Where Sudan’s Refugees Have Gone, Country by Country

SUDAN’S WAR · REFUGEES

More than 11 million people have been driven from their homes by Sudan’s war, and millions of them crossed into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and other neighbours.

Sudan’s refugees fled a war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that began in April 2023. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) counted 11.3 million people forced from their homes by 5 October 2026, making it one of the largest displacement crises in the world.

Most stayed inside Sudan, but 4.6 million crossed into neighbouring countries, which are themselves poor and under strain. For Americans the story reaches home too, because Sudanese in the United States hold a deportation shield whose deadline has just passed without a decision.

How Many People Have Fled

UNHCR’s weekly update of 5 October 2026 counts 11.3 million people forcibly displaced by the war: 6.4 million inside Sudan and 4.6 million in neighbouring countries. Of those abroad, about 3.7 million are refugees and asylum seekers, while the rest are mostly South Sudanese who had lived in Sudan and went back home.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which tracks people displaced inside Sudan, uses a wider count. It recorded 8.7 million internally displaced people at the end of June 2026, including 2.2 million who had fled earlier conflicts, down from a peak of 11.6 million in January 2025.

Darfur, the western region now held almost entirely by the RSF, borders Chad, which is why Chad has received so many people. In Kordofan, the central battlefield, more than 300,000 people have fled their homes since October 2025, the UN said this month.

Where Sudan’s Refugees Went

Chad, Sudan’s western neighbour, has taken in the most Sudanese refugees, with Egypt to the north close behind. South Sudan has received both Sudanese refugees and its own citizens fleeing back across the border.

The figures below come from UNHCR’s regional update for the end of June 2026, the latest with full country detail. They count people registered or recorded by UNHCR and its partners, so the real numbers in some countries are likely higher.

Life in the Host Countries

Most of the countries that host Sudan’s refugees are poor themselves, and the money to help them is short. UNHCR’s regional plan for refugees from Sudan asked for US$1.6 billion for 2026, and it was only 15% funded at the end of June.

The war has also followed refugees across borders. The UN said on 20 October that violence in the east of the Central African Republic is partly driven by Sudan’s war, after armed groups attacked the border town of Am-Dafock on 30 June and held it for five days.

Going Home to a Broken Country

Where the fighting has moved on, people are going back. The IOM counted 4.6 million returnees by the end of June 2026, about 0.8 million of them from abroad, and UNHCR says most returnees aim for Khartoum, Gezira and Blue Nile states.

Returning does not end the danger for these families. Drone strikes still reach Khartoum, where a strike killed four people, three of them children, on 19 October, a medical source said.

Sudanese in the United States

Some Sudanese living in the United States hold Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which shields them from deportation and lets them work. The last extension, published in January 2025, ran for 18 months from 20 April 2025 to 19 October 2026 and covered about 1,900 people eligible to re-register.

The Department of Homeland Security had announced no decision by the deadline and says current holders keep their protection while it decides. Under US law, if the government does not end a designation in time, it is extended automatically for at least six months.

What Prediction Markets Say

For most refugees, going home depends on the fighting stopping. Traders on Polymarket, an online prediction-market exchange, gave an official ceasefire between the army and the RSF by 31 December 2026 a chance of about 8% on 21 October.

That price is a bet, not a forecast by experts, and it moves with the news. The live card below updates every 20 minutes.

What Is Not Known

Many refugees are not registered, especially in Libya and Egypt, so the true number abroad is uncertain. It is also unknown how many of those who returned will have to flee again if the front moves.

Whether Washington will extend Sudan’s protected status, and for how long, is open. Our explainer on what is happening in Sudan covers the war, and our guide to Sudan’s hunger crisis and how to help explains where aid goes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many refugees has Sudan’s war created?

UNHCR counted 11.3 million people forcibly displaced by 5 October 2026. About 3.7 million of them are refugees and asylum seekers in other countries.

Which country hosts the most Sudanese refugees?

Chad has received about 935,400 Sudanese refugees since April 2023. Egypt follows, with 851,947 registered Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers at the end of June 2026.

Are Sudanese refugees going home?

Yes, where the fighting has stopped. The IOM counted 4.6 million returnees by June 2026, about 0.8 million of them from abroad.

Has TPS for Sudan ended?

No decision had been announced when the designation reached its 19 October 2026 end date. The Department of Homeland Security says current holders keep their protection while it decides.

Sources: UNHCR, regional update (5 October 2026); UNHCR, Sudan Situation External Update 120 (June 2026); Eastleigh Voice on IOM figures (24 July 2026); OCHA, Sudan key facts (13 August 2026); UN News, Central African Republic (20 October 2026); France 24, Khartoum strike (19 October 2026); Federal Register, TPS Sudan extension (17 January 2025); CBS News, TPS (18 October 2026); 8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)(3)(C); Polymarket public market data (21 October 2026). As of 21 October 2026.

More: Sudan’s War: the dossier, with every story, the live odds and the latest developments.

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