandate (2026–2030) builds on achievements and lessons from the previous three phases, including challenges identified by national partners, with a focus on implementation through advocacy, dissemination, capacity strengthening, guidance, and technical support.
STRUCTURE
How we are organised
Terms of Reference
The fourth phase of EGRISS' mandate spans from 2026 to 2030. It focuses on the application of the International Recommendations on Refugee, IDP, and Statelessness Statistics at the national, regional, and global levels.
Governance
A Steering Committee guides EGRISS, providing strategic advice to its members and Technical Subgroups to ensure ongoing relevance and effectiveness. It consists of 15 members from national statistical offices and regional and international organisations.
Membership
A multistakeholder group of 62 national statistical authorities from regions affected by forced displacement and statelessness, along with 40 regional and international organisations.
EGRISS Secretariat
The EGRISS Secretariat supports the Steering Committee and subgroups while coordinating overall activities. It is hosted by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Copenhagen.
WORKSTREAMS
Technical Subgroups
EGRISS activities are undertaken by the broader membership organised into thematic Technical Subgroups (TSG). There are currently two active Subgroups, each responsible for the implementation and coordination of activities and providing a platform for information sharing and exchange.
FUNDING
Donors
EGRISS activities are currently funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Bank-UNHCR Joint Data (JDC) Center on Forced Displacement, and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FDCO).
