Socio-Economic Challenges and Demographic Changes Arising from Internal Displacement in Syria

This paper assesses the demographic changes resulting from the four waves of internal displacement that Syria witnessed between 2011 and 2016. Applying a gender lens to the case studies of Swaida and Salamiyah, it also sheds light on the socio-economic challenges faced by IDPs during this period.

Published on July 5, 2022

Saja Al Zoubi and Humam Wardeh | mernid, IDPs, Internal migration, Ethnicity, Vulnerable persons, Conflict, Middle East

Syria. A group of women in Aleppo. 2022 © UNHCR

This study analyses the waves of internal displacement that Syria witnessed from 2011 until the implementation of the study in 2016, through a case study of Swaida (Swaida Governorate in the south of Syria) and Salamiyah (Hama Governorate in the central region of Syria). By analysing Syrian internal displacement in four stages that describe different temporal and spatial scales, the study is able to map out the resulting demographic change. In parallel, using a gender lens, the study sheds light on the most important socio-economic challenges faced by the displaced population. Finally, the study concludes that enhancing the capabilities of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and employing these capabilities through micro-enterprises programmes offer the solution to boosting and sustaining IDP resilience in various aspects, including the gendered dimensions of labour, education, protection, agency and mental health.

Saja Al Zoubi is a Development Economist. Currently, she works at the Global Development department at Saint Mary’s University, Canada. Previously, she worked at the Oxford Department of International Development in the UK. Her research focusses on refugee livelihoods, issues of gender and rural development, with a special focus on Syrian refugees.

Humam Wardeh is a Socio-economist who works at Saint Mary’s University, Canada. He worked at the Oxford Department of International Development in the UK previously. His research focuses on development studies, social justice and issues of micro-finance.

This paper was written by Saja Al Zoubi during her Summer Fellowship on Internal Displacement at the Internal Displacement Research Programme at the Refugee Law Initiative. The Fellowship was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, on behalf of the UKRI Global Challenge Research Fund, as part of the funded project “Interdisciplinary Network on Internal Displacement, Conflict and Protection” (AH/T005351/1).

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