As of mid-2023, the global refugee crisis has more than doubled in scope over the past decade. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that total displacement had surpassed the 100 million mark, meaning that over 1.2% of the global population have been forced to leave their homes. This includes over 32.5 million refugees[1]. The number of refugees worldwide increased from 27.1 million in 2021 to 35.3 million at the end of 2022, marking the largest yearly increase ever recorded[2][4].
The countries hosting the largest number of refugees in 2023 include Iran, which experienced the largest growth in a refugee population on record in 2023, going from 840,000 refugees to over 3.4 million. Türkiye is currently hosting over 3.36 million refugees. Other major host countries include Germany, Pakistan, Uganda, Russia, Poland, and Bangladesh[3][7].
The countries with the highest number of refugees include the Syrian Arab Republic with 6.5 million, Afghanistan with 6.1 million, and Ukraine with 5.9 million[7]. The largest host communities for refugees are Iran and Türkiye, each hosting 3.4 million refugees, followed by Germany with 2.5 million, Colombia with slightly less than 2.5 million, and Pakistan with 2.1 million[7].
It's important to note that 76% of refugees come from just six countries, and over 25% of the total global refugee population are part of the global diaspora in the wake of the Syrian crisis. As of late 2022, 6.8 million Syrians have sought refuge, primarily in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Türkiye[1].
In terms of asylum applications, the highest number of new asylum applications ever recorded – 2.6 million – were registered in 2022[8][11]. The United States remained the largest recipient of asylum applications, receiving 730,400 new claims, nearly four times more than during 2021[8].
Citations: [1] https://concernusa.org/news/largest-refugee-crises/ [2] https://www.unhcr.org/us/global-trends [3] https://concernusa.org/news/which-countries-take-in-the-most-refugees/ [4] https://www.unhcr.org/us/about-unhcr/who-we-are/figures-glance [5] https://www.unhcr.org/global-trends-report-2022 [6] https://www.statista.com/statistics/263423/major-refugee-hosting-countries-worldwide/ [7] https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/ [8] https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-trends-forced-displacement-2022 [9] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/refugees-by-country [10] https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/statistics/ [11] https://www.unrefugees.org/news/five-takeaways-from-the-2022-unhcr-global-trends-report/ [12] https://www.rescue.org/article/facts-about-refugees-key-facts-faqs-and-statistics [13] https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/new-data-unhcr-points-record-high-number-worldwide-refugees-2022 [14] https://hias.org/news/unhcr-forced-displacement-grew-21-2022-now-110-million-worldwide/ [15] https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/insights/explainers/refugee-host-countries-income-level.html [16] https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/refugees [17] https://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2020/the-10-countries-that-receive-the-most-refugees/ [18] https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/how-many-refugees/ [19] https://www.who.int/health-topics/refugee-and-migrant-health
As of the end of 2022, children under the age of 18 represented a significant portion of the global refugee population. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 40% of the 108.4 million forcibly displaced people were children below 18 years of age, which equates to approximately 43.3 million children[3]. This is consistent with data from UNICEF, which states that children made up more than 41% of the world's refugees in 2022[1].
Citations: [1] https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-migration-and-displacement/displacement/ [2] https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/number-displaced-children-reaches-new-high-433-million [3] https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/ [4] https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/06/1120642 [5] https://www.axios.com/2023/06/20/displaced-children-world-refugee-day [6] https://www.migrationdataportal.org/themes/child-and-young-migrants [7] https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/statistics/ [8] https://reliefweb.int/report/world/nearly-37-million-children-displaced-worldwide-highest-number-ever-recorded-enar