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.

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.

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;

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.

Germany DE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 2,593,007.000 Person in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,075,445.000 Person for 2022. Germany DE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 580,792.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,593,007.000 Person in 2023 and a record low of 83,500.000 Person in 1978. Germany DE: 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 Germany – Table DE.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) and UNRWA through UNHCR's Refugee Data Finder at https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/.;Sum;

France FR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 337,143.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 304,546.000 Person for 2016. France FR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 161,390.500 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 337,143.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 129,722.000 Person in 1999. France FR: 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 France – Table FR.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;

Sweden SE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 240,899.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 230,164.000 Person for 2016. Sweden SE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 136,633.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 240,899.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 73,408.000 Person in 2004. Sweden SE: 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 Sweden – Table SE.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;

Resettled refugees who arrived in Canada as part of the Government of Canada's Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program. Datasets include resettled refugees who have received settlement services. 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.

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 2023, member states of the European Union received in total 677,625 applications for asylum, of which almost half were rejected. Asylum seekers are people who have left their home countries due to a fear of persecution or violations of their human rights, often for political reasons. An asylum seeker becomes a refugee upon being granted asylum, with a number of rights such as being allowed to stay in the country of asylum for an extended period of time then being granted. In spite of the large numbers of refugees from fleeing from Ukraine into the European Union due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, these refugees are mostly not recorded in the data on asylum seekers in Europe, as most EU countries opted to grant refugee status to all Ukranian nationals fleeing the country immediately upon entry, therefore bypassing the need to make an asylum case. As of 2022, the country which received the greatest number of asylum applications (and which also granted the greatest number of applications) was Germany, which received almost 217,000 applications. France, the country which received the second highest number of asylum applications, granted far fewer people refugee status, denying almost three times as many applications as they granted. A small number of countries in the EU take on the vast majority of asylum seekers, with these countries - Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece, Belgium, and Sweden - exclusively coming from the older members of the EU, who joined before the 2004 enlargements.

Hungary HU: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data was reported at 3,331.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,909.000 Person for 2016. Hungary HU: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data is updated yearly, averaging 2,709.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,767.000 Person in 1990 and a record low of 518.000 Person in 2000. Hungary HU: 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 Hungary – Table HU.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;

The refugee location data (Geo-Refugee) provides information on the geographical locations, population sizes and accommodation types of refugees and people in refugee-like situations throughout Africa. Based on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' Location and Demographic Composition data as well as information contained in supplemental UNHCR resources, Geo-Refugee assigns administrative unit names and geographic coordinates to refugee camps/ centers, and locations hosting dispersed (self-settled) refugees. Geo-Refugee was collected for the purpose of investigating the relationship between refugees and armed conflict, but can be used for a number of refugee-related studies. The original data for the category refugees and people in a refugee-like situation by accommodation type and location name comes directly from the UNHCR. The category refugees includes: "individuals recognized under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol; the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa; those recognized in accordance with the UNHCR statute; individuals granted complementary forms of protection and those enjoying temporary protection.The category people in a refugee-like situation "is descriptive in nature and includes groups of people who are outside their country of origin and who face protection risks similar to those of refugees, but for whom refugee status has, for practical or other reasons, not been ascertained" (UNHCR http://www.unhcr.org/45c06c662.html). The unit of the data is the first-level administrative unit (province, region or state). A refugee location is defined as a unit with a known refugee population, as established by UNHCR country offices. The locations data was compiled using statistics provided by the UNHCR Division of Programme Support and Management. Several of the refugee sites in the original UNHCR data are camp names or other lo cations which are not immediately traceable to a particular location using even the most established geographical databases like that of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). Thus, unit-level location of refugees was established and confirmed using supplementary resources including reports, maps, and policy documents compiled by the UNHCR and contained in the Refworld database (see http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain). Refworld was the primary database used for this project. Geographic coordinates were assigned using the database of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. See https://www1.nga.mil/Pages/default.aspx for more information. All attempts were made to find precise coordinates, including cross-referencing with Google Maps. The current version of the data covers 43 African countries and encompasses the period 2000 to 2010. The UNHCR began systematically collecting information on the locations and demographic compositions of refugee populations in 2000.

Germany DE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data was reported at 209.000 Person in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 162.000 Person for 2022. Germany DE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data is updated yearly, averaging 162.000 Person from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2023, with 33 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,297.000 Person in 1999 and a record low of 5.000 Person in 1992. Germany DE: 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 Germany – Table DE.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), Refugee Data Finder at https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/.;Sum;

Poland PL: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data was reported at 1,108.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,159.000 Person for 2016. Poland PL: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data is updated yearly, averaging 3,053.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 35,938.000 Person in 1994 and a record low of 865.000 Person in 2000. Poland PL: 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 Poland – Table PL.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;

The average for 2023 based on 7 countries was 69354 refugees. The highest value was in India: 252867 refugees and the lowest value was in Vietnam: 19 refugees. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Graph and download economic data for Refugee Population by Country or Territory of Asylum for Liechtenstein (SMPOPREFGLIE) from 2000 to 2023 about Liechtenstein, refugee, World, and population.

Ireland IE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 5,655.000 Person in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6,125.000 Person for 2015. Ireland IE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 5,655.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2016, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9,730.000 Person in 2008 and a record low of 69.000 Person in 1996. Ireland IE: 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 Ireland – Table IE.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;

Graph and download economic data for Refugee Population by Country or Territory of Asylum for Norway (SMPOPREFGNOR) from 1960 to 2023 about refugee, Norway, World, and population.

Argentina AR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 4,104.000 Person in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 4,094.000 Person for 2022. Argentina AR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 10,430.000 Person from Dec 1969 (Median) to 2023, with 55 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 47,000.000 Person in 1974 and a record low of 2,259.000 Person in 1998. Argentina AR: 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 Argentina – Table AR.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) and UNRWA through UNHCR's Refugee Data Finder at https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/.;Sum;

Abstract

This dataset presents the results of a regional online survey conducted by UNHCR from 14 March to 14 April 2025 to assess the intentions of Syrian refugees and asylum-seekers residing in 14 European countries. A total of 3,736 respondents, representing 17,378 household members, participated in the anonymous, self-administered survey. The data capture intended future movements, factors influencing decision-making, information needs, and interest in return-related activities. The survey aims to inform protection and solutions programming by ensuring refugee perspectives are central to policy discussions.

Geographic coverage

Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and other EU countries hosting at least 10,000 Syrian refugees or asylum-seekers

Analysis unit

Household

Universe

Syrian refugees and asylum-seekers aged 18 and above residing in 14 European countries at the time of data collection

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Non-probability sampling using a respondent-assisted (snowball) approach. The survey was disseminated via UNHCR Help webpages, social media, refugee-led organizations, and community networks. Automatic screening excluded non-Syrian nationals and individuals who were not refugees or asylum-seekers.

Mode of data collection

Self-administered online

Research instrument

The questionnaire included closed-ended questions covering demographic characteristics, legal status, intentions to stay, move onward, or return to Syria, factors influencing these decisions, interest in voluntary return or go-and-see visits, and information needs. The survey was self-administered online and available in Arabic.