Geneva, 7 January 2015 \u2013 The UN refugee agency UNHCR on 6 January 2015 reported* that war in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere had uprooted an estimated 5.5 million people during the first six months of 2014, signaling a further rise in the number of people forcibly displaced.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
UNHCR\u2019s new \u201cMid-Year Trends 2014\u2033 report shows that of the 5.5 million who were newly displaced, 1.4 million fled across international borders becoming refugees, while the rest were displaced within their own countries.<\/p>\n
Taking into account existing displaced populations, data revisions, voluntary returns and resettlement, the number of people being helped by UNHCR stood at 46.3 million as of mid-2014 \u2013 some 3.4 million more than at the end of 2013 and a record high.<\/p>\n
Syrians, Afghans<\/p>\n
Among the report\u2019s main findings are that Syrians, for the first time, have become the largest refugee population under UNHCR\u2019s mandate (Palestinians in the Middle East fall under the care of the UN Relief and Works Agency), overtaking Afghans, who had held that position for more than three decades.<\/p>\n
At more than 3 million as of June 2014, Syrian refugees now account for 23 per cent of all refugees being helped by UNHCR worldwide.<\/p>\n
Despite dropping to second place, the 2.7 million Afghan refugees worldwide remain the largest protracted (at least five years) refugee population under UNHCR care.<\/p>\n
After Syria and Afghanistan, the leading countries of origin of refugees are Somalia (1.1 million), Sudan (670,000), South Sudan (509,000), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (493,000), Myanmar (480,000) and Iraq (426,000).<\/p>\n
Pakistan, which hosts 1.6 million Afghan refugees, remains the biggest host country in absolute terms. Other countries with large refugee populations are Lebanon (1.1 million), Iran (982,000), Turkey (824,000), Jordan (737,000), Ethiopia (588,000), Kenya (537,000) and Chad (455,000).<\/p>\n
13 Million by Mid-year<\/p>\n
By comparing the number of refugees to the size of a country\u2019s population or economy, UNHCR\u2019s report puts the contribution made by host nations into context: Relative to the sizes of their populations Lebanon and Jordan host the largest number of refugees, while relative to the sizes of their economies the burdens carried by Ethiopia and Pakistan are greatest.<\/p>\n
In all, the number of refugees under UNHCR\u2019s mandate reached 13 million by mid-year, the highest since 1996, while the total number of internally displaced people protected or assisted by the agency reached a new high of 26 million. As UNHCR only provides help for the internally displaced in countries where governments request its involvement, this figure does not include all internally displaced people worldwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2014 we have seen the number of people under our care grow to unprecedented levels. As long as the international community continues to fail to find political solutions to existing conflicts and to prevent new ones from starting, we will continue to have to deal with the dramatic humanitarian consequences,\u201d said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ant\u00f3nio Guterres.<\/p>\n
The Economic, Social and Human Cost<\/p>\n
\u201cThe economic, social and human cost of caring for refugees and the internally displaced is being borne mostly by poor communities, those who are least able to afford it. Enhanced international solidarity is a must if we want to avoid the risk of more and more vulnerable people being left without proper support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another major finding in the report is the shift in the regional distribution of refugee populations. Until last year, the region hosting the largest refugee population was Asia and the Pacific. As a result of the crisis in Syria, the Middle East and North Africa have now become the regions hosting the largest number of refugees.<\/p>\n
UNHCR\u2019s Mid-Year Trends 2014 report is based on data from governments and the organization\u2019s worldwide offices.<\/p>\n
As information available to UNHCR at this point in the year is incomplete it does not show total forced displacement globally (those figures are presented in June each year in UNHCR\u2019s annual \u201cGlobal Trends\u201d report, which as of end 2013 showed that 51.2 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide).<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, the data it presents is a major component of the global total and an important indicator of worldwide refugee and IDP trends. (*Source: UNHCR).<\/p>\n
The full report can be downloaded here: http:\/\/unhcr.org\/54aa91d89.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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