As of mid-2024, the global forcibly displaced population has reached 120 million people, including 36.8 million refugees, 72.1 million internally displaced people, and 8.4 million asylum-seekers. Behind that headline figure sit stark divides, like women and girls making up 52% of refugees and facing gender-based violence at extraordinary rates, while elderly people are only 4% yet carry 10 times higher mortality. If you follow the statistics closely, the crisis looks less like a single wave and more like many overlapping emergencies with different risks, needs, and gaps in care.
Key Takeaways
- 52% of refugees are women and girls, facing heightened risks
- 40% of refugees are children under 18, many unaccompanied
- Elderly (60+) comprise 4% of refugees but have 10x higher mortality rates
- Host countries GDP loss: 0.5-1% due to refugee influx pressures
- Lebanon economy shrank 40% since 2019 partly due to 1.5M Syrian refugees
- Turkish informal employment: 90% of Syrian refugees in low-wage jobs
- UNHCR budget: $10.2B in 2023 for refugee response, 43% funded
- WFP fed 13 million refugees in 2023, $8.4B appeal
- Refugee resettlement: Only 107,000 places in 2023 vs 2M need
- Syria was the origin of 25% of global refugees in 2023
- Afghanistan accounted for 14% of the world's refugees as of end-2023
- South Sudan produced 13% of global refugees in 2023
- As of mid-2024, the global forcibly displaced population reached 120 million people, including 36.8 million refugees, 72.1 million internally displaced people (IDPs), and 8.4 million asylum-seekers
- In 2023, the number of refugees under UNHCR's mandate increased by 1.6 million to 36.8 million, driven primarily by conflicts in Sudan and Ukraine
- Syria remained the largest refugee origin country with 6.2 million refugees globally as of end-2023
Over half of refugees are women and children, yet only 40% of lifesaving aid is funded.
Related reading
01 · Category
Demographics and Vulnerabilities28 stats
01
52% of refugees are women and girls, facing heightened risks
02
40% of refugees are children under 18, many unaccompanied
03
Elderly (60+) comprise 4% of refugees but have 10x higher mortality rates
04
85% of refugee women experienced gender-based violence in camps
05
Unaccompanied minors: 170,000 registered globally in 2023
06
LGBTQ+ refugees face 3x higher rejection rates in asylum claims
07
Persons with disabilities: 20-25% of refugee population, underserved
08
Malnutrition affects 30% of refugee children under 5 in camps
09
Mental health: 1 in 3 refugees suffer PTSD, vs 1 in 10 general population
10
Female-headed households: 25% of refugee families, more vulnerable to poverty
11
Youth (15-24): 20% of refugees, high unemployment at 70%
12
Indigenous refugees from Latin America: 10% face cultural erasure risks
13
60% of Syrian refugee children in Lebanon out of school
14
Rohingya literacy rate: under 10% in camps due to lack of education
15
1 in 5 refugee women pregnant upon arrival, needing maternal care
16
Male refugees 18-59: 30% at risk of forced recruitment
17
Child marriage rates doubled among Syrian refugees to 30%
18
50% of IDPs in DRC are children, exposed to violence
19
Elderly refugees in Ukraine: 25% of displaced, isolated without family
20
Sudanese refugees: 55% women and children, high GBV reports
21
Afghan women refugees: 70% literacy rate drop post-Taliban
22
Venezuelan indigenous: 15% of refugees, health vulnerabilities high
23
75% of refugees live in urban areas, facing integration challenges
24
Refugee unemployment: 60% vs 10% host population average
25
Refugee remittances: $10 billion sent home annually from urban refugees
26
85% of protracted refugees below poverty line (<$2.15/day)
27
Education loss: Refugee children lose 1.5 years schooling on average
28
Healthcare access: Only 50% of refugees have regular medical care
Interpretation
Demographics and Vulnerabilities Interpretation
These numbers are not just statistics but a stark ledger of human vulnerability, painting a portrait of a crisis where being a woman, a child, elderly, disabled, or marginalized does not just add a challenge—it multiplies the peril.
03 · Category
Humanitarian Aid and Responses27 stats
01
UNHCR budget: $10.2B in 2023 for refugee response, 43% funded
02
WFP fed 13 million refugees in 2023, $8.4B appeal
03
Refugee resettlement: Only 107,000 places in 2023 vs 2M need
04
EU-Turkey deal: €6B paid 2016-2023 for Syrian hosting
05
US refugee cap: 125,000 set for FY2024, up from 11K prior
06
Cash assistance: Reached 7 million refugees via $2B program in 2023
07
Vaccination campaigns: 20M refugee children immunized 2023
08
Education: 6.6M refugee children in school, still 50% out
09
Protection referrals: IOM assisted 1.5M vulnerable migrants 2023
10
Sudan response: $3B appeal 2024, 20% funded
11
Ukraine plan: $4B for refugees, hosting countries aid
12
Rohingya JRP: $1B/year for Bangladesh camps
13
Returns voluntary: 500K Afghans aided in returns 2022-2023
14
Family reunification: 50K cases processed in Europe 2023
15
Legal aid: Only 30% asylum seekers get lawyers in US
16
Camp management: UNHCR manages 500+ camps for 10M people
17
Winterization: $200M for heating 5M refugees in 2023
18
Digital solutions: 2M refugees registered biometrically
19
NGO partnerships: MSF treated 10M refugees medically 2023
20
Local integration policies: 500K refugees naturalized in host countries 2023
21
Global Compact on Refugees: 50 countries committed to burden-sharing
22
Funding gap: $25B shortfall in 2023 appeals
23
Private sector: $500M raised for refugee employment 2023
24
Vaccine equity: COVAX delivered 100M doses to refugees
25
Durable solutions: Only 2% of refugees repatriated, 1% resettled, 5% integrated 2023
26
Policy reforms: EU Pact on Migration adopted 2024 for faster processing
27
Regional plans: IGAD supports 2M refugees in East Africa
Interpretation
Humanitarian Aid and Responses Interpretation
The world offers just enough humanitarian aid to soothe its conscience but nowhere near enough funding, resettlement, or political courage to actually solve the refugee crisis it has helped create.
More related reading
04 · Category
Origins and Destinations26 stats
01
Syria was the origin of 25% of global refugees in 2023
02
Afghanistan accounted for 14% of the world's refugees as of end-2023
03
South Sudan produced 13% of global refugees in 2023
04
Myanmar contributed 7% of refugees, mainly Rohingya to Bangladesh
05
DRC was origin for 5% of refugees, hosted mainly in Uganda and Rwanda
06
Venezuela displaced 7.7 million, with 6 million abroad, mostly to Latin America
07
Ukraine refugees primarily went to Poland (980,000), Germany (1.1 million), Czechia (380,000) by 2024
08
Syrian refugees mainly in Turkey (3.3M), Lebanon (1.5M), Jordan (660K), Germany (900K)
09
Rohingya refugees: 97% in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, with 33,000 in India
10
Sudanese refugees fled to Chad (590K), South Sudan (650K), Ethiopia (530K) by mid-2024
11
Afghan refugees hosted in Iran (780K registered), Pakistan (1.3M), Europe (500K+)
12
Somali refugees primarily in Ethiopia (450K), Kenya (540K), Yemen (190K)
13
Central African Republic refugees in Cameroon (340K), Chad (410K), DRC (180K)
14
Eritrean refugees mostly in Ethiopia (130K), Sudan (140K), Israel (20K remaining)
15
Iraqi refugees declined to 300K globally, mainly in Turkey and Iran
16
Nigerian refugees and IDPs from Boko Haram: 340K refugees in Niger, Chad, Cameroon
17
Yemenis: 4.5 million IDPs, 170K refugees abroad in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia
18
Palestinians under UNRWA: 5.9 million registered refugees across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank/Gaza
19
Sudanese in Egypt: 1 million refugees and migrants by 2024
20
Venezuelans in Peru: 1.5 million, Ecuador 500K, Chile 450K
21
Burundian refugees: 450K in Tanzania, Rwanda, DRC post-2015 crisis
22
Libyan returns and third-country nationals: 200K displaced internally
23
Haitians fleeing to Dominican Republic: 500K migrants/refugees
24
Rohingya returns attempted: 0 successful voluntary returns to Myanmar since 2017
25
Ukrainian refugees in Russia: 1.3 million claimed, but verification disputed
26
Syrian returns to Syria: 1.2 million spontaneous returns since 2016
Interpretation
Origins and Destinations Interpretation
In a world eager to draw borders and build walls, the relentless math of human suffering proves that conflict and persecution are the globe's most prolific, and unwelcome, exporters.
05 · Category
Population and Displacement Numbers30 stats
01
As of mid-2024, the global forcibly displaced population reached 120 million people, including 36.8 million refugees, 72.1 million internally displaced people (IDPs), and 8.4 million asylum-seekers
02
In 2023, the number of refugees under UNHCR's mandate increased by 1.6 million to 36.8 million, driven primarily by conflicts in Sudan and Ukraine
03
Syria remained the largest refugee origin country with 6.2 million refugees globally as of end-2023
04
Ukraine produced 6.5 million refugees since February 2022, mostly hosted in Europe
05
By June 2024, Sudan had over 10 million IDPs, the highest in any single country
06
Afghanistan saw 6.3 million refugees and 5.8 million IDPs as of 2024
07
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had 7.3 million IDPs and 1 million refugees in 2023
08
South Sudan hosted 2.2 million refugees while having 2 million IDPs internally in 2023
09
Myanmar's Rohingya crisis displaced 1.2 million, with 740,000 in Bangladesh camps as of 2024
10
Somalia had 3.8 million IDPs and 900,000 refugees in 2023
11
By end-2023, 43% of all refugees were hosted in low- and middle-income countries
12
Least developed countries provided asylum to 25% of the world's refugees in 2023
13
Sub-Saharan Africa hosted 31% of global refugees despite comprising 14% of world population
14
Europe saw a 35% increase in asylum applications to 1.2 million in 2023
15
The US resettled only 11,000 refugees in FY2023, down from pre-pandemic levels
16
Turkey hosted 3.3 million Syrian refugees under temporary protection as of 2024
17
Lebanon sheltered 1.5 million Syrian refugees, equivalent to 25% of its population
18
Jordan had 660,000 Syrian refugees registered in 2023
19
Germany received 350,000 asylum applications in 2023, mainly from Syria and Afghanistan
20
Colombia hosted 2.5 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants by 2024
21
As of 2023, 71% of refugees originated from just five countries: Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar, and DRC
22
Women and girls constituted 49% of the refugee population in 2023
23
Children under 18 made up 42% of all refugees globally in 2023
24
Prolonged refugee situations lasting 5+ years affected 75% of refugees in 2023
25
IDP numbers surged 8% to 71.1 million in 2023
26
Gaza Strip had 1.9 million IDPs by end-2023 due to conflict
27
Ukraine had 3.7 million IDPs registered internally as of 2024
28
Ethiopia hosted 870,000 refugees while having 4.4 million IDPs in 2023
29
Pakistan sheltered 1.4 million Afghan refugees in 2023
30
Iran hosted 3.4 million Afghans, including refugees and undocumented, as of 2023
Interpretation
Population and Displacement Numbers Interpretation
Our world's map of compassion is drawn in reverse, with the most crowded and poorest corners sheltering nearly half of humanity's displaced, while the conflicts that push them there stubbornly refuse to be folded up and put away.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Refugee Crisis Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/refugee-crisis-statistics
MLA
Aisha Okonkwo. "Refugee Crisis Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/refugee-crisis-statistics.
Chicago
Aisha Okonkwo. 2026. "Refugee Crisis Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/refugee-crisis-statistics.
Sources & references
37 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level