# 3. UNHCR Data on Syrian Refugee Households in Jordan

<mark>The analysis that follows uses information about individuals and households who arrived in Jordan between 2011 and 2014. Almost all these households (98.8 percent) are not living in camps but living with host communities in different places—mostly in Amman (31.7 percent), Irbid (28.3 percent), Mafraq (14.4 percent), and Zarqa (11.8 percent). The analysis is based on two UNHCR datasets: the ProGres database and JD‐HV dataset. The ProGres dataset records the Syrians arriving in Jordan who register as refugees with UNHCR. It contains demographic and other information on the principal applicant and all the other individuals registered under the principal applicant.</mark><sup>18</sup> <mark>We refer to the principle applicant and the individuals registered with them as a household. The JD‐HV dataset contains more information on the socioeconomic characteristics of households and individuals and data on household expenditure, which are used to measure poverty. The ProGres database has information for a total of 54,408 Syrian refugee</mark> households, comprising 208,014 individuals, for whom JD‐HV data are also available.<sup>19</sup> <mark>Our analysis proceeds as follows. First, using the ProGres data we track the relationships between the different members of the household and the principal applicant. Next, we categorize all households into eight types that reflect some of the indicators of vulnerability used by UNHCR and capture some of the household characteristics that result from forced displacement:</mark><sup>20</sup>

- **Couple with children** : Married couple (at least one of whom is at least 18 years old) with children of their and/or the children of others (classified by UNHCR as separated children).

- **Single person** : One adult (person 18 years or older) reporting no other dependents or cohabitees

- **Single caregiver** : One adult living with children of his/her own below the age of 18 and/or separated children and/or one or more elderly persons and/or disabled persons

- **Couple without children** : Married couples (at least one of whom is at least 18 years old) without children or members of their extended family in their own household, includes couples with adult sons and daughters.

- **Unaccompanied children** : Person or group of people below the age of 18 without an accompanying adult.

- **Siblings:** Household of brothers and sisters that share one or both parents, including at least one adult

- **Extended family and other households** : Households with or without children, that include extended family members such as in‐laws, uncles, cousins. An example is married couples or widows/widowers living with their married sons/daughters and their children. Examples of other

> 18 While there is no specific guidance on who should be designated as the principal applicant, UNHCR benefits and food assistance are allocated to this person. It is therefore reasonable to consider the principal applicant as the household head. 19 It is important to note that the JD‐HV data collection is not a randomly selected sample of the ProGres database and that it is designed for targeting. There are three criteria to select cases for Home Visits. The first is newly registered cases, included by default. The second is cases that are due for reassessment. The third refers to urgent cases that require a visit for urgent needs (Verme et al. 2016).

> 20 For example, UNHCR specifically identifies single woman at risk, single older person, and single parent or caregiver.

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