Conflict and persecution have caused forced displacement on a global scale to increase sharply in 2015, reaching the highest level ever. This surge in numbers also represents a picture of enormous human suffering, as reported today by UNHCR, the UN agency for refugees. UNHCR’s annual Global Trends Report, which tracks forced displacement around the world based on data from governments, partners including the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC), and based on reports from UNHCR itself, states that by the end of 2015 the number of people undergoing forced displacement reached 65.3 million people, whereas in the previous year the number was 59.5 million people. This is the first time the 60 million limit has been exceeded. Included in the total number of 65.3 million people are 3.2 million people in industrialized countries and awaiting asylum decisions at the end of 2015 (the largest number ever recorded by UNHCR), 21.3 million refugees worldwide ( 1.8 million more than in 2014 and the highest number of refugees since the early 90s), and 40.8 million people who were forced to leave their homes but still within their country’s borders (this figure is an increase of 2.6 million from 2014 and is the highest number ever recorded). Compared to the 7.349 billion total population of the earth, 1 in 113 people are asylum seekers, internally displaced persons or refugees – this is a level of risk that UNHCR has never encountered before. In general, it can be said that today the number of people undergoing forced migration in the world is greater than the population of England, France or Italy. In most regions, the phenomenon of forced displacement has been increasing since at least the mid-1990s, but this increase has experienced a spike over the last five years. The reasons are threefold: The situations that caused the large outflow of refugees lasted longer (such as the conflicts in Somalia or Afghanistan which are now entering their third or fourth decades), the situations were dramatic new events or old events re-emerged (such as the situation in Syria which is now being the largest, but also in South Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Ukraine and the Central African Republic in the last five-year period), and a downward trend in the solutions that can be found for refugees and internally displaced persons since the end of the Cold War. Ten years ago at the end of 2005, UNHCR recorded that every minute 6 people moved places. But today, that number has risen to 24 people every minute – almost double the rate that adults breathe. “More people are being displaced due to war and persecution and this is very worrying, but the factors endangering refugees are also multiplying,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. “At sea, refugees and migrants die in horrific numbers every year; On the mainland, people fleeing the war found themselves in a dead end due to the closure of borders with neighboring countries. Political conditions in certain countries are also now turning in the opposite direction to asylum. The willingness of countries to work together, not only for refugees but also for the collective interests of humanity, are some of the things that are being tested at the moment, therefore the spirit of togetherness at this time is very important to win.”
3 countries produce half of the world’s refugees…
Among all the countries covered in the Global Trends report, there are some that stand out more, namely Syria with 4.9 million, Afghanistan with 2.7 million, and Somalia with 1.1 million, these three countries together account for more than half of the refugees under UNHCR’s mandate worldwide. Meanwhile, several countries such as Colombia with 6.9 million, Syria with 6.6 million, and Iraq with 4.4 million are the countries causing the largest number of internal refugees in the world. Meanwhile, in 2015, Yemen was the country with the largest number of new internal refugees, namely 2.5 million people, or 9% of its total population.
…and most of these countries are in the Global South
The struggle of European countries to deal with more than one million refugees and migrants who came via the Mediterranean in 2015 has received a lot of attention, although reports show that the majority of refugees in the world are elsewhere. In total, 86% of refugees under UNHCR’s mandate in 2015 were in low to middle income countries and close to conflict situations. This figure will increase to more than 90% of the total refugees in the world, if refugees from Palestine under UNRWA (UNHCR’s sister organization) are also counted. On a global scale, Turkey is the largest refugee hosting country with 2.5 million refugees in it. Meanwhile in Lebanon, the refugee population is actually larger compared to its own population (i.e. 183 refugees for every 1,000 residents). Compared to a country’s economic capacity, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the host country that hosts the largest number of refugees (471 refugees for every dollar per capita of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as measured by purchasing power parity).
Rise in asylum claims
Among industrialized countries, in 2015 new asylum claims also reached a record high with two million requests (these requests contributed to the 3.2 million cases whose status was still pending at the end of the year). When compared with other countries, Germany is the country that receives the most asylum claims (441,900 requests). This reflects Germany’s readiness to accept refugees coming to Europe via the Mediterranean route. After Germany, the United States is the second country with the most asylum claims (172,700 requests). Many of these people are fleeing violence perpetrated by criminal gangs in Central America. Substantial asylum applications also occurred in Sweden (156,000) and Russia (152,500).
About half of the world’s refugees are children
In 2015, as many as 51% of refugees in the world consisted of children, based on data collected by UNHCR (complete demographic data was not available to the report authors). What is worrying is that many of them are separated from their parents or traveling alone. A total of 98,400 asylum requests came from children who were unaccompanied or separated from their families. The figure is the highest the UNHCR has ever seen – and a tragic reflection of how forced displacement disproportionately affects children’s lives.
Cannot return
While total global displacement is higher than ever, the number of people who are able to return home or find another solution (local integration in the first country of asylum or another resettlement country) is lower. In 2015, 201,400 refugees were able to return to their countries of origin (mostly to Afghanistan, Sudan, and Somalia). This figure is indeed higher compared to the figure in 2014, namely 126,800, but still far below the peak in the early 90s. In 2015, there were 107,100 refugees receiving resettlement solutions in 30 third countries (resettlement) – representing 0.66% of refugees under UNHCR’s mandate (in comparison, 26 resettlement countries accepted 105,200 refugees in 2014, representing 0.73 % of the refugee population under UNHCR). During the year at least, some 32,000 refugees have been naturalized, the majority in Canada and in France, Belgium, Austria, and in several other places in smaller numbers.
Displacements in 2015, by region (from highest to lowest)
Middle East and North Africa
The war that is taking place in Syria is still the main cause of the problem of displacement and human suffering that has occurred so far. By the end of 2015, the problems in Syria had driven at least 4.9 million people into exile as refugees and had made 6.6 million people internally displaced – equal to about half of Syria’s pre-war population. The conflict in Iraq also resulted in 4.4 million internally displaced persons and more than a quarter of a million refugees. The civil war in Yemen that began in 2015 had displaced 2.5 million people by the end of December – more new displacement than any other conflict globally. Plus the 5.2 million Palestinian refugees under UNRWA’s mandate, nearly half a million Libyans who were forced to leave their homes in their country, and a number of other conflict situations, the Middle East and North Africa region contributed the largest number of displacements compared to other regions.
Sub-Saharan Africa
After the Middle East and North Africa, the Sub-Saharan Africa region had the 2nd largest number of displacements in 2015. Continuation of the conflicts that occurred in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Somalia, as well as several new or old mass movements to and from This has occurred both inside and outside countries such as Nigeria, Burundi, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, and in several other places, resulting in 18.4 million refugees and internally displaced persons at the end of 2015. Meanwhile, the Sub-Saharan African region also hosts 4 .4 million refugees – more than any other region. Of the 10 countries in the world that receive the most refugees, five of them are African countries led by Ethiopia, and followed by Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad.
Asia and the Pacific
The Asia and Pacific region accounted for nearly one-sixth of the world’s refugees and internally displaced persons in 2015, making it the third largest region for displacement overall. One in six refugees under UNHCR’s mandate comes from Afghanistan (2.7 million people), of which almost 1.2 million are internal refugees. Myanmar is in second place as a country producing refugees and internally displaced persons in the region (numbering 451,800 and 451,000 respectively). This is followed by Pakistan (1.5 million) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (979,000) which remain among the world’s largest refugee hosting countries.
In the spirit of international solidarity, Indonesia has also played its role in alleviating the global refugee crisis by accepting more than 13,700 refugees and asylum seekers. They fled from 40 different countries and as the figures for the Asian region illustrate, most came from Afghanistan and Myanmar.
UNHCR also assists the government in assisting and protecting refugees, but with their needs being so great, the UN Agency for Refugees also collaborates with various groups, both local, national and international, to meet their basic needs, such as medical care, education, and housing. To honor and appreciate the important role that our colleagues have played, as well as in commemoration of World Refugee Day 2016, UNHCR gave awards of recognition to the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, as well as to its working partners other national institutions that have provided assistance and support to refugees in Indonesia. Even though UNHCR has collaborated with various parties, the main national partners we will give awards to today are Dompet Dhuafa, Komnas HAM, Indonesian Red Cross, Roshan Learning Center, and SUAKA.
“As long as UNHCR is in Indonesia to assist the government in protecting and taking care of refugees, considering the difficulties they face, we are very grateful for all the assistance and helping hands that have been given to them, not only from the government, but also from a number of colleagues “So, especially today, we all stand together hand in hand with the refugees and also our work partners who have been helping them,” said Thomas Vargas as UNHCR representative in Indonesia.
By seeing the important role played by national and local partners in helping refugees, Thomas added that the role of local communities is also an important role. “This year, we commemorate World Refugee Day with the theme We Stand Together #WithRefugees. We know that local communities also help in their own ways. Therefore, we invite everyone to show their solidarity with the refugees by signing the petition #WithRefugees which can be accessed at http://www.unhcr.org/refugeeday/.
UNHCR has seen the extraordinary support provided to refugees from various partners and communities in the country. In the future, we hope that existing best practices can inspire more people to act in solidarity with refugees. This year, we invite the public to sign a petition, which is intended to send a clear message to all parties that refugees have the right to protection and to live in safety.
America
The increasing number of people fleeing criminal gangs and other violence in Central America is contributing to a 17% increase in displacement rates across the region. The number of refugees and asylum seekers from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras reached 109,800 people and most of them went to Mexico and the United States. This figure reflects a more than fivefold increase in three years. Colombia is still the largest country with the highest number of internal refugees, namely 6.9 million people.
Europe
The situation occurring in Ukraine, the proximity of Europe to Syria and Iraq, coupled with the arrival of more than one million refugees and migrants via the Mediterranean route, most of whom come from the ten largest refugee producing countries in the world, are the causal factors that dominate displacement in Europe in 2015. European countries have produced as many as 593,000 refugees, most of them from Ukraine; it also hosts 4.4 million people, of which 2.5 million are in Turkey. Figures provided by the Ukrainian government show 1.6 million Ukrainians taking refuge there. The Global Trends Report states that there were 441,900 asylum claims in Germany, with the refugee population increasing by 46% from 2014 (316,000).
Additional Information
UNHCR’s Annual Global Trends Report was released on World Refugee Day, 20 June in conjunction with #WithRefugees, our petition campaign. A complete multimedia package will be available in this series of reports, including infographics, photos, videos, etc. These and UNHCR’s global media contact details can be found here.
For further information, please contact:
Mitra Salima Suryono; [email protected]; +62-21-2964-3602
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