Statelessness

In international law, a stateless person is someone who is "not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law". Some stateless people are also refugees. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many people who are stateless have never crossed an international border. At the end of 2022, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated 4.4 million people worldwide as either stateless or of undetermined nationality, 90,800 (+2%) more than at the end of 2021.

Statelessness has existed as long as states have. Statelessness was used as a punishment in ancient times, such as in exile. In the 20th century, statelessness was used to disenfranchise minority populations, most notably via the Nazi Nuremberg Laws which stripped Jews of their citizenship in the leadup to The Holocaust. After the atrocities of World War II, and with the formation of the United Nations, the global community passed various treaties against statelessness. The second half of the 20th century saw concerted effort to end statelessness. Despite considerable effort, statelessness remains a global problem. Several nations still deny citizenship to those born in their country due to exclusionary reasons, such as Rohingya people in Myanmar.

The status of a person who might be stateless ultimately depends on the viewpoint of the state with respect to the individual or a group of people. In some cases, the state makes its view clear and explicit; in others, its viewpoint is harder to discern. In those cases, one may need to rely on prima facie evidence of the view of the state, which in turn may give rise to a presumption of statelessness.