This comprehensive dataset presents the global refugee landscape by providing a detailed overview of refugee and displacement statistics from various countries and territories over a span of time. With a total of 107,980 rows and 11 columns, this dataset delves into the complexities of forced migration and human displacement, offering insights into the movements of refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returned refugees and IDPs, stateless individuals, and other populations of concern.

Columns in the dataset:

• Year: The year of data collection.
• Country / territory of asylum/residence: The host country or territory where refugees seek asylum or residence.
• Origin: The country of origin from which refugees are fleeing.
• Refugees (incl. refugee-like situations): The number of refugees, including those in refugee-like situations.
• Asylum-seekers (pending cases): The count of individuals seeking asylum whose cases are pending.
• Returned refugees: The number of refugees who have returned to their country of origin.
• Internally displaced persons (IDPs): The count of people who have been displaced within their own country due to conflict or other reasons.
• Returned IDPs: The number of internally displaced persons who have returned to their previous locations.
• Stateless persons: Individuals who do not have the legal recognition of any country.
• Others of concern: Additional populations in need of humanitarian assistance.
• Total Population: The sum of all above categories, representing the overall population affected by displacement. The dataset serves as a valuable resource for studying global refugee trends, assessing the impact of conflicts and crises on displacement, and understanding the challenges faced by vulnerable populations worldwide.

Visualization Ideas: Time Series Analysis: Plot the trends in different refugee populations over the years, such as refugees, asylum-seekers, IDPs, returned refugees, etc. Geographic Analysis: Create heatmaps or choropleth maps to visualize refugee flows between different countries and regions. Origin and Destination Analysis: Show the top countries of origin and the top host countries for refugees using bar charts. Pie Charts: Visualize the distribution of different refugee populations (refugees, asylum-seekers, IDPs, etc.) as a percentage of the total population. Stacked Area Chart: Display the cumulative total of different refugee populations over time to observe changes and trends.

Data Modeling and Machine Learning Ideas: Time Series Forecasting: Use machine learning algorithms like ARIMA or LSTM to predict future refugee trends based on historical data. Clustering: Group countries based on similar refugee patterns using clustering algorithms such as K-Means or DBSCAN. Classification: Build a classification model to predict whether a country will experience a significant increase in refugee inflow based on historical and socio-political factors. Sentiment Analysis: Analyze social media or news data to determine the sentiment around refugee-related topics and how it correlates with migration patterns. Network Analysis: Construct a network graph to visualize the connections and interactions between countries in terms of refugee flows.

These visualization and modeling ideas can provide meaningful insights into the global refugee crisis and aid in decision-making, policy formulation, and humanitarian efforts.

Ivory Coast CI: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data was reported at 39,939.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 46,813.000 Person for 2016. Ivory Coast CI: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data is updated yearly, averaging 22,229.500 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 154,824.000 Person in 2011 and a record low of 2.000 Person in 1990. Ivory Coast CI: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ivory Coast – Table CI.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. 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 origin generally refers to the nationality or country of citizenship of a claimant.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

United States US: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data was reported at 285.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 310.000 Person for 2016. United States US: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data is updated yearly, averaging 374.500 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,987.000 Person in 2014 and a record low of 1.000 Person in 1990. United States US: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. 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 origin generally refers to the nationality or country of citizenship of a claimant.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

Historical chart and dataset showing Brazil refugee statistics by year from 1969 to 2023.

United Kingdom UK: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 118,913.000 Person in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 123,067.000 Person for 2015. United Kingdom UK: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 148,922.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2016, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 303,181.000 Person in 2005 and a record low of 43,371.000 Person in 1991. United Kingdom UK: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. 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.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

Series Name: Number of refugees per 100 000 population by country of origin (per 100 000 population)Series Code: SM_POP_REFG_ORRelease Version: 2021.Q2.G.03 This dataset is part of the Global SDG Indicator Database compiled through the UN System in preparation for the Secretary-General's annual report on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.Indicator 10.7.4: Proportion of the population who are refugees, by country of originTarget 10.7: Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policiesGoal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countriesFor more information on the compilation methodology of this dataset, see https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/

Philippines PH: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 482.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 408.000 Person for 2016. Philippines PH: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 202.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19,860.000 Person in 1990 and a record low of 95.000 Person in 2009. Philippines PH: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. 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.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

Turkey TR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 2,869,379.000 Person in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,541,352.000 Person for 2015. Turkey TR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 10,350.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2016, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,869,379.000 Person in 2016 and a record low of 2,399.000 Person in 2005. Turkey TR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Turkey – Table TR.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. 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.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

Why do countries welcome some refugees and treat others poorly? Existing explanations suggest that the assistance refugees receive is a reflection of countries’ wealth or compassion. However, statistical analysis of a global dataset on asylum admissions shows that states’ approaches to refugees are shaped by foreign policy and ethnic politics. States admit refugees from adversaries in order to weaken those regimes, but they are reluctant to accept refugees from friendly states. At the same time, policymakers favour refugee groups who share their ethnic identity. Aside from addressing a puzzling real-world phenomenon, this article adds insights to the literature on the politics of migration and asylum.

Most refugees face significant legal and practical barriers to full economic inclusion in the labor markets of their host countries. While these barriers are widely discussed in general terms, a systematic, public documentation of these barriers is important to advance the efforts toward economic inclusion. In the 2022 Global Refugee Work Rights Report, we examine different dimensions of work rights both in law (de jure) and in practice (de facto) across 51 countries that were collectively hosting 87 percent of the world’s refugee population at the end of 2021. Our de facto findings are based on a survey of practitioners in the 51 refugee-hosting countries, as well as supplemental desk research. We find that at least 62 percent of refugees live in countries where the legal framework for work rights is adequate or better. Yet many of these laws are not widely implemented: at least 55 percent of refugees live in a country that significantly restricts their work rights in practice. Countries were also scored on 17 specific questions regarding wage employment, self-employment, mobility, and access to services, in most cases relative to citizens’ access. All of these variables are included in the dataset, and additional findings are documented in the report. The methodology section of the report contains a detailed description of the scoring and definitions. Annex 3 of the report contains the full questionnaire. Please see https://www.refugeeworkrights.org/ to download a .csv file of the dataset.

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

Historical chart and dataset showing Pakistan refugee statistics by year from 1979 to 2023.

Syria SY: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 569,774.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 562,823.000 Person for 2016. Syria SY: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 427,424.500 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,955,236.000 Person in 2007 and a record low of 284,856.000 Person in 1990. Syria SY: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Syrian Arab Republic – Table SY.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. 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.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

Historical chart and dataset showing Mexico refugee statistics by year from 1970 to 2023.

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

Historical chart and dataset showing Japan refugee statistics by year from 1977 to 2023.

Japan JP: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 2,189.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2,514.000 Person for 2016. Japan JP: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 2,617.500 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,819.000 Person in 1990 and a record low of 1,794.000 Person in 2007. Japan JP: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. 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.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

United States US: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 287,065.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 272,959.000 Person for 2016. United States US: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 458,717.500 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 843,498.000 Person in 2006 and a record low of 262,023.000 Person in 2012. United States US: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. 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.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;