The main trends of modern migration in graphs. The figures published a few days ago by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) are particularly worrying: around the world around 117 million people have been displaced and are seeking protection. This number includes those who have been recognized as refugees based on international standards, those who have applied for asylum abroad, but also those who seek refuge in their own country.

The next nine charts graphically present the main countries of origin and other important trends in modern immigration.

1. The number of displaced people is constantly increasing

In 2014, the number of people who fled their homes and sought protection within or outside borders was eight per thousand of the world’s population. In 2023 it reaches 14 thousand.

This means that, worldwide, the number of displaced people has increased by 58 million people, a number equivalent to the entire population of Italy.

2. More displaced within borders

Of the 117.3 million people that the UNHCR lists as displaced, 68.3 million (a number equal to the population of Great Britain) remain within borders, despite having been forced to leave their homes or their particular homeland .

UNHCR figures are limited to those displaced or expelled by war or violence. The Internal Displacement Monitor (IDMC) estimates that another 7.7 million have been forced to flee their homes by natural disasters or climate change.

3. Most in Africa and the Middle East

Of the 68.3 million IDPs, 48% come from African countries and about 21% from the Middle East.

In Sudan alone, 9 million people are internally displaced (9% of all internally displaced people). In the relevant ranking, Syria (7.2 million), the Republic of Congo (6.7 million) and Yemen (4.5 million) follow.

Among the ten countries worldwide with the highest number of internally displaced people, only three are not in Africa. These are Colombia (5 million), Afghanistan (4.1 million) and Ukraine (3.7 million).

4. Displaced persons also in European countries

Even in some European countries many people have been forced to leave their homes, seeking refuge in other, safer areas within their country’s borders.

This happens in the case of Cyprus, where the number of displaced people reaches 240,000, i.e. about 20% of the total population.

The picture is similar in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many times these people remain displaced for decades and for many generations.

5. From 10 countries 90% of the refugees

According to the UNHCR, the number of people living in another country as refugees or with other (possibly temporary) protection status reaches 43.4 million worldwide.

That is, it exceeds the total population of Poland.

Nine out of ten refugees come from Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, the Palestinian Territories, South Sudan, Sudan, Myanmar, the Republic of Congo and Somalia.

6. Most seek protection in a neighboring country

The countries that host the most refugees are usually those that share common borders with countries facing humanitarian crises. According to UNCHR data, in 2023 69% of refugees resided in a country bordering their homeland.

Iran, Turkey, Colombia and Jordan are currently the countries hosting the most refugees. Which come, respectively, from Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela and the Palestinian Territories.

A big exception is Germany, which welcomes hundreds of thousands of refugees from countries as far away as Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea.

7.Too many in developing countries

Germany hosts more than 2.5 million refugees, the most of any other EU member state. However, it has taken in fewer refugees than Iran, Turkey, Jordan and Colombia.

In proportion to its population, the country hosting the most refugees is Jordan (11 million). More than 3 million refugees from the Palestinian Territories live there. In other words, the number of refugees in Jordan reaches 270,000 per one million native population.

8. Fewer and fewer asylum applications are approved

A total of 7 million people are still waiting for their asylum application in another country to be approved (or rejected). The number of new decisions does not keep pace with the number of new applications. In 2023, 1.4 million decisions of the competent authorities on asylum matters were recorded, but in the same period 5.6 million new applications were also submitted.

Never before has the numerical gap between those seeking and those finally receiving asylum been so wide. Displaced persons often feel trapped in a legal vacuum.

9. Displaced persons often return to unsafe countries

In 2023, approximately 1.1 million refugees returned to their homeland, from which they had been expelled or displaced. But often the return is not safe. Because many are returning to countries still embroiled in conflict, such as South Sudan and Ukraine.

Edited by: Yiannis Papadimitriou