Livelihood coping strategies

Information

Full name

Households adopting livelihood coping strategies by level of strategy

Short name

Code

LCS

Definition

The Livelihood Coping Strategies Indicator is defined as the share of households that adopted coping strategies of different severity levels in the past 30 days or exhausted them within the past 12 months, which is based on a series of questions about how households manage to cope with shocks that stress their livelihoods. These strategies are categorized by severity - stress, crisis, and emergency - based on their long-term impact on household well-being and productivity. The livelihood coping strategies indicator thus exists in two versions, one for essential needs (LCS-EN) and another for food security (LCS-FS). LCS-FS is recommended to be used in contexts where the prevalence of food insecurity is high, and food needs are on top of unmet needs in the communities; LCS-EN should be used in essential needs assessments, or whenever the objective of an assessment is broader than food security and tackles other essential needs (e.g. shelter, health, etc.).

Rationale

UNHCR incorporates the Livelihood Coping Strategies indicators to assess the longer-term coping capacity and resilience of forcibly displaced and stateless households. These indicators measure the extent to which families adopt stress, crisis, or emergency coping strategies to meet essential needs or food requirements, using a 30-day recall period. High reliance on emergency strategies, such as selling productive assets or withdrawing children from school, signals severe vulnerability and erosion of future livelihoods. By capturing these behaviors, UNHCR can classify households into vulnerability categories, monitor sustainability of coping mechanisms, and design interventions that prevent irreversible harm. Combined with other essential needs indicators such as FCS (Food Consumption Score) and ECMEN (Economic Capacity to Meet Essential Needs), LCS indicators strengthen multi-sectoral analysis under the UNHCR-WFP Joint Analytical Framework, informing evidence-based programming in cash assistance, food security, and livelihoods. This approach ensures that humanitarian responses address both immediate needs and long-term self-reliance.

Method of computation

The Livelihood Coping Strategies indicators are categorical variables with four levels of severity: No coping strategies, Stress, Crisis, and Emergency. Households are classified into one of these categories based on whether they adopted any coping strategies from a predefined context-specific master list due to insufficient resources to meet essential needs (LCS-EN) or maintain food security (LCS-FS). If multiple strategies are reported, the household is assigned to the category corresponding to the most severe strategy applied. This indicator captures the distribution of how households across coping strategies expressed in percentage. This classification provides a standardized way to assess vulnerability and resilience, highlighting the extent to which households are resorting to harmful coping mechanisms that may compromise their future well-being.

Comparability

International definition and standards with contextualization

Limitations

The Livelihood Coping Strategies indicators (LCS-EN and LCS-FS) are highly context-dependent, which poses significant challenges for cross-country or cross-regional comparisons. If the master list of coping strategies is not well adapted to the local context, it may omit relevant behaviors or include strategies that lack meaningful interpretation. Additionally, LCS relies on a 30-day recall period, introducing potential recall bias and underreporting of sensitive strategies such as child labor or begging. The indicator does not capture the frequency or intensity of coping strategies beyond a universal severity hierarchy, limiting its ability to measure the depth of vulnerability. Cultural and social factors may also influence reporting, and the indicator alone cannot provide a comprehensive picture of economic or food security vulnerability without triangulation with other measures such as ECMEN and FCS.

Quality assurance

The World Food Programme resource provides a technical guidance note, standard questionnaire modules, an XLS form, calculation scripts, sample data, training material and data quality guidance for collecting, calculating and analysing Livelihood Coping Strategies. Quality assurance should follow the practices of the standardised survey series or data source from which the data is collected.

Source: World Food Programme. Food Consumption Score. https://vamresources.manuals.wfp.org/docs/livelihood-coping-strategies-food-security (Accessed 29 July 2026).

References

Kind of data

Probability survey

Producers

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Links

https://microdata.unhcr.org/index.php/catalog/1421

https://www.unhcr.org/publications/forced-displacement-survey-pakistan-2024

Hungary: Socio-Economic Insights Survey (SEIS) - 2024

Code

UNHCR_HUN_2024_SEIS

Time period

2024

Coverage

Hungary

Kind of data

Non-probability survey

Producers

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Links

https://microdata.unhcr.org/index.php/catalog/1216

Rwanda: Joint UNHCR/WFP Post Distribution Monitoring - May 2022

Code

UNHCR_WFP_RWA_2022_JPDM

Time period

2022

Coverage

Rwanda

Kind of data

Probability survey

Producers

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Links

https://wfp-unhcr-hub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/WFP-0000147532.pdf

South Sudan: Joint Post Distribution Monitoring, 2023

Code

UNHCR_WFP_SSD_2023_JAM

Time period

2023

Coverage

South Sudan

Kind of data

Probability survey

Producers

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Links

https://microdata.unhcr.org/index.php/catalog/1111

https://wfp-unhcr-hub.org/2023/09/29/unhcr-wfp-joint-post-distribution-monitoring-profiling-analysis-to-inform-targeting-and-prioritization-of-assistance-to-refugees-in-south-sudan/

Slovakia: Socio-Economic Insights Survey (SEIS) - 2024

Code

UNHCR_SVK_2024_SEIS

Time period

2024

Coverage

Slovakia

Kind of data

Non-probability survey

Producers

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Links

https://microdata.unhcr.org/index.php/catalog/1215

Czechia: Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) - 2023

Code

UNHCR_CZE_2023_MSNA

Time period

2023

Coverage

Czechia

Kind of data

Non-probability survey

Producers

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Links

https://microdata.unhcr.org/index.php/catalog/1024

Zambia: Forced Displacement Survey - 2025

Code

UNHCR_ZMB_2025_FDS

Time period

2025

Kind of data

Probability survey

Footnotes

The strata on others of concern (OOC) are former refugeesfrom Angola and Rwanda who have lost their refugee protections, however, remain in Zambia and are at risk of statelessness.

Hungary: Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) - 2023

Code

UNHCR_HUN_2023_MSNA

Time period

2023

Coverage

Hungary

Kind of data

Non-probability survey

Producers

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Links

https://microdata.unhcr.org/index.php/catalog/1037

Romania: Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) - 2023

Code

UNHCR_ROU_2023_MSNA

Time period

2023

Coverage

Romania

Kind of data

Probability survey

Producers

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Links

https://microdata.unhcr.org/index.php/catalog/1040