| Field Listing :: Refugees and internally displaced persons |
| This entry includes those persons residing in a country as refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs). The definition of a refugee according to a United Nations Convention is "a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution." The UN established the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1950 to handle refugee matters worldwide. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has a different operational definition for a Palestinian refugee: "a person whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948 and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict." However, UNHCR also assists some 400,000 Palestinian refugees not covered under the UNRWA definition. The term "internally displaced person" is not specifically covered in the UN Convention; it is used to describe people who have fled their homes for reasons similar to refugees, but who remain within their own national territory and are subject to the laws of that state. | |
Country |
Refugees and internally displaced persons |
|---|
| Afghanistan |
refugees (country of origin): 6,398 (Pakistan) (2010)
IDPs: 447,000 (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in the south and west due to drought and instability) (2012) |
| Algeria |
refugees (country of origin): 90,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi, mostly living in Algerian-sponsored camps in the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf); 30,000 (Mali) (2010)
IDPs: undetermined (civil war during 1990s) (2012) |
| Angola |
refugees (country of origin): 13,648 (Democratic Republic of Congo) (2010)
IDPs: 19,500 (27-year civil war ending in 2002) (2005) |
| Armenia | IDPs: 8,400 (conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2009) |
| Azerbaijan | IDPs: 593,000 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2011) |
| Bangladesh |
refugees (country of origin): 229,226 (Burma) (2010)
IDPs: undetermined (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2012) |
| Benin | refugees (country of origin): 5,915 (Togo) (2010) |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
refugees (country of origin): 6,836 (Croatia) (2010)
IDPs: 113,400 (Bosnian Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks displaced in 1992-95 war) (2011) |
| Burkina Faso | refugees (country of origin): 32,000 (Mali) (2012) |
| Burma | IDPs: more than 450,000 (government offensives against armed ethnic minority groups near its borders with China and Thailand) (2012) |
| Burundi |
refugees (country of origin): 28,957 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2010)
IDPs: 100,000 (armed conflict between government and rebels; most IDPs in northern and western Burundi) (2011) |
| Cameroon | refugees (country of origin): 8,492 (Chad); 89,927 (Central African Republic) (2010) |
| Central African Republic |
refugees (country of origin): 15,300 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2010)
IDPs: 192,000 (clashes between army and rebel groups since 2005) (2011) |
| Chad |
refugees (country of origin): 278,257 (Sudan); 69,428 (Central African Republic) (2010)
IDPs: 131,000 (fighting between government forces and rebel groups; majority are in the east) (2011) |
| China |
refugees (country of origin): 300,897 (Vietnam); estimated 30,000-50,000 (North Korea)
IDPs: 90,000 (2010) |
| Colombia | IDPs: 3.6-5.2 million (conflict between government and illegal armed groups and drug traffickers since 1985) (2011) |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the |
refugees (country of origin): 79,617 (Angola); 69,836 (Rwanda); 17,777 (Burundi); 12,845 (Uganda) (2010)
IDPs: 1.7 million (fighting between government forces and rebels since mid-1990s; most IDPs are in eastern provinces) (2011) |
| Congo, Republic of the |
refugees (country of origin): 124,244 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 7,775 (Rwanda) (2010)
IDPs: 7,800 (multiple civil wars since 1992) (2009) |
| Costa Rica | refugees (country of origin): 10,214 (Colombia) (2010) |
| Cote d'Ivoire |
refugees (country of origin): 25,563 (Liberia) (2010)
IDPs: 519,100 (Post-election conflict in 2010-2011; Civil war from 2002-2004) (2011) |
| Croatia | IDPs: 2,000 (Croats and Serbs displaced in 1992-95 war) (2007) |
| Cyprus | IDPs: 210,000 (both Turkish and Greek Cypriots; many displaced since 1974) (2010) |
| Djibouti | refugees (country of origin): 14,216 (Somalia) (2012) |
| Ecuador | refugees (country of origin): 120,403 (Colombia) (2010) |
| Egypt | refugees (country of origin): 7,175 (Iraq); 70,026 (Palestinian Territories); 10,035 (Sudan) (2012) |
| Eritrea |
refugees (country of origin): 3,773 (Somalia) (2012)
IDPs: 10,000 ((border war with Ethiopia from 1998-2000; most IDPs are near the central border region) (2006) |
| Ethiopia |
refugees (country of origin): 252,338 (Sudan); 81,247 (Somalia); 44,791 (Eritrea) (2012)
IDPs: 200,000-300,000 (border war with Eritrea from 1998-2000, ethnic clashes in Gambela, and ongoing Ethiopian military counterinsurgency in Somali region; most IDPs are in Tigray and Gambela Provinces) (2008) |
| Gabon | refugees (country of origin): 7,665 (Republic of Congo) (2010) |
| Gambia, The | refugees (country of origin): 7,359 (Senegal) (2010) |
| Gaza Strip |
refugees (country of origin): 1.167 million (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA))
IDPs: 260,000 (largely from Israeli military operations in 2008-9) (2012) |
| Georgia | IDPs: 265,000 (displaced from Abkhazia and South Ossetia) (2012) |
| Ghana | refugees (country of origin): 11,585 (Liberia); 16,000 (Cote d'Ivoire) (2011) |
| Guatemala | IDPs: undetermined (three decades of internal conflict that ended in 1996 displaced mainly indigenous people) (2009) |
| Guinea | refugees (country of origin): 9,789 (Liberia); 2,800 (Cote d'Ivoire) (2011) |
| Guinea-Bissau | refugees (country of origin): 7,480 (Senegal) (2010) |
| Haiti | IDPs: 490,545 (2010 Earthquake) (2012) |
| India |
refugees (country of origin): 100,003 (Tibet/China); 69,998 (Sri Lanka); 9,094 (Afghanistan)
IDPs: at least 506,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir) (2012) |
| Indonesia | IDPs: 180,000 (government offensives against rebels in Aceh; most IDPs in Aceh, Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi Provinces, and Maluku) (2011) |
| Iran | refugees (country of origin): 1,027,577 (Afghanistan); 3,511 (Iraq) (2012) |
| Iraq |
refugees (country of origin): 10,798 (Palestinian Territories); 7,989 (Iran); 15,606 (Turkey); 33,700 (Syria)
IDPs: 1.3 million (ethno-sectarian violence) (2012) |
| Israel | refugees (country of origin): 16,997 (Eritrea); 8,137 (Sudan) (2010) |
| Jordan | refugees (country of origin): 1,979,580 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)); 29,286 (Iraq); 105,000 (Syria) (2012) |
| Kazakhstan | refugees (country of origin): 3,700 (Russia); 508 (Afghanistan) (2007) |
| Kenya |
refugees (country of origin): 522,000 (Somalia); 20,528 (Sudan); 34,000 (Ethiopia); 11,500 (Democratic Republic of Congo)
IDPs: 250,000-350,000 (2007 post-election violence; KANU attacks on opposition tribal groups in 1990s) (2012) |
| Korea, North | IDPs: undetermined (flooding in mid-2007 and famine during mid-1990s) (2007) |
| Kosovo | IDPs: 18,300 (most are ethnic Serbs who fled in 1999) (2012) |
| Lebanon |
refugees (country of origin): 436,154 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)); 9,056 (Iraq); 85,300 (Syria)
IDPs: at least 76,000 (1975-90 civil war, Israeli military activity) (2012) |
| Liberia |
refugees (country of origin): 70,000 (Cote d'Ivoire) (2010)
IDPs: 28,000 (civil war from 1990-2004) (2007) |
| Libya |
refugees (country of origin): 3,100 (Iraq); 2,700 (Palestinian Territories) (2012)
IDPs: 93,000 (conflict between pro-Qadhafi and anti Qadhafi forces) (2011) |
| Malaysia | refugees (country of origin): 76,120 (Burma) (2010) |
| Mali |
refugees (country of origin): 10,468 (Mauritania) (2010)
IDPs: 110,000 (Tuareg rebellion in 2012) (2012) |
| Mauritania | refugees (country of origin): 48,000 (Mali); 26,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi) (2012) |
| Mexico | IDPs: 5,500- 12,000 (government's quashing of Zapatista uprising in 1994 in eastern Chiapas Region) (2007) |
| Montenegro | refugees (country of origin): 10,948 (Kosovo) (2010) |
| Namibia | refugees (country of origin): 5,904 (Angola) (2010) |
| Nepal |
refugees (country of origin): 74,536 (Bhutan); 15,000 (Tibet/China) (2010)
IDPs: 50,000 (remaining from ten-year Maoist insurgency that officially ended in 2006; displacement spread across the country) (2012) |
| Niger |
refugees (country of origin): 27,950 (Mali) (2012)
IDPs: 11,000 (conflict between government and Tuareg groups since 2007; inter-communal clashes) (2007) |
| Nigeria |
refugees (country of origin): 5,316 (Liberia) (2010)
IDPs: undetermined (communal violence between Christians and Muslims; displacement is mostly short-term) (2012) |
| Pakistan |
refugees (country of origin): 1,899,842 (Afghanistan) (2010)
IDPs: 818,000 (fighting in Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Khyber-Pakhtunkwa, and Balochistan since 2004; military operations in SWAT in 2009; flooding in 2010) (2012) |
| Panama | refugees (country of origin): 15,432 (Colombia) (2010) |
| Papua New Guinea | refugees (country of origin): 9,689 (Indonesia) (2010) |
| Peru | IDPs: 150,000 (civil war from 1980-2000; most IDPs are indigenous peasants in Andean and Amazonian regions) (2011) |
| Philippines | IDPs: 300,000 (fighting between government troops and MILF and Abu Sayyaf groups) (2007) |
| Poland | refugees (country of origin): 14,730 (Russian Federation) (2010) |
| Russia | IDPs: 6,500-78,000 (displacement from Chechnya and North Ossetia) (2007) |
| Rwanda |
refugees (country of origin): 55,027 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2010)
IDPs: undetermined (fighting between government and insurgency in 1998-99; returning refugees) (2012) |
| Saudi Arabia | refugees (country of origin): 291,000 (Palestinian Territories) (2009) |
| Senegal |
refugees (country of origin): 14,000 (Mauritania) (2010)
IDPs: 10,000-40,000 (clashes between government troops and separatists in Casamance region) (2012) |
| Serbia | refugees (country of origin): 52,483 (Croatia); 21,047 (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (2010) |
| Sierra Leone | refugees (country of origin): 8,341 (Liberia) (2010) |
| Somalia | IDPs: 1.36 million (civil war since 1988, clan-based competition for resources; 2011 famine; insecurity because of fighting between al-Shabaab and TFG allied forces) (2011) |
| South Africa | refugees (country of origin): 12,970 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 15,186 (Somalia); 5,808 (Angola) (2010) |
| South Sudan |
refugees (country of origin): 108,000 (Sudan); 20,980 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 4,967 (Ethiopia)
IDPs: 350,000 (rebel militia attacks and inter-communal clashes in 2011) (2012) |
| Sri Lanka | IDPs: 95,000 (civil war, more than half displaced prior to 2008) (2011) |
| Sudan |
refugees (country of origin): 103,798 (Eritrea); 39,578 (Chad); 5,600 (Ethiopia)
IDPs: more than 2.1 million (civil war 1983-2005; ongoing conflict in Darfur region; government and rebel fighting along South Sudan border) (2012) |
| Syria |
refugees (country of origin): 101,244 (Iraq); 486,946 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA))
IDPs: 1.2 million (2011-2012 civil war) (2012) |
| Tajikistan | refugees (country of origin): 4,000 (Afghanistan) (2012) |
| Tanzania | refugees (country of origin): 60,186 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 47,350 (Burundi) (2010) |
| Thailand |
refugees (country of origin): 95,718 (Burma)
IDPs: undetermined (ethno-nationalist violence in South of country) (2010) |
| Togo |
refugees (country of origin): 13,575 (Ghana); 5,000 (Cote d'Ivoire) (2010)
IDPs: 1,500-10,000 (2008) |
| Turkey |
refugees (country of origin): 5,277 (Iraq); 93,600 (Syria)
IDPs: 954,000-1.2 million (fighting 1984-99 between Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs in southeastern provinces) (2012) |
| Uganda |
refugees (country of origin): 81,840 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 21,899 (Somalia); 19,382 (Sudan); 12,590 (Rwanda) (2010)
IDPs: 30,000 (northern Uganda) (2011) |
| United States | refugees (country of origin): the US admitted 56,424 refugees during FY2011 including 3,161 (Somalia); 2,032 (Eritrea); 16,972 (Burma); 2,920 (Cuba); 14,999 (Bhutan); 2,032 (Iran); 9,388 (Iraq) (2011) |
| Uzbekistan | IDPs: 3,400 (forced population transfers by government from villages near the Tajikistan border) (2007) |
| West Bank | refugees (country of origin): 727,471 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2012) |
| World | the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated in June 2011 that there were 43.7 million people forcibly displaced worldwide; this includes 15.1 million refugees and as many as 27.5 million IDPs in more than 40 countries (2011) |
| Yemen |
refugees (country of origin): 179,845 (Somalia)
IDPs: at least 550,000 (Sa'ada conflict; clashes between AQAP and Government forces) (2012) |
| Zambia | refugees (country of origin): 25,265 (Angola); 12,342 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 5,736 (Rwanda) (2010) |
| Zimbabwe | IDPs: undetermined (political violence, human rights violations, land reform, and economic collapse) (2011) |