| 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 | IDPs: 132,246 (mostly Pashtuns and Kuchis displaced in south and west due to drought and instability) (2007) |
| Algeria |
refugees (country of origin): 90,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi, mostly living in Algerian-sponsored camps in the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf)
IDPs: undetermined (civil war during 1990s) (2007) |
| Angola |
refugees (country of origin): 12,615 (Democratic Republic of Congo)
IDPs: 61,700 (27-year civil war ending in 2002; 4 million IDPs already have returned) (2007) |
| Armenia |
refugees (country of origin): 113,295 (Azerbaijan)
IDPs: 8,400 (conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, majority have returned home since 1994 ceasefire) (2007) |
| Azerbaijan |
refugees (country of origin): 2,400 (Russia)
IDPs: 580,000-690,000 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2007) |
| Bangladesh |
refugees (country of origin): 26,268 (Burma)
IDPs: 65,000 (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2007) |
| Benin | refugees (country of origin): 9,444 (Togo) (2007) |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
refugees (country of origin): 7,269 (Croatia)
IDPs: 131,600 (Bosnian Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks displaced in 1992-95 war) (2007) |
| Burma | IDPs: 503,000 (government offensives against ethnic insurgent groups near the eastern borders; most IDPs are ethnic Karen, Karenni, Shan, Tavoyan, and Mon) (2007) |
| Burundi |
refugees (country of origin): 9,849 (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
IDPs: 100,000 (armed conflict between government and rebels; most IDPs in northern and western Burundi) (2007) |
| Cameroon | refugees (country of origin): 20,000-30,000 (Chad); 3,000 (Nigeria); 24,000 (Central African Republic) (2007) |
| Central African Republic |
refugees (country of origin): 7,900 (Sudan); 3,700 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); note - UNHCR resumed repatriation of Southern Sudanese refugees in 2006
IDPs: 197,000 (ongoing unrest following coup in 2003) (2007) |
| Chad |
refugees (country of origin): 234,000 (Sudan); 54,200 (Central African Republic)
IDPs: 178,918 (2007) |
| China |
refugees (country of origin): 300,897 (Vietnam); estimated 30,000-50,000 (North Korea)
IDPs: 90,000 (2007) |
| Colombia | IDPs: 1.8-3.5 million (conflict between government and illegal armed groups and drug traffickers) (2007) |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the |
refugees (country of origin): 132,295 (Angola); 37,313 (Rwanda); 17,777 (Burundi); 13,904 (Uganda); 6,181 (Sudan); 5,243 (Republic of Congo)
IDPs: 1.4 million (fighting between government forces and rebels since mid-1990s; most IDPs are in eastern provinces) (2007) |
| Congo, Republic of the |
refugees (country of origin): 46,341 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 6,564 (Rwanda)
IDPs: 48,000 (multiple civil wars since 1992; most IDPs are ethnic Lari) (2007) |
| Costa Rica | refugees (country of origin): 9,699-11,500 (Colombia) (2007) |
| Cote d'Ivoire |
refugees (country of origin): 25,615 (Liberia)
IDPs: 709,000 (2002 coup; most IDPs are in western regions) (2007) |
| Croatia | IDPs: 2,900-7,000 (Croats and Serbs displaced in 1992-95 war) (2007) |
| Cyprus | IDPs: 210,000 (both Turkish and Greek Cypriots; many displaced for over 30 years) (2007) |
| Djibouti | refugees (country of origin): 8,642 (Somalia) (2007) |
| Ecuador | refugees (country of origin): 11,526 (Colombia); note - UNHCR estimates as many as 250,000 Columbians are seeking asylum in Ecuador, many of whom do not register as refugees for fear of deportation (2007) |
| Egypt | refugees (country of origin): 60,000 - 80,000 (Iraq); 70,198 (Palestinian Territories); 12,157 (Sudan) (2007) |
| Eritrea | IDPs: 32,000 (border war with Ethiopia from 1998-2000; most IDPs are near the central border region) (2007) |
| Ethiopia |
refugees (country of origin): 66,980 (Sudan); 16,576 (Somalia); 13,078 (Eritrea)
IDPs: 200,000 (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) (2007) |
| Gabon | refugees (country of origin): 7,178 (Republic of Congo) (2007) |
| Gambia, The | refugees (country of origin): 5,955 (Sierra Leone) (2007) |
| Gaza Strip | refugees (country of origin): 1.017 million (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2007) |
| Georgia |
refugees (country of origin): 1,100 (Russia)
IDPs: 220,000-240,000 (displaced from Abkhazia and South Ossetia) (2007) |
| Ghana | refugees (country of origin): 35,653 (Liberia); 8,517 (Togo) (2007) |
| Guatemala | IDPs: undetermined (the UN does not estimate there are any IDPs, although some NGOs estimate over 200,000 IDPs as a result of over three decades of internal conflict that ended in 1996) (2007) |
| Guinea |
refugees (country of origin): 21,856 (Liberia); 5,259 (Sierra Leone); 3,900 (Cote d'Ivoire)
IDPs: 19,000 (cross-border incursions from Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone) (2007) |
| Guinea-Bissau | refugees (country of origin): 7,454 (Senegal) (2007) |
| India |
refugees (country of origin): 77,200 (Tibet/China); 69,609 (Sri Lanka); 9,472 (Afghanistan)
IDPs: at least 600,000 (about half are Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir) (2007) |
| Indonesia | IDPs: 200,000-350,000 (government offensives against rebels in Aceh; most IDPs in Aceh, Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi Provinces, and Maluku) (2007) |
| Iran | refugees (country of origin): 914,268 (Afghanistan); 54,024 (Iraq) (2007) |
| Iraq |
refugees (country of origin): 10,000-15,000 (Palestinian Territories); 11,773 (Iran); 16,832 (Turkey)
IDPs: 2.4 million (ongoing US-led war and ethno-sectarian violence) (2007) |
| Israel | IDPs: 150,000-420,000 (Arab villagers displaced from homes in northern Israel) (2007) |
| Jordan |
refugees (country of origin): 1,835,704 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)); 500,000 (Iraq)
IDPs: 160,000 (1967 Arab-Israeli War) (2007) |
| Kazakhstan | refugees (country of origin): 3,700 (Russia); 508 (Afghanistan) (2007) |
| Kenya |
refugees (country of origin): 173,702 (Somalia); 73,004 (Sudan); 16,428 (Ethiopia)
IDPs: 250,000-400,000 (2007 post-election violence; KANU attacks on opposition tribal groups in 1990s) (2007) |
| Korea, North | IDPs: undetermined (flooding in mid-2007 and famine during mid-1990s) (2007) |
| Kosovo | IDP's: 21,000 (2007) |
| Lebanon |
refugees (country of origin): 405,425 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)); 50,000-60,000 (Iraq)
IDPs: 17,000 (1975-90 civil war, Israeli invasions); 200,000 (July-August 2006 war) (2007) |
| Liberia |
refugees (country of origin): 12,600 (Cote d'Ivoire)
IDPs: 13,000 (civil war from 1990-2004; IDP resettlement began in November 2004) (2007) |
| Libya | refugees (country of origin): 8,000 (Palestinian Territories) (2007) |
| Macedonia | IDPs: fewer than 1,000 (ethnic conflict in 2001) (2007) |
| Malaysia | refugees (country of origin): 15,174 (Indonesia); 21,544 (Burma) (2007) |
| Maldives | IDPs: 1,000-10,000 (December 2004 tsunami victims) (2007) |
| Mali | refugees (country of origin): 6,300 (Mauritania) (2007) |
| Mexico | IDPs: 5,500-10,000 (government's quashing of Zapatista uprising in 1994 in eastern Chiapas Region) (2007) |
| Montenegro |
refugees (country of origin): 7,000 (Kosovo); note - mostly ethnic Serbs and Roma who fled Kosovo in 1999
IDPs: 16,192 (ethnic conflict in 1999 and riots in 2004) (2007) |
| Namibia | refugees (country of origin): 4,700 (Angola) (2007) |
| Nepal |
refugees (country of origin): 107,803 (Bhutan); 20,153 (Tibet/China)
IDPs: 50,000-70,000 (remaining from ten-year Maoist insurgency that officially ended in 2006; displacement spread across the country) (2007) |
| Nigeria |
refugees (country of origin): 5,778 (Liberia)
IDPs: undetermined (communal violence between Christians and Muslims since President OBASANJO's election in 1999; displacement is mostly short-term) (2007) |
| Pakistan |
refugees (country of origin): 1,043,984 (Afghanistan)
IDPs: undetermined (government strikes on Islamic militants in South Waziristan); 34,000 (October 2005 earthquake; most of those displaced returned to their home villages in the spring of 2006) (2007) |
| Papua New Guinea | refugees (country of origin): 10,177 (Indonesia) (2007) |
| Peru | IDPs: 60,000-150,000 (civil war from 1980-2000; most IDPs are indigenous peasants in Andean and Amazonian regions) (2007) |
| Philippines | IDPs: 300,000 (fighting between government troops and MILF and Abu Sayyaf groups) (2007) |
| Russia | IDPs: 18,000-160,000 (displacement from Chechnya and North Ossetia) (2007) |
| Rwanda | refugees (country of origin): 46,272 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 4,400 (Burundi) (2007) |
| Saudi Arabia | refugees (country of origin): 240,015 (Palestinian Territories) (2007) |
| Senegal |
refugees (country of origin): 19,630 (Mauritania)
IDPs: 22,400 (approximately 65% of the IDP population returned in 2005, but new displacement is occurring due to clashes between government troops and separatists in Casamance region) (2007) |
| Serbia | refugees (country of origin): 71,111 (Croatia); 27,414 (Bosnia and Herzegovina); 206,000 (Kosovo), note - mostly ethnic Serbs and Roma who fled Kosovo in 1999 (2007) |
| Sierra Leone | refugees (country of origin): 27,311 (Liberia) (2007) |
| Solomon Islands | IDPs: 5,400 (displaced by tsunami on 2 April 2007) (2007) |
| Somalia | IDPs: 1.1 million (civil war since 1988, clan-based competition for resources) (2007) |
| South Africa | refugees (country of origin): 10,772 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 7,818 (Somalia); 5,759 (Angola) (2007) |
| Sri Lanka | IDPs: 460,000 (both Tamils and non-Tamils displaced due to long-term civil war between the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)) (2007) |
| Sudan |
refugees (country of origin): 157,220 (Eritrea); 25,023 (Chad); 11,009 (Ethiopia); 7,895 (Uganda); 5,023 (Central African Republic)
IDPs: 5.3 - 6.2 million (civil war 1983-2005; ongoing conflict in Darfur region) (2007) |
| Syria |
refugees (country of origin): 1-1.4 million (Iraq); 522,100 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA))
IDPs: 305,000 (most displaced from Golan Heights during 1967 Arab-Israeli War) (2007) |
| Tanzania | refugees (country of origin): 352,640 (Burundi); 127,973 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2007) |
| Thailand | refugees (country of origin): 132,241 (Burma) (2007) |
| Timor-Leste | IDPs: 100,000 (2007) |
| Togo |
refugees (country of origin): 5,000 (Ghana)
IDPs: 1,500 (2007) |
| Turkey | IDPs: 1-1.2 million (fighting 1984-99 between Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs in southeastern provinces) (2007) |
| Turkmenistan | refugees (country of origin): 11,173 (Tajikistan); less than 1,000 (Afghanistan) (2007) |
| Uganda |
refugees (country of origin): 215,700 (Sudan); 28,880 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 24,900 (Rwanda)
IDPs: 1.27 million (350,000 IDPs returned in 2006 following ongoing peace talks between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda) (2007) |
| United States | refugees (country of origin): the US admitted 62,643 refugees during FY04/05 including; 10,586 (Somalia); 8,549 (Laos); 6,666 (Russia); 6,479 (Cuba); 3,100 (Haiti); 2,136 (Iran) (2006) |
| Uzbekistan |
refugees (country of origin): 39,202 (Tajikistan); 1,060 (Afghanistan)
IDPs: 3,400 (forced population transfers by government from villages near Tajikistan border) (2007) |
| West Bank | refugees (country of origin): 722,000 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2007) |
| World | the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that in December 2006 there was a global population of 8.8 million registered refugees and as many as 24.5 million IDPs in more than 50 countries; the actual global population of refugees is probably closer to 10 million given the estimated 1.5 million Iraqi refugees displaced throughout the Middle East (2007) |
| Yemen | refugees (country of origin): 91,587 (Somalia) (2007) |
| Zambia | refugees (country of origin): 42,565 (Angola); 60,874 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 4,100 (Rwanda) (2007) |
| Zimbabwe |
refugees (country of origin): 2,500 (Democratic Republic of Congo)
IDPs: 569,685 (MUGABE-led political violence, human rights violations, land reform, and economic collapse) (2007) |