UN: Number of refugees worldwide has reached 71 million
In its latest report, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees announced that 70.8 million people were forcibly displaced and displaced by war, persecution, and conflict in 2018, and said that this figure is the highest in the past 70 years.
According to the report, which was published on the website of this international organization on Wednesday, June 10, 2020, by comparison, the number of refugees 20 years ago was half this figure.
The report adds that 130,000 people became refugees in Iran last year: "In total, there are more than 979,000 refugees in Iran, of which 951,000 are Afghans."
The report specifically refers to the critical situation in Venezuela and says that, according to official statistics from host countries, about four million Venezuelan citizens have left the country and sought refuge in other countries.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has divided refugees into three groups.
The first group are those who have been forced to flee abroad due to wars, conflicts, and lack of security, numbering 25.9 million people.
The second group are those who have left their country of origin to seek asylum, numbering 3.5 million. Finally, the third and largest group, with a population of 41.3 million, are those who have left their place of residence and have been displaced to other parts of their own country.
Of all those displaced last year, only seven percent have been able to find resettlement, and the rest are living in homeless conditions.
The world's largest refugee population comes from Syria (6.7 million), Afghanistan (2.7 million), South Sudan (2.3 million), Myanmar (1.1 million), and Somalia (900,000). All of these countries are either embroiled in civil war or facing crises of ethnic and religious conflict.
The annual number of refugees worldwide has increased steadily since 2009, when it was 43.3 million people, and most of this growth occurred between 2012 and 2015, especially due to the Syrian civil war.
The report says that in 2018 alone, about 13.6 million people were displaced, 2.6 million of whom were forced to flee abroad.
16% of refugees have gone to developed countries, and 80% have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
Of course, the number of refugees returning to their places of residence in 2018 was about 2.9 million.
Türkiye currently hosts 3.7 million refugees, Pakistan 1.4 million, Uganda, Sudan and Germany each host more than 1.1 million refugees. Iran is next.
Iran is the sixth largest host of foreign refugees in the world.
Also, the number of Iranians who have recently applied for asylum in other countries is 35,800. In total, the number of Iranians who have applied for asylum in foreign countries and have not yet received a response has reached more than 87,000.
Source: Radio Farda
