Refugee and Asylum Seeker Populations by Country of Origin and Destination, 2000-2022

 

Refugee and Asylum Seeker Populations by Country of Origin and Destination, 2000-2022

Using data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), this map shows countries of origin and destination for the 108.4 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide as of the start of 2023, including four subpopulations: Refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, and other people in need of international protection. Select a country of origin or destination for one of these groups. Population bubbles will display over countries based on estimated population size. The default year for the tool is 2022; by using the slider at the top, the year setting can be changed.

Notes: 

The forcibly displaced population is made of four subgroups:

  • Refugees are those recognized under UN conventions and protocols as well as UNHCR statutes as deserving of protection. The refugee data provided here include the 29.4 million people under UNHCR mandate and the 5.9 million Palestinian refugees residing in areas of operation of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
  • Asylum seekers are those who have sought international protection and whose claims for refugee status have not yet been determined.
  •  Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are individuals who have been forced to leave their homes to escape armed conflict, violence, violations of human rights, or natural disasters, and who have not crossed an international border. IDP estimates reported here come from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), which maintains a database on IDPs displaced due to violence and conflict as well as due to natural disasters, providing a comprehensive picture of global internal displacement.
  • Other people in the need of international protection: Refers to individuals who are outside their country or territory of origin, typically because they have been forcibly displaced across international borders, who have not been reported under other categories (asylum seekers, refugees, or people in refugee-like situations) but who likely need international protection, including protection against forced return, as well as access to basic services on a temporary or longer-term basis. Venezuelans previously designated as “Venezuelans displaced abroad” are included in this new category. This change has been made retroactively in UNHCR’s statistics since 2018. As of 2022, only Venezuelans displaced abroad were in this category.

Read more about the groups that make up the total forcibly displaced population in the UNHCR Global Trends Report 2022, www.unhcr.org/global-trends-report-2022.

UNHCR's Statistical Online Population Database is a work in progress and is updated from time to time; as a result, data in this tool might not always match UNHCR reports. For more information on sources, methods, and data considerations in the UNHCR Online Population Database, visit: www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/methodology/.

Source: 

Migration Policy Institute tabulation of data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Population Statistics Database, extracted June 27, 2023. Available here: www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/

 

 

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