Venezuelans in Peru
Overall objectives
This activity will collect data from a booster sample of the National Household Survey (ENAHO, by its Spanish acronym) in Peru, of the Venezuelan population, to:
- Generate indicators that measure poverty, well-being, and household living conditions
- Analyze the socioeconomic integration of Venezuelans comparable to the general population
- Inform and facilitate the inclusion of Venezuelans in development policy and plans.
Activity description
The Encuesta Nacional de Hogares (ENAHO) is the primary source of information on poverty and living conditions in Peru. It covers a broad array of topics including dwelling characteristics, household composition, health, education, employment, access to social welfare and justice, financial inclusion, household income, consumption, child labor, food security, subjective well-being and experience of discrimination. ENAHO also provides data on 33 indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Since Peru has incorporated the expanded refugee definition from the Cartagena Declaration into its national laws, all Venezuelans residing in the country are deemed to be forcibly displaced persons for international protection and statistical purposes. The expansion of the ENAHO will cover Venezuelans living in the Lima Metropolitan Area (75 percent of the total population) and the seven cities that host the largest Venezuelan populations outside Lima.
The target sample size is 3,680 dwellings: 2,000 allocated for Lima metro and 1,680 to the other seven cities. The booster sample will allow comparisons to be made between Venezuelans in the metro area and the general population in the same, and Venezuelans in the metro area and Venezuelans outside the metro area.
Engagement with partners
This activity will be implemented in close collaboration between UNHCR, the World Bank, and Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (the national statistics office in Peru). It builds on earlier collaborations between the three partners, in particular the Survey on the Venezuelan Population Residing in Peru.
Background and Context
Peru is the second largest receiving country for Venezuelans, after Colombia, and hosts the largest number of Venezuelan asylum-seekers in the world. It is estimated that the country is home to almost 1.5 million Venezuelans, of whom almost 532,000 are asylum seekers. Despite the generous support provided by the country’s government, a 2018 survey revealed that one half of the Venezuelan population in the country lived below the income poverty line and only 12% work in the formal economy.
Venezuelans arriving to Peru have, on average, a higher level of education than Peruvians and most of them are of working age. The World Bank estimates that labor integration of this population would contribute an additional US $3.2 billion to the gross domestic product, increasing the country’s overall productivity by 1.6 percent. Improving the recognition of valid identity documentation for refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants, and promoting their cultural and economic inclusion would expedite this process and are priorities for UNHCR and the World Bank.