Sad record: 1.5 percent of the entire world population displaced
Published: Thursday, Jun 13th 2024, 05:20
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More people worldwide are fleeing violence, war, conflict and persecution than ever before. In May, there were 120 million, almost ten percent more than a year ago, as reported by the UN refugee agency UNHCR in Geneva on Thursday. It was the twelfth consecutive increase in numbers. This means that around 1.5 percent of the world's entire population has been displaced from their homes, according to the new World Refugee Report.
A good two thirds of people flee within the borders of their own home country. Two thirds of those who have fled across borders live in neighboring countries, most of which are poor themselves. Most people remain there in the hope of being able to return home quickly.
Germany has the most asylum applications after the USA
The USA and Germany were the most popular countries for people who see no chance of returning soon: the USA recorded by far the most asylum applications, with a total of 1.2 million. This was followed at a considerable distance by Germany with around 330,000 applications, ahead of Egypt, Spain and Canada.
The figures are only comparable to a limited extent from year to year because the data situation in some countries is improving and the survey methods are changing in some cases. Records refer to the period since 1951, when the UNHCR first recorded refugee figures.
The largest evictions in 2023
The power struggle between the army and militias in Sudan and the Israeli war against the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip are among the disasters that plunged millions of people into misery in 2023. There were also major displacements in Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The figures in compact form
120 million displaced persons worldwide, as of May 2024. However, the report always refers to the calendar year 2023 in its analyses. As of December 31, 2023, there were 117.3 million displaced persons, eight percent more than at the end of 2022. 68.3 million were seeking refuge in their own country. This figure is 50 percent higher than five years ago. Germany is the country with the fourth largest group of refugees. The UNHCR puts the figure at 2.6 million, behind Iran (3.8 million), Turkey (3.3 million) and Colombia (2.9 million).
Sudan: more than nine million displaced people since April 2023, including 1.9 million who fled abroad Gaza Strip: 1.7 million displaced persons, around 75 percent of the population. Myanmar: 2.6 million people displaced by the military dictatorship's fighting against insurgents, twice as many as a year earlier Syria: remains the world's largest refugee crisis with 13.8 million displaced people at home and abroad. Afghanistan: 10.9 million displaced persons, a good 6.4 million of them abroad. This makes Afghans the largest group of refugees abroad. Ukraine: 9.7 million displaced persons, around 6 million of them abroad.
Climate crisis exacerbates situation
Regions characterized by conflict, poverty, hunger and poor governance are also where the climate crisis is particularly noticeable, according to the report: "At the end of 2023, almost three quarters of forcibly displaced people were living in countries exposed to high to extremely high climate-related risks." These included the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The struggle for resources in refugee countries that are severely affected by climate change could trigger further refugee movements, for example in places where drinking water is already scarce or drought is destroying more and more crops and livestock is dying for lack of water and food.
©Keystone/SDA
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