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): 2,972 (Pakistan) (2011)
IDPs: 481,877 (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) (2011)
IDPs: 19,500 (27-year civil war ending in 2002) (2005)
Armenia IDPs: 8,400 (conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2009)
Austria refugees (country of origin): 18,473 (Russia); 8,636 (Afghanistan) (2011)
Azerbaijan IDPs: 599,417 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2012)
Bangladesh refugees (country of origin): 229,644 (Burma) (2011)
IDPs: undetermined (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2012)
Benin refugees (country of origin): 5,883 (Togo) (2011)
Bosnia and Herzegovina refugees (country of origin): 6,769 (Croatia) (2011)
IDPs: 113,000 (Bosnian Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks displaced in 1992-95 war) (2011)
Burkina Faso refugees (country of origin): 40,322 (Mali) (2013)
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): 35,213 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2011)
IDPs: 78,796 (the majority are ethnic Tutsi displaced by inter-communal violence that broke out after the 1993 coup and fighting between government forces and rebel groups; no new displacements since 2008 when the last rebel group laid down its arms) (2011)
Cameroon refugees (country of origin): 90,176 (Central African Republic); 5,251 (Chad) (2011)
Central African Republic refugees (country of origin): 13,427 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2011)
IDPs: 51,679 (clashes between army and rebel groups since 2005) (2012)
Chad refugees (country of origin): 298,311 (Sudan); 67,414 (Central African Republic) (2011)
IDPs: 90,000 (majority are in the east) (2012)
China refugees (country of origin): 300,897 (Vietnam) (2011); estimated 30,000-50,000 (North Korea)
IDPs: 90,000 (2010)
Colombia IDPs: 3.9-5.5 million (conflict between government and illegal armed groups and drug traffickers since 1985) (2011)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the refugees (country of origin): 78,144 (Angola); 61,481 (Rwanda); 8,915 (Burundi) (2011)
IDPs: 2,435,351 (fighting between government forces and rebels since mid-1990s; most IDPs are in eastern provinces) (2012)
Congo, Republic of the refugees (country of origin): 131,648 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 8,374 (Rwanda) (2011)
IDPs: 7,800 (multiple civil wars since 1992) (2009)
Costa Rica refugees (country of origin): 10,297 (Colombia) (2011)
Cote d'Ivoire refugees (country of origin): 23,650 (Liberia) (2011)
IDPs: 40,000 - 80,000 (post-election conflict in 2010-2011, as well as civil war from 2002-2004; most pronounced in western and southwestern regions) (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): 122,587 (Colombia) (2011)
Egypt refugees (country of origin): 70,029 (West Bank and Gaza Strip); 10,324 (Sudan); 6,037 (Iraq) (2011); 14,156 (Syria); 7,595 (Somalia) (2013)
Eritrea refugees (country of origin): 3,773 (Somalia) (2012)
IDPs: 10,000 (border war with Ethiopia from 1998-2000; it has not been possible to confirm whether whether remaining IDPs are still living with hosts or have been returned or resettled) (2009)
Ethiopia refugees (country of origin): 252,338 (Sudan); 44,791 (Eritrea) (2012); 228,645 (Somalia) (2013)
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)
Gambia, The refugees (country of origin): 8,359 (Senegal) (2011)
Gaza Strip refugees (country of origin): 1.167 million (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)) (2012)
IDPs: 160,000 (persons displaced within the Palestinian Territories since 1967; largely from Israeli military operations in 2008-9) (2011)
Georgia IDPs: 261,400 - 274,000 (displaced in the 1990s and 2008 from Abkhazia and South Ossetia) (2011)
Ghana refugees (country of origin): 11,585 (Liberia); 16,000 (Cote d'Ivoire; flight from 2010 post-election fighting) (2011)
Guatemala IDPs: undetermined (three decades of internal conflict that ended in 1996 displaced mainly the indigenous Maya population and rural peasants; drug cartel and gang violence) (2011)
Guinea refugees (country of origin): 9,972 (Liberia); 6,380 (Cote d'Ivoire) (2011)
Guinea-Bissau refugees (country of origin): 7,658 (Senegal) (2011)
Haiti IDPs: 357,785 (includes only IDPs from the 2010 earthquake living in camps or camp-like situations; information is lacking about IDPs living outside camps or who have left camps) (2012)
India refugees (country of origin): 100,003 (Tibet/China); 68,152 (Sri Lanka); 9,161 (Afghanistan); 6,621 (Burma) (2011)
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 15,606 (Turkey); 10,798 (West Bank and Gaza Strip); 7,989 (Iran) (2011); 77,415 (Syria) (2013)
IDPs: 1.3 million (since 2006 from ethno-sectarian violence) (2012)
Israel refugees (country of origin): 31,119 (Eritrea); 9,000 (Sudan) (2011)
Jordan refugees (country of origin): 1,979,580 (Palestinian Refugees) (UNRWA); 29,286 (Iraq) (2011); 204,303 (Syria) (2013)
Kazakhstan refugees (country of origin): 3,700 (Russia); 508 (Afghanistan) (2007)
Kenya refugees (country of origin): 520,400 (Somalia); 34,800 (South Sudan); 34,000 (Ethiopia); 11,500 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 6,000 (Sudan) (2012)
IDPs: at least 300,000 (2007-2008 post-election violence; the status of the estimated 300,000 IDPs from the 2007-08 post-election violence who found refuge in host communities rather than camps - and IDPs displaced through natural disasters, drought, development and environmental projects, land disputes, cattle rustling, and inter-communal violence - is not captured in Kenya's national database; in 2012, inter-communal violence displaced approximately 118,000 people and floods displaced an estimated 100,000) (2012)
Korea, North IDPs: undetermined (flooding in mid-2007 and famine during mid-1990s) (2007)
Kosovo IDPs: 17,853 (main wave of displacement was in 1999 when ethnic Serbs fled; IDPs consist of an estimated 54% Serbs, 40% Albanians, and 5% Roma, Ashkalis, and Egyptians) (2012)
Kyrgyzstan refugees (country of origin): 5,660 (Uzbekistan) (2011)
IDPs: 172,000 (June 2010 violence in southern Kyrgyzstan between the Kyrgyz majority and the Uzbek minority) (2012)
Lebanon refugees (country of origin): 436,154 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)); 9,056 (Iraq) (2011); 223,231 (Syria) (2013)
IDPs: at least 47,000 (1975-90 civil war, Israeli military activity, 2007 destruction of Palestinian refugee camp) (2011)
Liberia refugees (country of origin): 128,067 (Cote d'Ivoire) (2011)
IDPs: undetermined (civil war from 1990-2004; unclear how many have found durable solutions; many dwell in slums in Monrovia) (2012)
Libya refugees (country of origin): 3,100 (Iraq); 2,700 (Palestinian Territories) (2012)
IDPs: 73,937 (conflict between pro-Qadhafi and anti Qadhafi forces; figure does not include displaced third-country nationals) (2012)
Malaysia refugees (country of origin): 81,146 (Burma) (2011)
Mali refugees (country of origin): 12,442 (Mauritania) (2011)
IDPs: 228,918 (Tuareg rebellion in 2012) (2013)
Mauritania refugees (country of origin): 26,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi) (2011); 55,221 (Mali) (2013)
Mexico IDPs: 160,000 (government's quashing of Zapatista uprising in 1994 in eastern Chiapas Region; drug cartel violence and government's military response since 2007; violence between and within indigenous groups) (2011)
Montenegro refugees (country of origin): 9,367 (Kosovo) (2011)
Namibia refugees (country of origin): 4,322 (Angola) (2011)
Nepal refugees (country of origin): 57,381 (Bhutan); 15,000 (Tibet/China) (2011)
IDPs: 50,000 (remaining from ten-year Maoist insurgency that officially ended in 2006; figure does not include people displaced since 2007 by inter-communal violence and insecurity in the Terai region) (2012)
Niger refugees (country of origin): 52,875 (Mali - 49,748 are Malians, 3,127 are Nigeriens) (2012)
IDPs: undetermined (unknown how many of the 11,000 people displaced by clashes between government forces and the Tuareg militant group, Niger Movement for Justice, in 2007 are still displaced; inter-communal violence) (2012)
Nigeria refugees (country of origin): 5,299 (Liberia) (2011)
IDPs: undetermined (communal violence between Christians and Muslims, political violence; flooding; forced evictions; competition for resources; displacement is mostly short-term) (2012)
Pakistan refugees (country of origin): 1,701,945 (Afghanistan) (2011)
IDPs: 774,594 (figure only includes IDPs in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber-Pakhtunkwa; fighting in the FATA, Khyber-Pakhtunkwa, and Balochistan since 2004; military operations in SWAT in 2009; earthquakes and floods) (2012)
Panama refugees (country of origin): 15,598 (Colombia) (2011)
Papua New Guinea refugees (country of origin): 9,368 (Indonesia) (2011)
Peru IDPs: 150,000 (civil war from 1980-2000; most IDPs are indigenous peasants in Andean and Amazonian regions; as of 2011, no new information on the situation of these IDPs) (2007)
Philippines IDPs: at least 843,000 (government troops fighting the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Abu Sayyaf Group, and the New People's Army; clan feuds; natural disasters (December 2012 Typhoon Bopha)) (2013)
Poland refugees (country of origin): 14,897 (Russian Federation) (2011)
Russia IDPs: 8,500-28,450 (displacement from Chechnya and North Ossetia-Alania) (2011)
Rwanda refugees (country of origin): 54,995 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2011)
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): 19,917 (Mauritania) (2011)
IDPs: 10,000-40,000 (clashes between government troops and separatists in Casamance region) (2012)
Serbia refugees (country of origin): 49,946 (Croatia); 20,673 (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (2011)
IDPs: about 225,000 (most are Kosovar Serbs some are Roma, Ashkalis, and Egyptian (RAE); some RAE IDPs are unregistered) (2011)
Sierra Leone refugees (country of origin): 8,046 (Liberia) (2011)
Somalia IDPs: 1.1 million (civil war since 1988, clan-based competition for resources; 2011 famine; insecurity because of fighting between al-Shabaab and TFG allied forces) (2012)
South Africa refugees (country of origin): 12,973 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 15,186 (Somalia); 5,808 (Angola) (2011)
South Sudan refugees (country of origin): 183,169 (Sudan); 18,400 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 5,889 (Ethiopia); 1,589 (Central African Republic) (2013)
IDPs: 350,000 newly displaced in 2011 (information is lacking on those displaced in earlier years; displacement caused by: fighting in Abyei between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in May 2011; clashes between the SPLA and dissident militia groups in South Sudan; inter-tribal conflicts over resources and cattle; attacks from the Lord's Resistance Army; floods and drought)
Sri Lanka IDPs: at least 115,000 (civil war; more than half displaced prior to 2008; many of the more than 470,000 IDPs registered as returnees had not reached durable solutions as of September 2012)
Sudan refugees (country of origin): 100,464 (Eritrea); 31,871 (Chad); 4,421 (Ethiopia) (2011)
IDPs: more than 2.4 million (civil war 1983-2005; ongoing conflict in Darfur region; government and rebel fighting along South Sudan border) (2011)
Syria refugees (country of origin): 101,244 (Iraq); 486,946 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA))
IDPs: more than 2 million (2011-2012 civil war) (2012)
Tajikistan refugees (country of origin): 4,000 (Afghanistan) (2012)
Tanzania refugees (country of origin): 67,549 (Burundi); 61,913 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2011)
Thailand refugees (country of origin): 88,148 (Burma) (2011)
IDPs: undetermined (resurgence in ethno-nationalist violence in south of country since 2004)(2011)
Togo refugees (country of origin): 13,676 (Ghana); 5,151 (Cote d'Ivoire) (2011)
IDPs: undetermined (2012)
Turkey refugees (country of origin): 5,277 (Iraq) (2011); 156,801 (Syria) (2013)
IDPs: 954,000-1.2 million (displaced from 1984-2005 because of fighting between Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs are from eastern and southeastern provinces and are Kurds; no information available on persons displaced by development projects) (2006)
Uganda refugees (country of origin): 81,487 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 18,268 (Sudan); 12,998 (Rwanda) (2011); 23,678 (Somalia) (2013)
IDPs: 30,000 (displacement in northern Uganda because of fighting between government forces and the Lord's Resistance Army; as of 2011, most of the 1.8 million people displaced to IDP camps at the height of the conflict had returned home or resettled, but many had not found durable solutions) (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: undetermined (government forcibly relocated an estimated 3,400 people from villages near the Tajikistan border in 2000-2001; no new data is available) (2012) (2007)
Venezuela refugees (country of origin): 201,941 (Colombia) (2011)
West Bank refugees (country of origin): 727,471 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)) (2012)
IDPs: 160,000 (persons displaced within the Palestinian Territories since 1967; largely from Israeli military operations in 2008-9) (2011)
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): 4,686 (Ethiopia) (2011); 226,909 (Somalia) (2013)
IDPs: at least 431,000 (conflict in Sa'ada governorate; clashes between AQAP and government forces) (2012)
Zambia refugees (country of origin): 23,500 (Angola); 12,509 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 5,559 (Rwanda) (2011)
Zimbabwe IDPs: undetermined (political violence, human rights violations, land reform, and economic collapse) (2012)