Refugees face high housing instability

[Vienna, 18.11.2024] — While the integration of refugees into the labor market and healthcare system is often studied, less is known about the stability of their housing situations.

To address this, researchers from the Complexity Science Hub have now quantified all registered changes of address for non-Austrian nationals who had their primary residence in Austria at least temporarily between November 2022 and November 2023. This involved 1.6 million people, 17% of whom were refugees, and 83% were migrants, i.e., people who came to Austria voluntarily and are not threatened by persecution in their home country.

"Our findings show that refugees experience significantly greater instability in their housing situation," explains CSH PhD candidate Ola Ali, first author of the study published in the journal Genus. On average, they move 3.8 times more frequently within the investigated year than migrants in Austria—even when they come from the same country. While almost 60% of migrants did not change their address, only 33% of refugees remained at the same address.

Housing Mobility as an Indicator

Although changing residences can be linked to improved housing, personal choices, or job changes, longer stays at one address are crucial for building connections to a place and integrating into the local community, according to Ali and colleagues. Frequent moves within a year can lead to several challenges, including financial strain, difficulty accessing education and healthcare, and a lack of stable relationships within neighborhoods, add the researchers.

"Up until now, most research has focused on what happens to refugees before they arrive in a new country, rather than how they fare once they are living there," says Ali. "However, with a growing number of people fleeing worldwide, this issue will become increasingly important for all host countries. If we want to understand how well people are doing in a new country, we should also consider the stability of their housing situation, among other factors," she adds.

Gender and Country of Origin

The study found that male refugees change addresses almost twice as often as female refugees.

"We also see significant differences based on the country of origin. Refugees from Syria change their residence most frequently. Refugees from Syria move the most often, relocating on average 0.55 times per year—2.2 times more often than Ukrainian refugees, 1.7 times more often than Afghan refugees, and almost 5.5 times more often than migrants from Germany,” says Ali. While migrants from Syria move half as frequently as Syrian refugees, they still relocate as often as Ukrainian refugees.

Among those labeled as “churning movers”—individuals who relocate particularly often within the same district, signaling an unstable living situation—nearly 40% were from Syria, followed by Ukraine (17%) and Afghanistan (12%).

Legal Status

“Our results suggest that housing instability may be related to the legal status assigned upon entering Austria, which affects various aspects of life,” Ali explains. The level of housing stability can vary based on whether someone is an asylum seeker, displaced person, or has a different legal status in the country. For instance, while most Syrian refugees have asylum status (81%), almost all Ukrainian refugees are classified as displaced persons (99%).

Moving Towards Vienna

In terms of movement direction within the refugee population, there is a significant migration from the Austrian countryside towards Vienna, with 16.2% of movements directed to Vienna compared to 4.7% moving out of Vienna. In contrast, only 4.7% of migrants move to Vienna, compared to 5.8% moving out of the city.

Global Relevance

“Even though the study is based on an Austrian case study, its findings are global in relevance, especially given the rising number of migrants around the world,” says Rafael Prieto-Curiel, who co-leads the Human Migration research group at CSH.

By the end of 2023, the number of people forcibly displaced reached a record high of 117.3 million, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). This figure has doubled in less than a decade, mainly due to violence and conflict. And it is likely to continue rising: "Firstly, the world population is growing. By 2050, there will be about 20% more people. Secondly, factors like water shortages, food insecurity, and natural disasters will force more people to migrate—along with increasing political instability and generalized violence,” says Prieto-Curiel.

“With the global number of refugees rising, understanding the complexities of refugee populations and their living conditions is essential for helping them settle in a new country,” emphasizes Prieto-Curiel. "This is why we want to highlight with this study that there are differences that have so far received little attention and that could have a significant impact," Ali adds.

About the Study

The study “Quantifying the Stability of Refugee Populations: A Case Study in Austria” by O. Ali, E. Dervic, R. Stütz, L. Nedelkoska and R. Prieto-Curiel was published in Genus (doi: 10.1186/s41118-024-00231-2).

About CSH

The Complexity Science Hub (CSH) is Europe’s research center for the study of complex systems. We derive meaning from data from a range of disciplines —  economics, medicine, ecology, and the social sciences — as a basis for actionable solutions for a better world. Established in 2015, we have grown to over 70 researchers, driven by the increasing demand to gain a genuine understanding of the networks that underlie society, from healthcare to supply chains. Through our complexity science approaches linking physics, mathematics, and computational modeling with data and network science, we develop the capacity to address today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.