Bidibidi and Dadaab: Two Refugee Settlements, Two Different Countries

1.1 Is Bidibidi in Kenya?

No. Bidibidi is in Uganda. It lies in Yumbe District, near the border with South Sudan.

A factsheet on the UNHCR data portal places it “in Yumbe District”. A news report says the Yumbe district in Uganda became the third largest refugee camp in the world in just over two months.

1.2 Who lives in Bidibidi?

The settlement was set up in 2016 for South Sudanese refugees. Most came from the Greater Equatoria region.

Fighting broke out in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, in July 2016. A report from November 2016 says nearly 300,000 people had fled to Uganda since then.

1.3 How big did it grow?

• Early November 2016: nearly 190,000 people.
• Peak: over 280,000 people, one of the largest refugee settlements in the world.
• December 2016: it reached maximum capacity and stopped taking new arrivals.

Sources differ on the opening month. The factsheet says September 2016. So the article says only “2016”.

2.1 Where is Dadaab?

Dadaab is in Kenya, in Garissa County, near the border with Somalia.

Human Rights Watch describes the Ifo Extension camp at Dadaab as being near the Kenya-Somalia border in Garissa County.

2.2 Who lives in Dadaab, and since when?

Dadaab began as a home for people who fled Somalia. Its government collapsed in 1991 and civil war followed.

UNHCR set up the first three camps between October 1991 and June 1992. They are Ifo, Dagahaley and Hagadera.

They were meant to host up to 90,000 people.

2.3 How big did Dadaab become?

• End 2005: 127,000 refugees.
• February 2009: just over 255,000. Human Rights Watch called it the world’s largest refugee settlement.
• 2012: more than 463,000, including some 10,000 third-generation refugees born there.

3.1 How do the two compare?

Sources: UNHCR/REACH factsheet, Radio Tamazuj, UN News, Human Rights Watch.

3.2 Why is Bidibidi often placed in Kenya?

Both are very large refugee settlements in East Africa. Kenya also hosts many South Sudanese refugees.

UNHCR’s Kenya page shows refugees in Kenya by origin as of 31 August 2026. Somalia is first at 51.6 percent. South Sudan is second at 33.3 percent.

So “South Sudanese refugees in Kenya” sounds right. But Bidibidi is not one of the places they live. It is in Uganda.

3.3 What is the safe rule?

• Uganda: Bidibidi, and mostly South Sudanese refugees there.
• Kenya: Dadaab, and mostly Somali refugees there.
• Check the country first, then the origin.

4.1 What is Uganda's approach?

Uganda hosts 2,050,820 refugees and asylum-seekers, according to the UNHCR portal, updated on 30 September 2026.

A World Bank paper calls its policy one of Africa’s pioneering frameworks. It grants freedom of movement, the right to work and access to social services.

• Plots: in the 1990s each household typically received a small 30-by-30-metre plot.
• Land: refugees cannot legally buy or formally own land. They can agree with host communities to use better plots.
• Status: Uganda gives prima facie refugee status to South Sudanese and Congolese refugees.

4.2 Is life easy there?

Not always. The World Bank paper says that in 2018 nearly half of refugees (46 percent) lived below the national poverty line. For host communities the figure was 17 percent.

4.3 What happened to Dadaab's future?

In May 2016 Kenya’s Interior Ministry announced it would close the refugee camps within the shortest possible time. It cited national security.

Two Kenyan rights groups went to court. On 8 February 2017 the High Court ruled the closure decision unconstitutional. Judge Mativo said the plans discriminate against Somali refugees and break the rule against forced return.

In March 2019 Human Rights Watch said a renewed push to close the camp threatened 250,000 people, mostly Somali refugees and asylum seekers.

5.1 What did UPSC ask?

UPSC’s official key for Series A gives (c). The key gives no reasons. The reasons here are ours, from the sources above.

5.2 Why is the answer (c)?

• Statement 1 is wrong: Bidibidi is in Uganda, not Kenya.
• Statement 2 is correct: Bidibidi hosts South Sudanese refugees.
• Statement 3 is correct: Dadaab, in Kenya, was set up for people who fled Somalia.
• So: only statements 2 and 3 hold.

5.3 Which mix-ups does this topic invite?

• Which country is Bidibidi in? Uganda.
• Who lives in Bidibidi? South Sudanese refugees.
• Which country is Dadaab in? Kenya.
• Who lives in Dadaab? Mostly Somali refugees.