Refugee statistics by country
One page per country, each stating what the figure counts, when it was published, and which agency produced it.
TL;DR
Refugee statistics are published two ways: by country of origin, meaning where people fled from, and by country of asylum, meaning where they now live. Turkey hosts the largest refugee population in the world, while Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Venezuela produce the largest displaced populations. Per-capita rankings differ sharply, placing Lebanon, Jordan, Chad, and Moldova near the top.
How to read these pages
Every profile separates three quantities that headline reporting tends to merge: refugees registered abroad, asylum seekers with pending claims, and people displaced inside their own country. They come from different systems, revise on different schedules, and cannot be summed casually without producing a number that looks precise and is not.
Each page also states the reporting date beside every figure, because these series are revised. A refugee count that falls can mean return, lapsed registration, verification, or naturalisation, and only the release notes distinguish them. Where a figure is an area-based estimate rather than an enumeration, the page says so.
Countries people flee from
Syria refugee statistics
Syria source observations and reference dates.
Syria figures, methodology and sourcesAfghanistan refugee statistics
Afghanistan source observations and reference dates.
Afghanistan figures, methodology and sourcesUkraine refugee statistics
Ukraine source observations and reference dates.
Ukraine figures, methodology and sourcesSudan refugee statistics
Sudan source observations and reference dates.
Sudan figures, methodology and sourcesSouth Sudan refugee statistics
South Sudan source observations and reference dates.
South Sudan figures, methodology and sourcesVenezuela refugee statistics
Venezuela source observations and reference dates.
Venezuela figures, methodology and sourcesMyanmar refugee statistics
Myanmar source observations and reference dates.
Myanmar figures, methodology and sourcesDemocratic Republic of the Congo refugee statistics
Democratic Republic of the Congo source observations and reference dates.
Democratic Republic of the Congo figures, methodology and sourcesSomalia refugee statistics
Somalia source observations and reference dates.
Somalia figures, methodology and sourcesOrigin figures come from UNHCR by country of origin, combined with IDMC and IOM internal displacement reporting for people who have not crossed a border. See the refugees versus IDPs comparison for why those two groups are never added together in official tables.
Countries hosting refugees
Syria refugee statistics
Syria source observations and reference dates.
Syria figures, methodology and sourcesAfghanistan refugee statistics
Afghanistan source observations and reference dates.
Afghanistan figures, methodology and sourcesSudan refugee statistics
Sudan source observations and reference dates.
Sudan figures, methodology and sourcesSouth Sudan refugee statistics
South Sudan source observations and reference dates.
South Sudan figures, methodology and sourcesDemocratic Republic of the Congo refugee statistics
Democratic Republic of the Congo source observations and reference dates.
Democratic Republic of the Congo figures, methodology and sourcesSomalia refugee statistics
Somalia source observations and reference dates.
Somalia figures, methodology and sourcesTurkey refugee statistics
Turkey source observations and reference dates.
Turkey figures, methodology and sourcesGermany refugee statistics
Germany source observations and reference dates.
Germany figures, methodology and sourcesUganda refugee statistics
Uganda source observations and reference dates.
Uganda figures, methodology and sourcesHost figures reflect registration in the country of asylum, which in several cases is run by national authorities under domestic law rather than by UNHCR under the 1951 Convention. For load relative to national capacity rather than absolute counts, see the refugee hosting burden index.
Sources used across every profile
- UNHCR Refugee Data Finder: refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless populations by origin and asylum.
- IDMC Global Report on Internal Displacement: internal displacement stocks and new movements, split by conflict and disaster trigger.
- IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix: operational displacement and flow monitoring in active crises.
- OCHA Financial Tracking Service: appeal requirements against recorded contributions.
Methodology note: figures are transcribed from these releases without adjustment, averaging, or projection, and each is labelled with the release it came from. Where two agencies report different totals for the same population, both are shown rather than reconciled. Full working notes are in the humanitarian data literacy guide.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find refugee statistics by country?
The authoritative source is the UNHCR Refugee Data Finder, which publishes refugee, asylum seeker, and stateless populations by country of origin and country of asylum. Internal displacement by country comes from IDMC and from IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix rounds. The country pages linked here transcribe those releases and state the reporting date for each figure.
What is the difference between country of origin and country of asylum?
Country of origin is where a refugee fled from. Country of asylum is where they now live. A single country can rank highly on both, as Sudan and Syria do, so a table headed only "refugees by country" is ambiguous until it says which of the two it measures.
Which country has the most refugees?
By country of asylum, Turkey hosts the largest refugee population in the world, with Iran, Germany, and Pakistan also among the largest hosts. By country of origin, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Venezuela produce the largest populations, though Venezuela is mostly recorded under a combined refugees and migrants category rather than as recognised refugees.
Which country hosts the most refugees relative to its population?
Per-capita rankings look nothing like absolute ones. Lebanon, Jordan, Chad, and Moldova carry far heavier loads relative to national population than the large absolute hosts, which is the comparison that matters in burden-sharing arguments.
Why do refugee statistics differ between sources for the same country?
Category boundaries, reference dates, and registration coverage. One release counts recognised refugees only while another adds asylum seekers or people in refugee-like situations. Mid-year and year-end snapshots differ by months of movement. And where registration is partial, published estimates revise later. Align those three and most discrepancies resolve.
How current are refugee statistics?
UNHCR publishes a mid-year and a year-end release, so the most recent global figures usually lag by six to twelve months. Operational sources such as IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix publish far more frequently in active crises but cover fewer countries. For anything time sensitive, cite the operational round and its date rather than the annual global total.