As of mid-2024, Iran was the largest refugee-hosting country in the world. According to data available by the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, there were nearly 3.8 million refugees in Iran. Turkey was second with more than 3.1 million. The data refers to the total number of refugees in a given country, not considering the date of their application for asylum or the date of their flight.

As of mid-2024, Syria had the highest number of refugees who had fled the country. That year, about 6.25 million refugees had left the country, mainly due to the civil war that started in 2011. Second on the list is Ukraine after over six million people left the country since Russia's invasion in February 2022. The third highest number of refugees in the world came from Afghanistan after years of civil wars, instability, and Taliban regaining power in 2021. What are refugees? Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their country because of dangerous circumstances, such as war, violence, famine, or persecution. These circumstances arise from race, religious, ethnic, and/or political persecution, and refugees are unable to return to their home countries due to these conflicts. As of 2022, Turkey hosted the largest number of Syrian refugees. Refugees worldwide The number of refugees, internally displaced people, and asylum seekers worldwide has significantly increased since 2012, much due to the civil wars in Syria and Libya that started in 2011, but also due to increasing instability in the Sahel, the Sudan civil war, the Israel-Hamas war, and the Russia-Ukraine war. An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to leave their home but still stays in their country. They are not legally considered a refugee. Asylum seekers are people who leave their home country and enter another country to apply for asylum, which is internationally recognized protection.

In 2024, Turkey was the country that hosted the highest amount of Syrian refugees, amounting up to 3.1 million refugees. Lebanon was second, hosting 775,000 Syrian refugees. The data refers to the total number of Syrian refugees in a given country, not considering the date of their application for asylum or the date of their flight.

Since the 1950s, the number of forcibly displaced persons recognized by the United Nations has increased drastically; from around 2.1 million international refugees in 1951 to almost 123 million displaced persons in total in 2023. Annual figures are not reflective of the actual number of forcibly displaced people in the world, but rather the number of people identified as such by the UN. Preliminary figures for 2024 show that this figure may now reach the 125 million mark, with major new crises in Sudan and Palestine sending this figure higher, after the Russia-Ukraine War pushed this figure past 100 million people for the first time in 2022. UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was founded in 1950 to deal with the large number of displaced persons in Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War. Since then, the scale and geographical scope of its operations has broadened significantly, as it works to provide humanitarian aid, logistical support, and long-term solutions to crises across the globe. The UNHCR played an instrumental role in facilitating or limiting the impact of many decolonization movements across Africa and Asia in the late 20th century, and, in recent decades, it has provided much-needed assistance in conflict areas, such as the Balkans in the 1990s, Afghanistan since the 2000s, and more recently in Syria and Yemen. Alongside the UNHCR, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was established in 1949 to provide similar assistance programs for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, and it is currently operational in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the State of Palestine, but its future remains uncertain after the Israeli parliament revoked its license to operate in the country in October 2024. Long-term crises Persistent instability in Sub-Saharan Africa has also been a major area of focus throughout the UNHCR's history, as economic and structural underdevelopment, alongside conflict and political instability, has created several refugee crises that are now in their fourth decade. While countries such as Colombia, Germany, and Turkey have, to varying degrees, successfully managed refugee crises in recent years, the economies of most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are not equipped to do so. Displacement has placed a great strain on several regions' already-struggling resources, and these are now also being affected by climate change. Countries such as Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda are home to camps or camp networks that house several hundred thousand refugees, with some of the largest in Kenya being established in the early 1990s.

Canada refugee statistics for 2023 was 169,448, a 20.5% increase from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Canada refugee statistics for 2022 was <strong>140,621</strong>, a <strong>8.07% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>Canada refugee statistics for 2021 was <strong>130,125</strong>, a <strong>19.15% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Canada refugee statistics for 2020 was <strong>109,214</strong>, a <strong>7.33% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Refugees are people who are recognized as refugees under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, people recognized as refugees in accordance with the UNHCR statute, people granted refugee-like humanitarian status, and people provided temporary protection. Asylum seekers--people who have applied for asylum or refugee status and who have not yet received a decision or who are registered as asylum seekers--are excluded. Palestinian refugees are people (and their descendants) whose residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and who lost their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. Country of asylum is the country where an asylum claim was filed and granted.

As of mid-2023, nearly 3.8 million refugees from Afghanistan were residing in neighboring Iran, making it the most common sender-host refugee route worldwide. Refugees tend to seek refuge in countries nearby, with Syrians predominantly seeking refuge in Turkey and Lebanon, and Ukrainians mostly in Russia and Germany. Looking only at where the refugees come from, the largest number comes from Syria, with Ukraine and Afghanistan behind.

Over 1.2 million refugees from Ukraine due to the Russian invasion fled to Germany as of April 2025. Furthermore, the second-highest number was recorded in Poland. In total, around 5.1 million Ukrainian refugees were registered across Europe and 5.6 million worldwide as of May 2025. Most of them fled the country by crossing the border with Poland. Ukrainian refugees in Germany The first increases in the number of Ukrainian refugees in Germany were registered in March and April 2022. The figure exceeded one million refugees in September of that year. Germany had the highest monthly financial allowance for Ukrainians who fled the war compared to other European countries as of June 2022. Temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees in the EU European Union (EU) members implemented the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD), which guaranteed access to accommodation, welfare, and healthcare to refugees from Ukraine. People fleeing the war had a right to a residence permit in the EU, enter the labor market, and enroll children in educational institutions. The protection is granted until March 4, 2026, but it can be extended in the future depending on the situation in the country.

As of mid-2024, there were a total of nearly 2.4 million refugees under the UNHCR's mandate living in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Of these, the highest number was found in Lebanon, reaching nearly 780,000. Jordan followed behind with 661,000. At the same time, the highest number of refugees in the world came from Syria, which borders both Lebanon and Jordan.

Germany has long been involved with international asylum applications, especially in recent years. The most applications came from Syrian asylum seekers. These was followed by applications from Afghanistan and Turkey. Germany as a refuge choice Statistics on the number of asylum applicants in Germany are recorded by the BAMF, or the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge). The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has decreased refugee numbers in Europe, with travel bans across modes of transport and borders being closed. As the restrictions begin to lift, migration is beginning again. 2023 saw the highest number of applications for asylum since 2016. However, in 2024, numbers have decreased significanly again. Support for refugees remains a present issue, fraught with tension, legal complications and surrounded by constant debate with many believing that not enough is done to support them. Asylum decisions Not all asylum applications in Germany get accepted, due to various circumstances. Besides rejection, decisions regarding asylum may involve granting a legal status as a refugee, a grant of subsidiary protection or determining a deportation ban.

The average for 2024 based on 175 countries was 4.69 index points. The highest value was in Democratic Republic of the Congo: 9.9 index points and the lowest value was in Brunei: 0.8 index points. The indicator is available from 2007 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2024, 13,779 immigrants who reached Italy came from Bangladesh. Moreover, around 12,500 migrants were from Syria, whereas 7,700 people originated from Tunisia. These three nationalities constituted more than half of the total individuals arrived. Mediterranean routes to Europe The Mediterranean Sea recorded the largest number of deaths and missing cases of migrants worldwide. The Mediterranean Route leading to Italy is known as the Central Mediterranean Route, which counts the highest number of fatalities among the different Mediterranean routes. This route includes the crossing from North Africa to Italy, as well as to Malta. The main departing country is Libya, while Tunisia, Egypt, and East Algeria are minor departing shores. After the Central Mediterranean Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean Sea registered the second-highest number of deaths and missing people. The Eastern Mediterranean route includes migration flows from Türkiye to Greece and Cyprus. Main countries of arrival Between January and October 2024, Italy was the European country registering the largest number of migrants' arrivals. All the 55,000 immigrants reached the country by sea. Spain was the second country of first arrival in Europe, followed by Greece. The overall number of migrants who set foot on Italian shores expanded in the last years. However, the death and missing cases did not drop proportionally to the number of people who reached the coast.

Europe hosts the largest number of refugees worldwide. In mid-2024, more than 13.7 million refugees were living on the continent, 3.4 million only in Turkey. Moreover, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 forced millions to flee, a vast majority of these to European countries.

Historical chart and dataset showing U.K. refugee statistics by year from 1960 to 2023.

There has never been as many refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the world as now. The United Nations registered about 32 million refugees and 67 million IDPs in 2024. The numbers for both have been increasing over the last decade. Especially the internally displaced persons worldwide has been heavily increasing recently, with a sharp increase in the years after the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. In 2022, Ukraine was the country in the world with the highest number of IDPs.

Historical chart and dataset showing Australia refugee statistics by year from 1965 to 2023.

Morocco immigration statistics for 2015 was 88,511, a 24.82% increase from 2010.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Morocco immigration statistics for 2010 was <strong>70,909</strong>, a <strong>30.4% increase</strong> from 2005.</li>
<li>Morocco immigration statistics for 2005 was <strong>54,379</strong>, a <strong>2.54% increase</strong> from 2000.</li>
<li>Morocco immigration statistics for 2000 was <strong>53,034</strong>, a <strong>5.31% increase</strong> from 1995.</li>
</ul>International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.

In 2024, humanitarian partners are appealing for US$46.4 billion to assist 180.5 million people facing life-threatening and urgent needs.

This Global Humanitarian Overview 20224 is launched on behalf of more than 1,900 humanitarian partners, the majority (1,189) of which are local/national non-governmental organizations. • It covers 72 countries - 26 countries directly impacted by crises, and 46 countries that neighbour them and have received refugees. The Global Humanitarian Overview 2024 is being launched at a time when new and resurging conflicts, the climate crisis and economic factors are taking a tremendous toll on communities around the world. • One in 73 people worldwide is now displaced. This figure has doubled in the past 10 years. • Nearly one child in every five worldwide is living in, or has fled from, conflict zones. • 258 million people face acute hunger. • Disease outbreaks are causing preventable deaths.

The Global Humanitarian Overview is a comprehensive assessment of global humanitarian needs, and it provides a snapshot of current and future trends in humanitarian action for large-scale resource mobilization.

The five largest country appeals reflect the number of people in need and the depth of their need. The appeal for Syria requests $4.4 billion, Ukraine $3.1 billion, Afghanistan $3 billion, Ethiopia $2.9 billion and Yemen $2.8 billion. The top five regional appeals, covering the crisis-affected countries’ neighbours, are the Syria Regional Appeal at $5.5 billion, the Venezuela Joint Refugee and Migrant Plan at $1.6 billion, the South Sudan Regional Appeal at $1.5 billion, the Sudan Regional Appeal at $1.3 billion and the Ukraine Regional Appeal at $1 billion.

The full report, interactive content and updated operational data are available in full through HumanitarianAction.info.

As of May 2024, Uganda hosted roughly 1.7 million refugees. Of the total, around 55 percent came from neighboring South Sudan. The Democratic Republic of the Congo ranked as the second leading origin of refugees living in Uganda. Approximately 518,400 Congolese citizens have searched for asylum in the bordering country so far. Uganda houses the highest number of individuals forcibly displaced in Africa as well as some of the largest refugee populations worldwide. Refugees hosted in Uganda Adjumani and Yumbe, northern Uganda districts, housed roughly one-third of the total refugees that sought asylum in the country. With a host population of approximately 736,400 people, the Yumbe district accounted for 15 percent of all refugees in Uganda. Adjumani’s population consisted of nearly half residents and half refugees. Refugee flows in Africa Over seven million refugees lived in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2021. The region has one of the largest refugee populations globally. In the last decade, the number of refugees living in Africa soared, mainly comprised of Africans fleeing to neighboring countries. The reasons for fleeing home were varied, ranging from internal conflicts to poverty and environmental disasters.

People who have been granted permanent resident status in Canada. Please note that in these datasets, the figures have been suppressed or rounded to prevent the identification of individuals when the datasets are compiled and compared with other publicly available statistics. Values between 0 and 5 are shown as “--“ and all other values are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5. This may result to the sum of the figures not equating to the totals indicated.