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refugee numbers

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According to the UN refugee agency, the number of people forced to flee their homes because of war or persecution exceeded 50 million in 2013, the first time since World War Two.

The overall figure of 51.2 million is six million higher than the year before, a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says.

Conflicts in Syria, central Africa and South Sudan fuelled the sharp increase.

Of particular concern are the estimated 6.3 million people who have been refugees for years, sometimes even decades.

People living in what the UN terms “protracted” refugee situations include more than 2.5 million Afghans. Afghanistan still accounts for the world’s largest number of refugees, and neighboring Pakistan is host to more refugees than any other country, with an estimated 1.6 million.

The number of people forced to flee their homes because of war or persecution exceeded 50 million in 2013, the first time since World War Two

The number of people forced to flee their homes because of war or persecution exceeded 50 million in 2013, the first time since World War Two (photo UNHCR)

Around the world, thousands of refugees from almost forgotten crises have spent the best part of their lives in camps. Along Thailand’s border with Burma, 120,000 people from Burma’s Karen minority have lived in refugee camps for more than 20 years.

Refugees should not be forcibly returned, the UN says, and should not go back unless it is safe to do so, and they have homes to return to. For many – among them the more than 300,000 mainly Somali refugees in Kenya’s Dadaab camp – that is a very distant prospect.

Some camps, the UN refugee agency admits, have become virtually permanent, with their own schools, hospitals, and businesses. But they are not, and can never be, home.

The world’s refugees are far outnumbered by the internally displaced (IDP) – people who have been forced to flee their homes, but remain inside their own countries.

In Syria alone there are thought to be 6.5 million displaced people. The conflict has uprooted many families not once but several times. Their access to food, water, shelter and medical care is often extremely limited, and because they remain inside a conflict zone, it is hard for aid agencies to reach them.

Worldwide, the UN estimates there are now 33.3 million internally displaced people.

Large numbers of refugees and IDPs fleeing to new areas inevitably put a strain on resources, and can even destabilize a host country.

Throughout the Syrian crisis, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have kept their borders open. Lebanon now hosts more than a million Syrian refugees, meaning a quarter of its total population is Syrian. The pressure on housing, education and health is causing tensions in a country which itself has a recent history of conflict.

The UN is concerned that the burden of caring for refugees is increasingly falling on the countries with the least resources. Developing countries are host to 86% of the world’s refugees, with wealthy countries caring for just 14%.

Despite the fears in Europe about growing numbers of asylum seekers and immigrants, that gap is growing. Ten years ago wealthy countries hosted 30% of refugees, and developing countries 70%.

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According to the United Nations, 7.6 million people became refugees in 2012, with the total number now higher than at any time since 1994.

A report from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that Syria is “a major new factor” driving up refugee numbers.

The report say 55% of all refugees come from five countries: Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Sudan and Syria.

It also found that developing countries now hosted 81% of the world’s refugees, 11% more than a decade ago.

“These truly are alarming numbers. They reflect individual suffering on a huge scale and they reflect the difficulties of the international community in preventing conflicts and promoting timely solutions for them,” said UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres.

Antonio Guterres said that the figure of 7.6 million meant there was a new displaced person every 4.1 seconds.

7.6 million people became refugees in 2012, with the total number now higher than at any time since 1994

7.6 million people became refugees in 2012, with the total number now higher than at any time since 1994

“Each time you blink another person is forced to flee,” he said.

The UNHCR says the figures are based on data from the agency itself as well as from governments and other NGOs.

Afghanistan remained the world’s biggest source of refugees, a position it has now held for 32 years, with 95% of Afghan refugees located in either Iran or Pakistan.

Somalis were the second biggest group of refugees in 2012, followed by Iraqis. Syrians were the fourth biggest group.

The figures do not, however, reflect the additional one million people who have fled Syria in the last six months.

The UN says if current trends persist, a further 2 million people will have left Syria by the end of this year. In the next few days it is expected to ask European countries to take at least some of them in.

The report also says there has been a marked rise in displacement from Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mali’s army, heavily backed by France, has been fighting Islamist and ethnic Tuareg rebels this year. Islamists seized control of the north of the country after a military coup last year.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, some 800,000 people have fled since fighting broke out last year between government forces and the M23 rebel movement.

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