2008 IN REVIEW – STATISTICS AT A GLANCE
• There were some 42 million forcibly displaced people worldwide at the end of 2008. his includes 15.2 million refugees, 827,000 asylum-seekers (pending cases) and 26 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).
• Nearly 25 million people – 10.5 million refugees and 14.4 million IDPs – were receiving protection or assistance from UNHCR at the end of 2008. These numbers are similar to 2007.
• In 2008, UNHCR identified some 6.6 million stateless persons in 58 countries. The Office estimated that the overall number of stateless persons worldwide was far higher, about 12 million people.
• Some 604,000 refugees repatriated voluntarily during 2008. Repatriation figures have continued to decrease since 2004. The 2008 figure is the second-lowest in 15 years.
• More than 839,000 people submitted an individual application for asylum or refugee status in 2008. UNHCR offices registered nine per cent of those claims. More than 6,300 asylum applications were lodged by unaccompanied and separated children in 8 countries. With one quarter of applications globally, South Africa is the largest recipient of individual applications in the world.
• UNHCR presented 121,000 refugees for resettlement consideration by States. More than 67,000 refugees were resettled with UNHCR’s assistance during 2008.
According to Government statistics, 16 countries reported the admission of 88,800 resettled refugees during 2008 (with or without UNHCR assistance). The United States of America accepted the highest number (60,200 during its Fiscal Year).
• Women and girls represent on average 49 per cent of persons of concern to UNHCR. They constitute 47 per cent of refugees and asylum-seekers, and half of all IDPs and returnees (refugees). Forty-four per cent of refugees and asylum-seekers are children below 18 years of age.
• Developing countries are host to four fifths of the world’s refugees. Based on the data vailable for 8.8 million refugees, UNHCR estimates that half of the world’s refugees reside in urban areas and one third in camps. However, seven out of ten refugees in sub-Saharan Africa reside in camps.
• Pakistan is host to the largest number of refugees worldwide (1.8 million), followed by the Syrian Arab Republic (1.1 million) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (980,000).
• Afghan and Iraqi refugees account for almost half of all refugees under UNHCR’s responsibility worldwide. One out of four refugees in the world is from Afghanistan (2.8 million) and Afghans are located in 69 different asylum countries. Iraqis are the econd largest refugee group, with 1.9 million having sought refuge mainly in neighbouring countries.
• Pakistan hosted the largest number of refugees in relation to its economic capacity. The country hosted 733 refugees per 1 USD GDP (PPP) per capita. It was followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (496 refugees per 1 USD GDP (PPP) per capita) and the United Republic of Tanzania (262). The first developed country is Germany at 26th place with 16 refugees per 1 USD GDP (PPP) per capita.
