SOUTH AFRICA

isiXhosa

Ukungabinabuzwe

“Not having a nationality/citizenship”; the contributor also gives the direct translation as “not having a country.”

Everyday expression

Ukungabinaphepha

“Lack of documents.”

The contributor associates the experience particularly with not having government-issued documentation relating to parentage or identity. However, they caution that the available words tend to capture a definition or symptom of statelessness rather than the phenomenon itself.