The world is currently dealing with a refugee crisis. More people have been displaced forcibly from their homes in recent years than at any other time in history. An unprecedented 65.3 million people around the world have left their homes. Among them are 21.3 million refugees who have crossed international borders seeking refuge, with more than half of them under the age of 18.
As a result of conflicts and persecution, nearly 34,000 people are forcibly displaced every day. In 2016, the International Organization for Migration recorded more than 7,600 deaths of refugees while fleeing their homes.
Fifty-three percent of all refugees in 2016 came from three countries: Somalia (1.1 million), Afghanistan (2.7 million), and Syria (4.9 million).
Quonset settlements constructed to house some of the 1.8 million displaced people in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. (Photo courtesy of Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, Bloomington, Indiana)
Here”s a breakdown of the percentages of refugees being hosted in various parts of the world:
“¢ The Middle East and North Africa””39 percent
“¢ Africa””29 percent
“¢ Asia and the Pacific “”14 percent
“¢ The Americas””12 percent
“¢ Europe””6 percent
These countries hosted the most refugees in 2016: Turkey (2.5 million refugees), Pakistan (1.6 million), Lebanon (1.1 million), Iran (979,000), Ethiopia (736,000), and Jordan (664,100).
Since the U.S. Refugee Act in 1980, the United States has accepted an average of about 70,000 refugees each year. In fiscal year 2015, the United States limited admitted refugees to 70,000. In 2016″”with an eye toward the crisis that saw nearly 5 million Syrian refugees flood the Middle East and Europe””the United States raised the target to 85,000, with 12,000 received from Syria. The U.S. refugee determination for fiscal year 2017 is to admit 110,000 refugees.
In 2015 and 2016, before the Syrian refugee crisis, the United States most frequently welcomed refugees from these 10 countries:
1. Burma””18,386 refugees welcomed into the United States
2. Iraq””12,676
3. Somalia””8,858
4. Democratic Republic of Congo””7,876
5. Bhutan””5,775
6. Iran””3,109
7. Former Soviet Union””2,362
8. Syria””1,682
9. Eritrea””1,596
10. Sudan””1,578
This information was gathered from the International Rescue Committee (www.rescue.org), International Organization for Migration (www.iom.int), and the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (www.unhcr.org).
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