Population and demography

A population that changes

Dzaleka’s population has grown substantially since the camp opened in 1994. New arrivals, births, voluntary returns, resettlement departures, registration exercises, and government relocation policies all affect reported totals.

UNHCR’s August 2024 fact sheet reported 55,425 registered refugees and asylum-seekers in Malawi and said the majority lived in Dzaleka. The same report listed 35,952 people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 12,113 from Burundi, and 6,960 from Rwanda, with smaller groups from Somalia, Ethiopia, and other countries.

UNHCR’s country overview, using end-of-December 2024 data, reported more than 52,000 people in Dzaleka and 56,779 forcibly displaced people in Malawi. These figures should not be treated as contradictory without checking their dates, categories, and geographic scope.

Historical growth

In 2007, after the closure of Luwani camp, Dzaleka grew from roughly 5,000 to more than 8,000 residents. United Nations Malawi reported 41,109 registered refugees and asylum-seekers in the camp in November 2019. By 2023 and 2024, official sources were consistently describing a population above 50,000.

Using these figures

Population data should be quoted with the reporting organisation, reference date, and whether the figure covers Dzaleka or all of Malawi. A live total should not be inferred from an older fact sheet.