People > Migration > Refugees and internally displaced persons > Refugees > Country of origin: Countries Compared
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DEFINITION:
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 | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
Algeria | 90,000 (Western Saharan Sahrawi, mostly living in Algerian-sponsored camps in the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf) |
Angola | 12,615 (Democratic Republic of Congo) |
Armenia | 113,295 (Azerbaijan) |
Azerbaijan | 2,400 (Russia) |
Bangladesh | 26,268 (Burma) |
Benin | 9,444 (Togo) |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 7,269 (Croatia) |
Burundi | 9,849 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) |
Cameroon | 20,000-30,000 (Chad); 3,000 (Nigeria); 24,000 (Central African Republic) |
Central African Republic | 7,900 (Sudan); 3,700 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); note - UNHCR resumed repatriation of Southern Sudanese refugees in 2006 |
Chad | 234,000 (Sudan); 54,200 (Central African Republic) |
China | 300,897 (Vietnam); estimated 30,000-50,000 (North Korea) |
Congo, Republic of the | 46,341 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 6,564 (Rwanda) |
Costa Rica | 9,699-11,500 (Colombia) |
Cote d'Ivoire | 25,615 (Liberia) |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 132,295 (Angola); 37,313 (Rwanda); 17,777 (Burundi); 13,904 (Uganda); 6,181 (Sudan); 5,243 (Republic of Congo) |
Djibouti | 8,642 (Somalia) |
Ecuador | 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 |
Egypt | 60,000 - 80,000 (Iraq); 70,198 (Palestinian Territories); 12,157 (Sudan) |
Ethiopia | 66,980 (Sudan); 16,576 (Somalia); 13,078 (Eritrea) |
Gabon | 7,178 (Republic of Congo) |
Gaza Strip | 1.017 million (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) |
Georgia | 1,100 (Russia) |
Ghana | 35,653 (Liberia); 8,517 (Togo) |
Guinea | 21,856 (Liberia); 5,259 (Sierra Leone); 3,900 (Cote d'Ivoire) |
Guinea-Bissau | 7,454 (Senegal) |
India | 77,200 (Tibet/China); 69,609 (Sri Lanka); 9,472 (Afghanistan) |
Iran | 914,268 (Afghanistan); 54,024 (Iraq) |
Iraq | 10,000-15,000 (Palestinian Territories); 11,773 (Iran); 16,832 (Turkey) |
Jordan | 1,835,704 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)); 500,000 (Iraq) |
Kazakhstan | 3,700 (Russia); 508 (Afghanistan) |
Kenya | 173,702 (Somalia); 73,004 (Sudan); 16,428 (Ethiopia) |
Lebanon | 405,425 (Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)); 50,000-60,000 (Iraq) |
Liberia | 12,600 (Cote d'Ivoire) |
Libya | 8,000 (Palestinian Territories) |
Malaysia | 15,174 (Indonesia); 21,544 (Burma) |
Mali | 6,300 (Mauritania) |
Montenegro | 7,000 (Kosovo); note - mostly ethnic Serbs and Roma who fled Kosovo in 1999 |
Namibia | 4,700 (Angola) |
Nepal | 107,803 (Bhutan); 20,153 (Tibet/China) |
Nigeria | 5,778 (Liberia) |
Pakistan | 1,043,984 (Afghanistan) |
Papua New Guinea | 10,177 (Indonesia) |
Rwanda | 46,272 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 4,400 (Burundi) |
Saudi Arabia | 240,015 (Palestinian Territories) |
Senegal | 19,630 (Mauritania) |
Serbia and Montenegro | 71,111 (Croatia); 27,414 (Bosnia and Herzegovina); 206,000 (Kosovo), note - mostly ethnic Serbs and Roma who fled Kosovo in 1999 |
Sierra Leone | 27,311 (Liberia) |
South Africa | 10,772 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 7,818 (Somalia); 5,759 (Angola) |
Sudan | 157,220 (Eritrea); 25,023 (Chad); 11,009 (Ethiopia); 7,895 (Uganda); 5,023 (Central African Republic) |
Syria | 1-1.4 million (Iraq); 522,100 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) |
Tanzania | 352,640 (Burundi); 127,973 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) |
Thailand | 132,241 (Burma) |
The Gambia | 5,955 (Sierra Leone) |
Togo | 5,000 (Ghana) |
Turkmenistan | 11,173 (Tajikistan); less than 1,000 (Afghanistan) |
Uganda | 215,700 (Sudan); 28,880 (Democratic Republic of Congo); 24,900 (Rwanda) |
United States | 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) |
Uzbekistan | 39,202 (Tajikistan); 1,060 (Afghanistan) |
West Bank | 722,000 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) |
Yemen | 91,587 (Somalia) |
Zambia | 42,565 (Angola); 60,874 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 4,100 (Rwanda) |
Zimbabwe | 2,500 (Democratic Republic of Congo) |