Politics

Visualizing the State of Refugees by Country

Published

4 weeks ago

June 6, 2024

Preyash Shah

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Omri Wallach

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Visualizing the State of Refugees by Country

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

30,510,629—That’s the number of refugees the world had in 2023 according to documented refugees by the UNHCR. These are the people who left their homeland to find a safe refuge in a foreign country.

In fact, according to the the UN’s refugee agency, there were a total of 110 million people forcibly displaced worldwide. Of those, a vast majority (almost 60%) were internally displaced, while the rest were the 30.5 million refugees charted above by Preyash Shah.

52% of Asylum Seekers Came from Three Countries in 2023

More than half of the refugees under UNHCR’s mandate originate from only three countries: Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Here is the breakdown by country of origin, including not fully recognized countries and refugees of unknown origin.

Country of Origin	Refugees
🇸🇾 Syria	6,494,141
🇦🇫 Afghanistan	6,110,219
🇺🇦 Ukraine	5,865,447
🇸🇸 South Sudan	2,227,684
🇲🇲 Myanmar	1,266,022
🇸🇩 Sudan	1,027,070
🇨🇩 Dem. Rep. of the Congo	948,417
🇸🇴 Somalia	814,561
🇨🇫 Central African Rep.	750,875
🇪🇷 Eritrea	537,161
🇳🇬 Nigeria	381,149
🇮🇶 Iraq	330,667
🇧🇮 Burundi	323,487
🇻🇪 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	300,759
🇷🇼 Rwanda	249,543
🇲🇱 Mali	233,188
🇨🇳 China	161,574
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	147,624
🇮🇷 Iran (Islamic Rep. of)	147,238
🇪🇹 Ethiopia	145,039
🇨🇲 Cameroon	133,945
🇭🇹 Haiti	116,463
🇹🇷 Türkiye	115,708
🇵🇰 Pakistan	115,662
🏳️ Unknown	114,949
🇨🇴 Colombia	111,394
🇵🇸 Palestine	106,426
🇪🇭 Western Sahara	91,016
🇷🇺 Russian Federation	85,382
🇭🇳 Honduras	72,341
🇸🇻 El Salvador	62,248
🏳️ Stateless	56,281
🇾🇪 Yemen	43,526
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	43,305
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	43,124
🇬🇳 Guinea	38,089
🇲🇷 Mauritania	37,216
🇬🇹 Guatemala	32,220
🇷🇸 Serbia and Kosovo	30,333
🇧🇩 Bangladesh	25,311
🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire	25,264
🇪🇬 Egypt	24,652
🇳🇪 Niger	23,280
🇮🇳 India	23,243
🇦🇱 Albania	21,750
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	19,326
🇲🇽 Mexico	18,944
🇱🇾 Libya	18,559
🇳🇮 Nicaragua	18,545
🇻🇳 Viet Nam	18,045
🇭🇷 Croatia	17,587
🇨🇺 Cuba	15,981
🇦🇲 Armenia	15,553
🇬🇭 Ghana	14,733
🇬🇪 Georgia	14,426
🇧🇾 Belarus	13,564
🇸🇳 Senegal	13,462
🇨🇬 Congo	13,224
🏳️ Tibet	12,555
🇦🇴 Angola	12,456
🇮🇩 Indonesia	11,820
🇰🇭 Cambodia	11,670
🇬🇲 Gambia	10,964
🇲🇦 Morocco	10,451
🇹🇩 Chad	9,448
🇹🇬 Togo	7,963
🇩🇿 Algeria	7,788
🇺🇬 Uganda	7,719
🇰🇪 Kenya	7,594
🇱🇧 Lebanon	7,467
🇳🇵 Nepal	7,314
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	7,268
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	6,990
🇧🇹 Bhutan	6,682
🇱🇦 Lao People's Dem. Rep.	6,641
🇲🇩 Moldova	5,611
🇱🇷 Liberia	4,914
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	4,551
🇵🇪 Peru	4,481
🇯🇴 Jordan	3,889
🇪🇨 Ecuador	3,774
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	3,748
🇹🇯 Tajikistan	3,679
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	3,334
🇧🇷 Brazil	3,248
🇹🇳 Tunisia	2,930
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	2,874
🇲🇳 Mongolia	2,420
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	2,106
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	2,100
🇰🇲 Comoros	2,074
🇰🇼 Kuwait	2,030
🇯🇲 Jamaica	1,993
🇭🇺 Hungary	1,987
🇲🇰 North Macedonia	1,862
🇩🇯 Djibouti	1,787
🇷🇴 Romania	1,764
🇨🇱 Chile	1,619
🇲🇾 Malaysia	1,380
🇺🇸 United States	1,287
🇵🇱 Poland	953
🇧🇸 Bahamas	945
🇧🇯 Benin	862
🇹🇿 United Rep. of Tanzania	852
🇬🇦 Gabon	825
🇮🇱 Israel	813
🇿🇦 South Africa	811
🇩🇴 Dominican Rep.	804
🇲🇪 Montenegro	613
🇸🇰 Slovakia	612
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	610
🇨🇿 Czechia	608
🇵🇭 Philippines	603
🇧🇴 Bolivia	564
🇲🇬 Madagascar	535
🇲🇼 Malawi	506
🇧🇬 Bulgaria	395
🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	383
🇧🇭 Bahrain	336
🇳🇦 Namibia	335
🇫🇯 Fiji	332
🇿🇲 Zambia	303
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	301
🇧🇧 Barbados	280
🇦🇷 Argentina	268
🇬🇾 Guyana	248
🇰🇵 Dem. People's Rep. of Korea	239
🇨🇷 Costa Rica	227
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	227
🇹🇭 Thailand	218
🇲🇺 Mauritius	214
🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR	210
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	209
🇨🇦 Canada	201
🇵🇦 Panama	190
🇵🇾 Paraguay	156
🇩🇪 Germany	148
🇱🇻 Latvia	143
🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	133
🇮🇹 Italy	132
🇸🇿 Eswatini	122
🇰🇷 Rep. of Korea	120
🇬🇷 Greece	119
🇲🇿 Mozambique	111
🇧🇼 Botswana	102
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	98
🇺🇾 Uruguay	91
🇲🇻 Maldives	90
🇴🇲 Oman	78
🇧🇿 Belize	65
🇩🇲 Dominica	63
🇪🇪 Estonia	62
🇪🇸 Spain	62
🇱🇹 Lithuania	57
🇳🇱 Netherlands	57
🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda	55
🇫🇷 France	55
🇬🇩 Grenada	54
🇯🇵 Japan	51
🇶🇦 Qatar	49
🇳🇿 New Zealand	48
🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	46
🇵🇹 Portugal	43
🇸🇷 Suriname	41
🇹🇴 Tonga	40
🇸🇬 Singapore	37
🇦🇺 Australia	29
🇦🇹 Austria	28
🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis	22
🇨🇼 Curacao	21
🇸🇪 Sweden	19
🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos Islands	19
🇬🇵 Guadeloupe	17
🇧🇪 Belgium	12
🇱🇸 Lesotho	12
🇬🇫 French Guiana	11
🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	11
🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	10
🇲🇴 Macao SAR	10
🇳🇴 Norway	10
🇸🇨 Seychelles	9
🇳🇺 Niue	8
🇼🇸 Samoa	8
🇸🇮 Slovenia	7
🇮🇪 Ireland	6
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	6
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	5
🇱🇺 Luxembourg	5
🇳🇷 Nauru	5
🇻🇺 Vanuatu	5

On the flip side, Iran and Turkey hosted the most refugees in the world in 2023, around 3.4 million people each. Germany comes in third with 2.5 million refugees, and Pakistan rounds out the top four with 2.1 million refugees.

Host Country	Refugees
🇮🇷 Iran (Islamic Rep. of)	3,443,522
🇹🇷 Türkiye	3,368,976
🇩🇪 Germany	2,509,506
🇵🇰 Pakistan	2,080,501
🇺🇬 Uganda	1,512,681
🇷🇺 Russian Federation	1,249,342
🇵🇱 Poland	989,877
🇧🇩 Bangladesh	961,801
🇸🇩 Sudan	926,433
🇪🇹 Ethiopia	921,822
🇱🇧 Lebanon	799,175
🇹🇩 Chad	762,731
🇯🇴 Jordan	695,821
🇫🇷 France	641,626
🇨🇩 Dem. Rep. of the Congo	520,073
🇰🇪 Kenya	519,353
🇨🇲 Cameroon	469,277
🇺🇸 United States	389,335
🇪🇸 Spain	369,722
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	365,262
🇨🇿 Czechia	351,338
🇸🇸 South Sudan	314,883
🇮🇹 Italy	308,663
🇪🇬 Egypt	300,128
🇮🇶 Iraq	279,240
🇦🇹 Austria	277,158
🇸🇪 Sweden	258,117
🇳🇪 Niger	251,755
🇮🇳 India	247,822
🇳🇱 Netherlands	224,320
🇹🇿 United Rep. of Tanzania	203,605
🇧🇷 Brazil	193,976
🇧🇬 Bulgaria	189,577
🇨🇭 Switzerland	189,100
🇬🇷 Greece	169,393
🇧🇪 Belgium	156,921
🇨🇦 Canada	150,192
🇷🇴 Romania	139,081
🇲🇾 Malaysia	133,821
🇷🇼 Rwanda	118,497
🇲🇩 Moldova	106,945
🇲🇽 Mexico	105,272
🇸🇰 Slovakia	105,104
🇲🇷 Mauritania	103,441
🇩🇿 Algeria	99,389
🇮🇪 Ireland	99,048
🇹🇭 Thailand	94,938
🇳🇬 Nigeria	92,964
🇳🇴 Norway	86,449
🇧🇮 Burundi	84,187
🇫🇮 Finland	80,189
🇱🇹 Lithuania	73,170
🇩🇰 Denmark	69,337
🇿🇲 Zambia	66,513
🇲🇱 Mali	63,999
🇿🇦 South Africa	62,537
🇪🇨 Ecuador	61,441
🇵🇹 Portugal	59,311
🇭🇺 Hungary	57,939
🇾🇪 Yemen	57,449
🇦🇺 Australia	54,430
🇦🇫 Afghanistan	52,162
🇱🇻 Latvia	45,237
🇨🇬 Congo	42,172
🇲🇪 Montenegro	40,597
🇪🇪 Estonia	40,371
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	36,226
🇲🇼 Malawi	34,972
🇦🇲 Armenia	34,757
🇨🇾 Cyprus	33,872
🇧🇾 Belarus	31,602
🇷🇸 Serbia and Kosovo	30,866
🇻🇪 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	29,339
🇬🇪 Georgia	26,096
🇦🇴 Angola	24,983
🇭🇷 Croatia	23,789
🇩🇯 Djibouti	21,612
🇳🇵 Nepal	19,562
🇹🇬 Togo	18,846
🇸🇴 Somalia	16,736
🇨🇷 Costa Rica	15,611
🇯🇵 Japan	15,451
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	13,025
🇸🇾 Syria	13,024
🇸🇳 Senegal	11,821
🇲🇹 Malta	11,413
🇨🇫 Central African Rep.	11,322
🇸🇮 Slovenia	10,684
🇱🇺 Luxembourg	10,639
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	10,516
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	10,181
🇮🇩 Indonesia	9,227
🇲🇰 North Macedonia	8,252
🇲🇦 Morocco	8,244
🇹🇯 Tajikistan	8,177
🇬🇭 Ghana	6,866
🇵🇪 Peru	6,751
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	6,280
🇮🇸 Iceland	6,193
🇵🇾 Paraguay	5,891
🇲🇿 Mozambique	5,331
🇳🇦 Namibia	4,895
🇦🇷 Argentina	4,109
🇰🇷 Rep. of Korea	3,907
🇦🇱 Albania	3,828
🇬🇲 Gambia	3,749
🇹🇳 Tunisia	3,409
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	3,407
🇧🇯 Benin	2,675
🇵🇦 Panama	2,596
🇺🇦 Ukraine	2,532
🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire	2,293
🇬🇳 Guinea	2,201
🇨🇱 Chile	2,173
🇳🇿 New Zealand	1,787
🇱🇾 Libya	1,552
🇨🇴 Colombia	1,497
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	1,393
🇺🇾 Uruguay	1,222
🇮🇱 Israel	1,221
🇸🇿 Eswatini	1,180
🇱🇷 Liberia	1,146
🇧🇴 Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	1,116
🇵🇭 Philippines	903
🇬🇹 Guatemala	788
🇧🇼 Botswana	754
🇰🇼 Kuwait	693
🇩🇴 Dominican Rep.	665
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	605
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	567
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	473
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	345
🇳🇮 Nicaragua	311
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	310
🇱🇸 Lesotho	308
🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR	304
🇴🇲 Oman	295
🇨🇳 China	287
🇧🇭 Bahrain	255
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	253
🇬🇦 Gabon	205
🇶🇦 Qatar	193
🇭🇳 Honduras	176
🇨🇺 Cuba	157
🇧🇿 Belize	145
🇪🇷 Eritrea	119
🇸🇻 El Salvador	106
🇲🇬 Madagascar	52
🇰🇾 Cayman Islands	47
🇬🇾 Guyana	32
🇯🇲 Jamaica	31
🇸🇷 Suriname	25
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	24
🇰🇭 Cambodia	24
🇻🇳 Viet Nam	19
🇲🇨 Monaco	17
🇫🇯 Fiji	16
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	14
🇲🇳 Mongolia	10
🇧🇸 Bahamas	10
🇰🇲 Comoros	10
🇧🇧 Barbados	10
🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos Islands	7
🇲🇺 Mauritius	5

Three-quarters (75%) of the world’s refugees and people needing international protection were hosted in low-and-middle-income countries. Among them, the least developed countries took in one-fifth (20%) of the total.

But while the statistics of refugees by country may paint a grim picture, there is reason for hope. In the first six months of 2023, just over 404,000 refugees returned to their countries of origin, more than double compared to the same period in 2022.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

Related Topics:Russia ukraine europe war migrants asylum germany turkey conflict afghanistan immigrants syria palestine

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Maps

Map: Where are American Troops Stationed Overseas?

There are nearly 170,000 active duty American troops stationed overseas. And these 10 countries account for 90% of them.

Published

1 day ago

July 1, 2024

Pallavi Rao

A cropped map with the top 10 territories hosting active duty American troops, according to March, 2024 figures from the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC).

Map: Where Are American Troops Stationed Overseas?

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

With a military budget bigger than most countries’ GDPs, the U.S. military manages to station troops in nearly 170 territories, on every continent in the world.

But which countries host the most troops? We map the territories where active duty American military personnel are stationed, according to March 2024 figures from the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC).

ℹ️ Reserve troops and civilian personnel are also stationed overseas for support activities. They are not included on this map.

Ranked: Top 10 Territories Hosting U.S. Troops

There are nearly 170,000 active duty American troops stationed overseas.

More than half of that number are in Japan (55,000) and Germany (35,000), a holdover from World War II after the Axis powers surrendered.

Germany is now also home to the US European Command (EUCOM) headquarters in Stuttgart. It’s a key regional outpost, to help “keep the peace in Europe, parts of the Middle East, and Eurasia,” as stated by the government.

Rank	Country	Active Duty American Troops
1	🇯🇵 Japan	54,774
2	🇩🇪 Germany	35,068
3	🇰🇷 South Korea	24,234
4	🇮🇹 Italy	12,375
5	🇬🇧 UK	10,058
6	🇬🇺 Guam*	6,593
7	🇧🇭 Bahrain	3,479
8	🇪🇸 Spain	3,292
9	🇹🇷 Türkiye	1,690
10	🇳🇴 Norway	1,438
N/A	🌍 Rest of World	16,116
N/A	🌍 Total	169,117

*Guam is a U.S. territory.

Meanwhile, the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty revised in 1960 allowed America to establish military bases in the country, in exchange for defending Japan in the event of an attack.

South Korea also has a significant garrison, nearly 25,000 active duty personnel. This is also a legacy from the Korean War.

Tellingly, however, six of the top 10 countries hosting U.S. troops are in Europe. For the decades since the Cold War, the American military had been reducing its European footprint. However after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the buildup restarted.

Finally, in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion and the Israel-Hamas war, the U.S. military has increased the number of troops both in Europe and the Middle East.