Number of refugees worldwide
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of refugees in 2015 approached 65.3 million people. Of these, 21.3 million were seeking asylum abroad—most of them in neighboring countries. Statistically, today every 113th person on the planet is a refugee, asylum seeker, or internally displaced person. Many have been living in refugee camps for years.
In 2015, about 12.5 million people fled violence—that is, an average of 24 people per minute. One in three refugees sought safety abroad in 2015. New armed conflicts, such as the conflict in Syria, exacerbated the crisis; old conflicts, like those in Afghanistan and Somalia, have lasted for decades and still force people to flee their homes.
Which countries are most fled from?
More than half of all refugees worldwide flee from three countries: Syria (3.88 million people), Afghanistan (2.59 million), and Somalia (1.11 million). In addition, there are 5.2 million Palestinian refugees in the Middle East under the care of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The large number of conflicts worldwide leaves little hope for a quick improvement in the refugee situation. In 2015, only about 200,000 refugees were able to return to their home countries.
Which countries host refugees?
More than a million refugees from Africa and the Middle East who reached Europe via the Mediterranean Sea received media attention. However, most refugees initially move to neighboring countries. Turkey hosted the largest number of refugees, followed by Pakistan, Lebanon, and Iran. 86 percent of refugees seek protection in southern countries, mostly developing ones. For example, in Africa, countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Chad have taken in millions of refugees from neighboring regions.
Why do people leave their country?
The main reasons for fleeing are armed conflicts and wars, including civil wars. Additionally, persecution based on ethnicity (for example, the Rohingya in Myanmar), as well as political or religious persecution or persecution based on sexual orientation, can be reasons.
More and more people are forced to flee due to criminal gangs and organized crime. For instance, in the past year, about 110,000 people from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras fled to neighboring Mexico and the United States to escape rising violent crime.
Internally Displaced Persons
Almost two-thirds of all refugees worldwide are so-called internally displaced persons—those who flee to safer regions within their own country. The reasons are typically armed conflicts in their home region, which often last for years and prevent people from returning home. In 2015, UNHCR registered nearly 41 million people as internally displaced and in need of assistance.
In Yemen last year, there were 2.5 million such refugees—almost one in ten residents; in Colombia, 6.9 million; in South Sudan, 1.8 million. Due to the ongoing armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, about 1.6 million people have left their homes and moved to other regions of the country, according to the Ukrainian government.
Half of refugees are children
In 2015, 51% of all refugees worldwide were children under 18. In accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and UNHCR guidelines, minor refugees receive special protection. About 100,000 children and adolescents travel alone or become separated from their parents during the journey. In Germany, the Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt) is responsible for unaccompanied minor refugees and appoints legal guardians for them.
Right to asylum
The right to asylum is enshrined in the Geneva Convention on Refugees. According to this document, any person who is persecuted in their home country “for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion” may request asylum in another country.
In Germany, for example, those persecuted for political reasons are protected by the constitution and have the right to asylum. Those fleeing war and violence do not have this right, but asylum may still be granted on humanitarian grounds in the form of so-called subsidiary protection, which also grants official refugee status.
Stateless persons
According to official data, 3.7 million people from 78 countries are currently registered as stateless. However, UNHCR estimates that about 10 million people worldwide lack recognized citizenship and therefore identity documents.
Globally, stateless persons do not have full civil rights and thus in the vast majority of cases cannot enjoy guaranteed rights such as access to education, healthcare, or public services. By 2024, UNHCR aims to completely eradicate this phenomenon.
Tasks of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The tasks of UNHCR include protecting refugees around the world, as well as monitoring compliance with human rights and the provisions of international agreements, such as the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees. The Office is headed by the High Commissioner for Refugees. Since 2016, this post has been held by Italian Filippo Grandi. UNHCR staff work in more than 120 countries, and the organization's headquarters are in Geneva.