Refugees from Sudan have long sought safety in Egypt because of armed conflict, political instability, and humanitarian crises in Sudan. Egypt has been a major destination for displaced Sudanese owing to the two countries' geographic proximity, historical ties, and earlier bilateral agreements that once allowed broad freedom of movement and residence.
Sudanese migration to Egypt dates back to the colonial period and increased during the First and Second Sudanese civil wars. For decades, Sudanese in Egypt occupied an ambiguous position shaped by shifting bilateral arrangements and uneven refugee recognition. After earlier special entry and residence privileges were revoked in the 1990s, many Sudanese became subject to ordinary immigration and asylum procedures and were left in legal limbo. Although Egypt is a signatory to major refugee conventions, access to legal protection and stable residency has often remained uncertain.
Since the outbreak of the Sudanese conflict in April 2023, Egypt has received the largest share of those fleeing the conflict, with more than 1.2 million arrivals reported by November 2024. At the same time, conditions for Sudanese refugees in Egypt have become more restrictive, including tighter border controls, arrests and deportations of undocumented migrants, reduced freedom of movement, and a new asylum law that drew criticism from rights groups. Sudanese refugees have also faced discrimination and practical difficulties in securing housing, work, schooling, medical care, and personal safety.
Refugees in Egypt live alongside a much larger Sudanese migrant population. In 2022, about 4 million Sudanese nationals were living in the country.
Background Egypt From the early 1900s onward, Egypt hosted multiple waves of refugees and migrants. Armenians sought refuge there following the mass violence of 1915 under Ottoman rule, while large numbers of Palestinians arrived after the 1948 Nakba and again following Black September in Jordan in 1971.
By August 2022, Sudanese migrants were the largest migrant group in Egypt, with an estimated 4 million living in the country. This was before a further influx of 1.2 million refugees following the outbreak of the Sudanese conflict in 2023.
Sudan During the nineteenth century, Sudan was regarded as part of Egypt, with both territories administered jointly under British colonial rule. Between 1899 and 1956, the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt, corresponding to the territory of what is now both Sudans and parts of southeastern Libya. In the decades that followed, repeated internal conflicts in Sudan contributed to severe economic decline and the breakdown of infrastructure, prompting large scale outward migration. Millions of Sudanese left the country, both to seek protection from violence and to pursue livelihoods elsewhere, with Egypt emerging as a primary destination.
History Early migration Sudanese migration to Egypt has a long history, driven by the search for safety as well as economic opportunities. Sudanese refugees began arriving in Egypt after the outbreak of the First Sudanese Civil War in 1955, in the period immediately preceding the country’s independence. The conflict, which continued for almost twenty years, caused the deaths of around half a million people and displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes. Egypt served as an appealing place of refuge for many of these displaced people, owing both to the close historical ties between the two countries and to Egypt’s fairly well developed economy and education system. Egypt also served as a place of refuge for Sudanese political activists. During the period leading up to the October Revolution of 1964, some Sudanese opponents of military rule operated from Cairo, where they found support and protection.
Wadi El Nil agreement (1976-1995) In 1976, Egypt and Sudan concluded the 1976 Wadi El Nil bilateral agreement, which sought to strengthen bilateral connections between the two states. Under the agreement, citizens of Sudan and Egypt were permitted to enter each other’s territory without visas and were afforded extensive social and economic rights, including access to employment, education, healthcare, and property ownership. When a new wave of Sudanese fled to Egypt in 1983, following the imposition of Islamic law in Sudan and the outbreak of the Second Sudanese Civil War, they were therefore not required to apply for refugee status. By 2001, this war had caused the death of at least one in five southern Sudanese, and more than 4 million civilians in the South had been given internally displaced persons status. More than 80% of the population of southern Sudan had been displaced at least once, since the start of the war, often on multiple occasions. In addition, close to 500,000 people from southern Sudan fled the country and became refugees abroad.
From the early 1990s onward, continued wars and instability in the Horn of Africa brought large numbers of Sudanese refugees to Egypt, alongside refugees from other countries. As arrivals increased, the UNHCR office in Cairo shifted its focus away from education and training toward the care and maintenance of refugees. The arrival of large numbers of refugees from southern Sudan in the mid-1990s altered the composition of the Sudanese population in Egypt. Many of these newcomers were Christian and did not speak Arabic, which complicated interaction with Egypt’s largely Muslim and Arab-speaking society. Because of the conflict in Sudan, relations between southern Sudanese arrivals and the established northern Sudanese community in Egypt were often marked by mutual distrust, with northern Sudanese expressing concern that the influx of poorer and culturally different migrants would weaken their own standing.
Policy reversal after 1995 In June 1995, following an assassination attempt on Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak which Egyptian authorities alleged involved the Sudanese government, the 1976 Wadi El Nil agreement was annulled. Its cancellation significantly altered the position of Sudanese nationals in Egypt. Those arriving after that point were required to obtain visas and residence permits, while Sudanese already living in the country faced heightened security scrutiny. Sudanese citizens were thereafter treated as foreign nationals, and Sudanese asylum seekers and refugees were subject to the same asylum procedures as applicants from other countries.
From the late 1990s, relatively few Sudanese migrants in Egypt obtained refugee status, largely because UNHCR applied a restrictive interpretation of the 1951 Refugee Convention that excluded applicants unable to demonstrate a well founded fear of persecution. Between 1997 and 2004, only about 20,700 out of roughly 67,000 Sudanese applicants were granted refugee status, and fewer than 15,000 were eventually resettled. Even those recognized as refugees often faced prolonged waits for resettlement and limited access to rights and services, while unrecognized migrants remained vulnerable to detention, deportation, and abuse.
Four Freedoms Agreement (2004) In 2004, the two countries concluded the Four Freedoms Agreement with the aim of reinforcing bilateral ties. The agreement granted their citizens reciprocal rights to movement, residence, employment, and property ownership within the territory of the other country. The agreement was seen as a partial return to the Wadi El Nil Treaty, but it failed to secure access to essential services such as health care, schooling, or lawful employment, and it was never fully approved by Egyptian authorities. Consequently, large numbers of Sudanese migrants were left in a legal limbo, lacking formal refugee recognition and deprived of fundamental rights. The benefits of the agreement were largely limited to Sudanese citizens rather than Sudanese asylum seekers.
That same year, following the ceasefire in Sudan, UNHCR stopped granting refugee status to Sudanese nationals in Egypt. This decision triggered a prolonged sit in by Sudanese migrants outside the UNHCR office in Cairo, which ended in December 2005 when security forces violently dispersed the protest, resulting in the deaths of dozens of Sudanese migrants.
In the years following these events, many Sudanese migrants in Egypt experienced rising levels of discrimination and xenophobia, alongside continued restrictions on access to employment, social services, and legal protection. Reports also documented incidents of violence, arbitrary arrest, detention, and harassment, particularly during periods of strained relations between Egypt and Sudan, with forced migrants from Sudan facing heightened insecurity. Faced with these conditions, Sudanese refugees were often left with limited and dangerous options: returning to Sudan despite the risk of arrest or persecution, remaining in Egypt without legal recognition while awaiting possible protection, or attempting onward migration.
In 2007, Sudan had the largest internally displaced population in the world. Displacement was driven by armed conflict, particularly in Darfur. Ongoing insecurity restricted humanitarian access, further limiting the delivery of food aid and essential services, and leaving up to one million internally displaced people in Darfur beyond the reach of urgent assistance. Sudan's capital Khartoum itself hosted a displaced population of about 2 million people. That year, an estimated 100,000 Sudanese refugees lived in Egypt.
Following the 2011 Libyan civil war, Egypt received an influx of people fleeing Libya, including Sudanese refugees. By May 2012, 1,652 Sudanese from Libya were recorded by UNHCR, many of whom were accommodated in temporary camps in the border area between Egypt and Libya.
A 2014 article noted that estimates of the total Sudanese population in Egypt varied widely, with Egyptian authorities often putting the figure at between 2 million and 5 million. It added that more than 60% were refugees who had arrived since the late 1980s.
2023 Sudanese civil war On 15 April 2023, war broke out between Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces. The conflict has caused a humanitarian crisis with widespread insecurity, assaults on civilians and civilian facilities, obstruction of humanitarian assistance, extensive sexual violence, and killings targeting specific ethnic groups. Other drivers of displacement are hunger and disease.
Since the outbreak of the war, most Sudanese refugees have fled to neighbouring countries, with Egypt receiving the largest share. Egypt has been a preferred destination due to its geographic proximity, relatively stronger economy, and the absence of formal refugee camps. Cultural, linguistic, and religious affinities, including the shared use of Arabic and a predominantly Sunni Muslim population in both countries, have contributed to a sense of familiarity. Existing Sudanese communities, lower living costs compared with Gulf states, and the ability to remain close to Sudan have further reinforced Egypt’s appeal, particularly for refugees who view their displacement as temporary. However, since 2023, Egypt’s refugee practice and legal framework became increasingly restrictive.
By November 2024, within 19 months of conflict, Egypt had received over 1.2 million Sudanese refugees, with slightly more than 600,000 registered with UNHCR. Women and children accounted for nearly three quarters of this population. However, local and international nongovernmental organizations have suggested that the actual number of Sudanese refugees in Egypt is considerably higher.
Legal status and conflicts Although Egypt is a founding signatory to both the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention, the Egyptian government's lack of implementation and numerous conditions entered into the 1951 Convention substantially limit the rights of refugees in Egypt.