<mark>the end of 1994, the country, known for its hospitality and open-door policy,</mark><sup>6</sup> <mark>hosted almost 1.3 million people in its Northwestern region, becoming one of the top four refugee receiving countries in Africa.</mark><sup>7</sup> <mark>The sharp growth in refugees experienced by Tanzania between 1993 and 1996 was a direct consequence of several dramatic events that occurred in short succession in neighboring countries. On October 21, 1993, the assassination of the Burundian President Melchior Ndadaye and the ethnic clashes that followed led to almost 300,000 Burundians seek refuge in the Kigoma region of Western Tanzania. Shortly after, on April 6, 1994 the Burundi and Rwanda presidents Cyprien Ntaryamira and Juvenal Habyarimana died in an airplane crash, prompting the Rwandan genocide and resulting in a sudden outflow of nearly 250,000 Rwandans refugees in the Northwestern regions of Tanzania, particularly the Kagera region. Rwandans continued to flee their country over the following years and, by early 1995, nearly 600,000 refugees from Rwanda were living in Tanzania. The aftermath of the Rwanda genocide and the spillover of the Burundian conflict also led to the first Congo civil war from October 1996 to May 1997, resulting in almost 500,000 Congolese refugees settling in Northwestern Tanzania. This would be followed by a second wave of refugees arriving in 1999 after the second Congo war.</mark><sup>8</sup> <mark>As a consequence of these events, Tanzania has hosted very high numbers of refugees for almost a decade, between 1993 and 2001, with a peak around 1994</mark><sup>9</sup> <mark>(see Figure A4 in Annex A). The UNHCR and the Tanzania Ministry of Home Affairs decided to settle most of these refugees in temporary camps located within 40 km from the border and at a short distance from Tanzanian villages. Refugees were finally settled in 13 main camps</mark><sup>10</sup> <mark>covering the Karagwe, Ngara, Kasulu, Kigoma and Kibondo clusters in Nortwestern Tanzania (Figure A1). With a population of 2.5 million people, this massive human displacement led to an increase of the population in the two host regions (Kagera and Kigoma) by over 50%. In some clusters, refugees outnumbered Tanzanians five to one (Whitaker, 2002) and by the end of May 1994, Benaco refugee camp located in Ngara cluster (Kagera region) was the largest in the world (see tables A1, A2 and figures A5, A6 in Annex A). This forced displacement crisis has been recently ranked as the largest in modern history in terms of share of refugees over the local population (Verme and Schuettler, 2019). The magnitude of such a sudden population shock was most likely to bring a profound change in the livelihood and economic activities of the hosts.</mark>

> 6 See Runtinwa (2006) and Milner (2013).

> 7 <mark>The country was ranked first in 1998 and 1997; third in 1996, second in 1995 and 1994 and fourth in 1993 (UNHCR Statistical overview, 1998).</mark>

> 8 <mark>The second Congo civil war lasted 4 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 2 days from August 1998 to 18 July 2003.</mark>

> 9 <mark>By the end of 1996, most refugees from Rwanda had been repatriated, whereas Burundian refugees were sent home over a longer period of time, at least until 2004, due to the continued instability in their country of origin.</mark>

> 10 <mark>Benaco, Burigi, Chabalisa, Kagenyi, Keza, Lukole A, Lukole B, Kitalli, Mbuba, Musuhura, Mwisa, Omukariko and Rubwera.</mark>

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