2005 GLOBAL REFUGEE TRENDS

Transcription

1 2005 GLOBAL REFUGEE TRENDS STATISTICAL OVERVIEW OF POPULATIONS OF REFUGEES, ASYLUM-SEEKERS, INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS, STATELESS PERSONS, AND OTHER PERSONS OF CONCERN TO UNHCR Click here to download the tables in zipped format (Excel) 476KB 9 JUNE 2006 FIELD INFORMATION AND COORDINATION SUPPORT SECTION DIVISION OF OPERATIONAL SERVICES UNHCR GENEVA

2 2005 Global Refugee Trends UNHCR Geneva, 9 June 2006 Introduction 1. This report summarizes changes in global trends and levels of the population of concern to UNHCR: refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless persons, and others of concern. The data, reported by UNHCR country offices, generally reflect the view of the host country. The statistics contained in this note should be considered provisional and subject to change. 2. This note provides only the main global trends of UNHCR s population of concern and does not make specific reference to mixed migration flows. Despite the humanitarian challenge and prominent media coverage posed by this phenomenon, most migrants do not claim asylum and are thus not included in UNHCR statistics The total population of concern to UNHCR 2 increased from 19.5 million persons at the beginning of 2005 to 20.8 million by the end of 2005 (+6%) 3. Refugees constitute 40 per cent of the total population of concern to UNHCR, down from 49 per cent at the start of Internally displaced persons (IDPs) protected or assisted by UNHCR are the second largest group under the Office s mandate accounting for 32 per cent, followed by stateless persons 4 with 11 per cent. The total population of concern to UNHCR, however, is not totally reflected in these figures, either because a significant number of stateless people have not been systematically identified, or statistical data is unavailable despite renewed efforts on the part of UNHCR. 5 Total population by category, end-2005 (See Table 15 for details on stateless persons) 1 For detailed statistics on 2005 (and previous years), see 2 Include: Refugees, asylum-seekers, returnees (refugees who have returned during 2005), internally displaced persons (IDPs), returned IDPs (IDPs who have returned to their place of habitual residence during 2005), stateless persons, and others of concern not falling under any of the categories above. 3 The Afghan refugee population in Pakistan at the end of 2004 was retroactively revised from 960,000 to 1.3 million following a 2005 government census of Afghans in Pakistan. As a result, the total population of concern to UNHCR at the end of 2004 increased from 19.2 to 19.5 million. 4 Stateless refugees and stateless asylum-seekers are excluded from the category stateless persons but reflected in the categories refugees (stateless refugees) and asylum-seekers (stateless asylum-seekers). 5 See page 9 for more details. Page 2

3 2005 Global Refugee Trends UNHCR Geneva, 9 June During the period , refugees constituted the largest group (55-61%) among all populations considered as of concern to the Office. In other words, roughly six out of ten persons were refugees. The recent years, however, have witnessed a gradual downward trend in the number of refugees worldwide while simultaneously seeing an upward trend in the overall population of concern. As a consequence, the proportion of refugees among the total population of concern started to decline, reaching its lowest level at the end of 2005 with only four out of ten persons being refugees. While in absolute and relative terms still the largest group under the Office s mandate, the current trend indicates that in future possibly only three (or less) out of ten persons will be a refugee. This scenario looks particularly likely, taking into account the expectation that UNHCR s involvement with internally displaced persons will expand in the coming years. 5. With over two million persons, Colombia remained the country hosting the largest Refugees Total population of concern to UNHCR by the end of The entire population is almost exclusively comprised of internally displaced persons. Iraq is the second largest host country with some 1.6 million persons of concern, followed by Pakistan (1.1 million) 6, Sudan (1.0 million) and Afghanistan (912,000). 6. At the end of the year, Afghans constituted the largest group among UNHCR s total population of concern with some 2.9 million. Colombians were the second largest group (2.5 million), followed by Iraqis (1.8 million), Sudanese (1.6 million) and Somalis (839,000). These five nationalities alone accounted for 9.6 million or almost half (46%) of all populations considered as of concern to UNHCR at the end of Population (mln.) Refugee population Population of concern to UNHCR, (end-year) By the end of 2005, the global number of refugees reached an estimated 8.4 million persons 7, the lowest level since This constitutes a net decrease of more than one million refugees (-12%) since the beginning of 2005, when 9.5 million refugees were recorded. This is the fifth consecutive year in which the global refugee population has dropped and the second sharpest decrease since Over the fiveyear period, the global refugee population has fallen by one third (-31%). Decreases in the refugee population are often the result of refugees having access to durable solutions, in particular voluntary repatriation. Box.1 Refugee population by UNHCR Bureau, 2005 UNHCR Start- End- Annual Bureau change - Central Africa and Great Lakes 1,267,700 1,193, % - East and Horn of Africa 770, , % - Southern Africa 243, , % - West Africa 465, , % Total Africa* 2,746,300 2,571, % CASWANAME** 3,062,100 2,467, % Americas 581, , % Asia and Pacific 836, , % Europe 2,316,900 1,965, % Total 9,543,500 8,394, % * Excluding North Africa. ** Central Asia, South West Asia, North Africa and Middle East. 8. About half (52%) of all refugees benefit from UNHCR assistance programmes, with the vast majority of them being located in developing countries, i.e. countries covered by the UNHCR Bureaux for CASWANAME 8 (47%) and for Africa (41%). The number of refugees directly assisted by or through UNHCR fell by 907,000 persons (-17%) to 4.4 million refugees by the end of the year. 6 UNHCR refugee figures for Pakistan only include Afghans living in camps who are assisted by UNHCR. According to a 2005 government census of Afghans in Pakistan and subsequent voluntary repatriation during the year, there are an additional 1.5 million Afghans living outside camps, some of whom may be refugees. Those Afghans living outside camps receive no UNHCR assistance except access to UNHCR-facilitated voluntary repatriation. 7 In addition, some 4.3 million Palestinian refugees fall under the responsibility of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). These refugees are not included in UNHCR statistics. 8 Central Asia, South-West Asia, North Africa and Middle East. Page 3

4 2005 Global Refugee Trends UNHCR Geneva, 9 June Virtually all regions reported a decrease in the refugee population during 2005 with the largest reductions being recorded in West Africa and CASWANAME (-19% each), followed by Europe (-15%). The only region experiencing a marginal increase was East and Horn of Africa (+0.2%). (See Box 1). Despite of the decreases, Africa and CASWANAME each hosted one third of the global refugee population at the end of Europe hosted about one quarter (23%) of all refugees, followed by Asia and the Pacific (10%), and the Americas (7%). 10. In 2005, Pakistan continued to be the main asylum country followed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. 9 By the end of the year, both countries together hosted one out of five (21%) of the world s refugees. 10 Both, however, experienced a 16 and 32 per cent decrease respectively during the year as a result of the voluntary repatriation of some 751,000 Afghan refugees back to their country. Germany remained the third largest asylum country of 2005 despite witnessing a 20 per cent drop during the year. This decrease is primarily due to an improved registration system providing more accurate statistics on the number of refugees in the country. 11 The United Republic of Tanzania and the United States (UNHCR estimate) 12 remain as the fourth and fifth largest asylum countries despite experiencing decreases of nine and six per cent respectively during (Mln) 1.4 Major refugee hosting countries, 2005 Among the top-10 asylum countries, only Chad (+15,500 refugees) and Kenya (+11,400 refugees) saw a significant net increase during Afghanistan continues to be by far the largest country of origin of refugees under the Office s mandate. At the end of 2005, 1.9 million Afghan refugees were reported by 72 asylum countries, constituting 23 per cent of the global refugee population. Nevertheless, due to continued repatriation, the number of Afghan refugees dropped by 21 per cent during the year. 12. Other major countries of origins of refugees experiencing important decreases during 2005 were Burundi (-10%), Iraq (-16%), Liberia (-31%), and Serbia and Montenegro (-21%). The strong fall in the Burundian, Iraqi and Liberian refugee populations is primarily the result of voluntary repatriation movements whereas the sharp decrease in the refugee population from Serbia and Montenegro primarily reflects the changed methodology for estimating the number of refugees in Germany. 11 Significant decreases in the refugee population, often as a result of durable solutions or revised refugee estimates following registration exercises were also recorded for refugees originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina (-119,000), Croatia (-96,000), Western Sahara (-75,000) and Sudan (-38,000). 13. Nevertheless, some refugee nationalities recorded an increase in the population during The number of Togolese refugees quadrupled, from 11,200 at the start of the year to 51,100 at the end of the year, due to mass outflows, mainly to Benin and Ghana. The number of refugees from Rwanda increased by 37,000 (+12%), primarily due to a revised population estimate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo while the number of Eritrean refugees increased by more than 12,000 (+9%) PAK* IRN GFR TAN USA* CHI GBR* CHD UGA KEN *UNHCR estimate Start-2005 End See footnote See footnote With the introduction of the new Immigration Act in 2005, the Central Aliens Register now encompasses new residence categories and simultaneously refines previous ones, allowing for a better differentiation of refugee statistics. The refugee data included in this note refers to 15 December UNHCR s method of estimating the refugee population in the United States is currently under review due to newly available information. As a result, the estimated refugee population in the country might increase significantly as of Page 4

5 2005 Global Refugee Trends UNHCR Geneva, 9 June 2006 Refugee arrivals 14. Refugees escaping war often move in large groups and flee the same conditions during the same time frame. By being part of the same group, these persons are often accorded refugee status as a group, i.e. on a prima facie basis. During 2005, a total of 136,000 prima facie refugee arrivals were reported by 19 asylum countries. The level of new outflows in 2005, however, was the lowest since 1976 when 113,700 persons fled their country in a mass outflow. As such, the 2005 level was also significantly lower compared to 2004 (-46%) and 2003 (-59%). 15. Ten asylum countries reported the arrival of more than 1,000 prima facie refugees during 2005, including Chad (32,400), Benin (25,500), Uganda (24,000), Ghana (13,600) and Yemen (13,200). 16. There were six countries of origin which produced more than 10,000 prima facie refugees in 2005: Togo (39,100), Sudan (34,500), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (15,600), Somalia (13,600), the Central African Republic (11,500) and Iraq (10,500). Voluntary repatriation 17. Based on consolidated reports from countries of asylum (departure) and origin (arrival), it is estimated that some 1.1 million refugees repatriated voluntarily to their country of origin during In all, there were a total of 15 voluntary repatriation movements involving more than 1,000 refugees. Voluntary repatriation of refugees, (Mln) Non-assisted UNHCR-assisted The main countries of origin to which refugees returned during 2005 included Afghanistan (752,100), Liberia (70,300), Burundi (68,300), Iraq (56,200) and Angola (53,800). 19. The past four years saw an almost unprecedented level of voluntary repatriation, mainly due to the return of more than 4.6 million Afghans from Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Globally, more than six million refugees were able to return home during , of which 4.6 million with UNHCR assistance. 20. For statistical purposes, only refugees who have repatriated during the calendar year are included in the population of concern to UNHCR. In practice, however, operations may assist returnees for longer periods. This is for instance the case for Angola where, since the signing of the peace accord in 2002, more than 364,000 Angolan refugees have returned home, many of them benefiting from UNHCR reintegration activities. Resettlement 21. In 2005, some 30,500 refugees were resettled from their previous asylum countries with UNHCR assistance, virtually the same level as during The main nationalities benefiting from UNHCR-facilitated resettlement were refugees from Somalia (5,900), Liberia (4,700), Sudan (3,200), Afghanistan (3,200) and Myanmar (2,900). 22. Some 83 UNHCR country offices were engaged in facilitating resettlement departures during 2005, fifteen more than in The Others 38.1% Guinea 2.7% India 2.7% UNHCR-assisted resettlement by country of departure, (Total departures = 134,800) Kenya 20.4% Islamic Rep. of Iran 3.3% Thailand 4.3% Cote d'ivoire 4.9% Pakistan 5.1% Egypt 9.3% Turkey 9.0% Page 5

6 2005 Global Refugee Trends UNHCR Geneva, 9 June 2006 largest number of refugees resettled with UNHCR assistance departed from Kenya (6,800), Thailand (2,500), Guinea (1,900), Ghana (1,800) and Egypt (1,300). 23. During 2005, a total of 16 countries reported the admission of resettled refugees, including the United States (53,800 during the US Fiscal Year) 13, Australia (11,700), Canada (10,400), Sweden (1,300), Finland (770) and Norway (750). Local integration 24. Local integration, an important durable solution to the plight of refugees, is a legal, economic, socio-economic and political process. In some countries, refugees have the opportunity to integrate locally because the host country has provided them with access to land or the labour market, while in others they remain confined to camps where they depend on assistance from the international community. Using UNHCR beneficiary statistics, it is possible to determine the degree to which refugees depend on the international community for their survival. Industrialized countries, where assistance is usually provided by the host country, are generally not included in these statistics. 25. By the end of 2005, 69 per cent of the estimated 6.1 million refugees hosted by developing countries had access to assistance provided by or through UNHCR. On a global scale, the proportion has remained fairly stable over the past five years ranging from 66 to 72 per cent. However, the proportion of refugees benefiting from international assistance varies greatly from one country to another, reflecting the different opportunities provided to refugees by the host country for local integration and self-reliance. Major asylum countries where less than 75 per cent of the refugee population depends on international aid include the United Republic of Tanzania (64%), Sudan (51%), Zambia (48%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (8%), India (8%) and Armenia (5%). 26. Acquiring the citizenship of the country of asylum is the final and crucial step towards obtaining the full protection of the host country. However, national laws do not always permit refugees to get naturalized. Moreover, statistical data on the provision of citizenship to refugees is available on a limited scale only, and is thus under-reported. During 2005, UNHCR was informed about significant numbers of refugees being granted citizenship by the host country in the United States (58,900; during January-September 2005 only), Kyrgyzstan (3,400), Armenia (2,300), Belgium (2,300), Mexico (1,200) and Ireland (580). Legal status 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Legal status of refugees, end-2005 Africa Americas Asia/Pacific Europe CASWANAME 1951 Convention/1967 Protocol 1969 OAU Convention UNHCR Statute Other/unknow n (incl. hum. status) 27. It is estimated that 3.2 million or 38 per cent of the 8.4 million refugees have been granted protection under the 1951 Convention and/or its 1967 Protocol. An additional 16 per cent of the refugees are recognized under the 1969 OAU Convention, whereas 13 per cent have been granted refugee status under the UNHCR Statute. The remaining one third have been granted either a complementary form of protection (humanitarian status, subsidiary protection etc) or their status is unknown to UNHCR. 28. The majority of the world s refugees (64%) have been granted refugee status on a group or prima facie basis, whereas about one quarter (24%) has been granted refugee status following individual 13 Resettlement statistics for the United States might also include family members for the purpose of family reunification. Page 6

7 2005 Global Refugee Trends UNHCR Geneva, 9 June 2006 determination. A large majority of refugees having been accorded prima facie refugee status reside in Africa (80%), CASWANAME (86%), and Asia and Pacific (85%), which is in sharp contrast to Europe (26%) and the Americas (0.4%), where most refugees have been granted refugee status following individual determination. These regional differences in recognition can in part be explained by the existing legal framework as well as by the level of economic development (individual refugee status determination is resource intensive). Sex and age 29. Demographic information on UNHCR s population of concern is not available for all countries. In fact, at the end of 2005, data by sex was available for Demographic characteristics available on roughly half of the population (10.9 million out of UNHCR's Total population of concern 20.8 million) while information on the age breakdown (M ln.) 25 for about one quarter (5.6 million persons). The availability of information is particularly limited for 20 industrialized countries in Europe, North America and 15 Oceania and tends to be high in countries where 10 UNHCR has an operational role The breakdown by sex available for the million persons of concern to UNHCR indicates that roughly half of them are female (49%). The Pop. of concern Sex available Age available proportion of female refugees varies greatly, depending on the nature of the refugee situation, the region of asylum, age, etc. For instance, in countries with mass refugee situations, the proportion of female refugees tends to be around 50 per cent. The percentage of females among asylum-seekers, however, is significantly lower both in developing as well as developed countries. Moreover, women are over-represented in the older age category (60 and over). 31. Information on the age breakdown of UNHCR s population of concern is available for some 5.6 million persons. The data indicates that some 44 per cent are children under the age of 18, whereas 12 per cent are under the age of five. Half of them (50%) are aged between 18 and 59, whereas six per cent are 60 years old or more. As highlighted above, considering that most demographic data are available on refugees, asylum-seekers and others of concern living in developing countries, these figures are not fully representative for the entire population under the Office s mandate. 32. In Africa and in the CASWANAME region, half or more than half of the refugees are under the age of 18. The proportion of refugee children is significantly lower in Asia and the Pacific (35%), Europe (23%) and the Americas (24%). Asylum-seekers 33. During 2005, a total number of 668,000 first instance or appeal applications for asylum or refugee status were submitted to Governments or UNHCR offices in 149 countries. The number of applications during 2005 decreased by two per cent compared to 2004 where 680,000 applications were lodged globally. Most claims were registered in Europe (374,000), followed by countries covered by the Africa Bureau (125,000), Asia and the Pacific (75,000), the Americas (72,000), and CASWANAME (22,000) For a detailed analysis of asylum trends in industrialized countries, see Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries, 2005 (UNHCR Geneva, March 2006, available at: Page 7

8 2005 Global Refugee Trends UNHCR Geneva, 9 June Countries receiving the largest number of new asylum claims during 2005 were France (49,700), the United States (48,900) 15, Thailand (47,300) 16, Kenya (39,000), the United Kingdom (30,500) and Germany (28,900). 35. The highest numbers of new and appeal asylum claims were filed by nationals from Myanmar (55,800), Somalia (36,200), Serbia and Montenegro (30,300), the Russian Federation (27,900), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (25,400) and China (23,100). The number of asylum-seekers from Myanmar, however, was concentrated in two Applications submitted Main origin of asylum-seekers, (New and appeal/review applications) 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20, countries only: in Thailand where a regularization of camp residents conducted by the Government s Provincial Admission Board took place (46,200) and in Malaysia (7,700). Almost two thirds (22,400 or 62%) of all applications submitted by Somali nationals during 2005 were lodged in Kenya where refugee status determination is conducted by UNHCR. 10, In Europe, 51,400 asylum-seekers were granted individual refugee status under the M YA SOM SCG RUS DRC CHI IRQ TUR TOG SUD 1951 Convention in 2005 and another 37,800 a complementary form of protection (humanitarian status, subsidiary protection etc). Both figures were slightly above the 2004 level where the corresponding figures amounted to 48,800 and 34,300 respectively. Africa was the second largest region in terms of the number of asylum-seekers being recognized in 2005 (48,400), followed by the Americas (35,500), Asia and the Pacific (30,200), and CASWANAME (3,500). 37. The number of asylum claims which have not yet been adjudicated ( pending cases ), both at the first instance and on appeal, has decreased gradually over the past few years, reaching an estimated 773,500 by the end of 2005, the lowest level in at least a decade. In fact, the number of asylum-seekers waiting for a decision globally has gone down by 29 per cent since A fall in the backlog of asylum cases might indicate that asylum procedures have become more efficient. In addition, a drop in the backlog can also coincide with a decrease in the number of new asylum applications submitted, a situation currently experienced by many industrialized countries in Europe and North America. 38. At the end of 2005, the largest number of undecided cases at the first instance and on appeal was reported by the United States (169,700), South Africa (140,100), Germany (71,600), Austria (40,700), Thailand (32,200) and Canada (20,600). Many countries were able to reduce the number of undecided cases during 2005, including the United States (-93,000), Germany (-29,200), the Netherlands (-13,800) and Sweden (-12,300). The strong reduction of backlog cases in the United States refers by large to asylum-seekers from El Salvador (-44,400) and Guatemala (-25,600) whose applications were closed for administrative reasons during Increases in the backlog on the other hand were reported by South Africa (+24,900), Thailand (+31,100), Burundi (+9,200) and Jordan (+5,500). Internally Displaced Persons 39. At the end of 2005, UNHCR country offices reported 6.6 million internally displaced persons in 16 countries compared to 5.4 million IDPs in 13 countries one year earlier (+22%). This increase primarily reflects the newly reported IDP situations in Iraq (1.2 million) and Somalia (400,000). 15 USA: Sources: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), number of cases (24,200) multiplied by 1.4 to reflect number of persons (=33,900); and Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), number of persons (15,000). 16 The high number of asylum claims in Thailand reflects primarily the regularization of nationals from Myanmar residing in camps in Thailand. Page 8

9 40. Many countries reported a decrease in the number of IDPs indicating that durable solutions were found for those populations, including Liberia (-261,000 IDPs), the Russian Federation (-164,000), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (-126,500). No significant change, however, was recorded in Colombia 17 (over 2 million IDPs) and Azerbaijan (578,500). Considering the deteriorating situation in Sudan and the absence of a solution in sight, the number of internally displaced persons in the country reported by UNHCR has increased from 662,000 to 842,000 during With UNHCR s role expanding in protecting and 2005 Global Refugee Trends UNHCR Geneva, 9 June 2006 assisting IDPs, it is expected that the global number of internally displaced persons reported by UNHCR offices will increase substantially in the future. As such, the available data supports this trend and confirms that the share of IDPs among the total population of concern has reached its highest level in at least a decade. Stateless Persons IDPs protected or assisted by UNHCR, In addition to refugees, UNHCR has been tasked by the United Nations General Assembly through various resolutions to contribute to the prevention and reduction of statelessness and further protect stateless persons. In particular, UNHCR has been asked by the United Nations General Assembly to regularly inform the international community on the magnitude of the problem of statelessness In March 2004, UNHCR published an analysis of the replies made by 74 States to a questionnaire 19 on the steps taken by States to reduce statelessness and to meet the protection needs of stateless persons. One finding of the survey is that many States referred to the difficulty of identifying stateless persons. 43. Giving due importance to the identification and reduction of statelessness, UNHCR has expanded its data collection mechanism in 2004 aiming at the more systematic identification of stateless persons and in 2005 published its first results. As such, UNHCR was able to identify 30 countries hosting stateless populations and covering an estimated 1.5 million persons at 31 December Although UNHCR is currently not in a position to provide reliable statistics on the global number of stateless persons, which is estimated to be at least 11 million persons, it has included countries with reliable official statistics, countries where estimates of stateless populations exist, as well as some countries where UNHCR is aware of significant stateless populations but where no reliable figures could be identified (see Table 15). By the end of 2005, UNHCR is reporting on the existence of stateless populations in 62 countries. For the 47 countries where data is available at the end of the year, the total number was estimated to be 2.4 million. As UNHCR is further expanding its data collection mechanism relating to stateless populations, it is expected that data coverage will gradually increase over time. The level of rights granted to the listed stateless populations varies considerably from one State to another, with some States granting almost identical rights to those of their own citizens, others granting the legal status provided by the 1954 Convention on the status of stateless persons, and yet other situations where stateless persons do not have access to basic rights. IDPs (mln.) IDPs (mln.) 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% % of IDPs in pop. of concern Proportion of IDPs 17 The Government estimates that there are between 2.5 and 3.0 million IDPs in the country, out of which 1.8 million are registered. According to NGOs, the figure might be up to 3.3 million IDPs. 18 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 50/152 of 9 February 1996 (A/RES/50/152). 19 Final Report concerning the Questionnaire on Statelessness pursuant to the Agenda for Protection (addressed to 191 States), March Page 9

10 2005 Global Refugee Trends UNHCR Geneva, 9 June 2006 Others of concern 45. The total number of Others of concern to UNHCR, that is, populations not falling within the mandate of UNHCR but to whom the Office extends protection and/or assistance, increased from 606,100 at the beginning of the year to 960,400 at the end of the year (+58%). This increase primarily reflects the newly included persons of concern from Colombia in Ecuador (250,000) and Venezuela (an increased estimate from 26,400 to 200,000). These persons have not formally applied for asylum for various reasons, including security concerns, despite being in need of international protection. As indicated above, stateless persons are no longer included in the category Others of concern. Therefore, the statistics reported on 2004 cannot be directly compared to the 2005 data. Page 10

11 Table 1. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees (refugees and IDPs), stateless persons, and others of concern to UNHCR by country/region of asylum, end-2005 Region/Country 1 Refugees 2 refugees 4 IDPs 5 seekers 3 IDPs 6 persons 7 Various 8 Total Asylum- Returned Returned Stateless Burundi 20,681 19,900 68,248 11, ,329 Central African Rep. 24,569 1, ,603 Chad 275, , ,927 Congo 66,075 3, ,907 Congo 204, , ,529 Equatorial Guinea Gabon 8,545 4, ,388 Rwanda 45,206 4,301 9, ,361 Sao Tome and Principe United Rep. of Tanzania 548, ,131 CA-GL Total 1,193,653 35, ,019 11, ,359,175 Djibouti 10, ,475 Eritrea 4,418 1, ,041 Ethiopia 100, ,173 Kenya 251,271 16, ,731 Somalia , , ,543 Sudan 147,256 4,425 18, , ,110 1,048,262 Uganda 257,256 1, ,089 EHA Total 771,967 24,611 30,649 1,241, ,141 2,105,314 Angola 13, , ,640 Botswana 3, ,156 Comoros Lesotho Madagascar Malawi 4,240 5, ,571 Mauritius Mozambique 1,954 4, ,969 Namibia 5,307 1, ,433 South Africa 29, , ,809 Swaziland ,016 Zambia 155, ,864 Zimbabwe 13, ,968 SAO Total 228, ,966 53, ,427 Benin 30,294 1, ,989 Burkina Faso ,295 Cameroon 52,042 6, ,808 Côte d'ivoire 41,627 2, , ,111 Gambia 7, ,932 Ghana 53,537 5, ,034 Guinea 63,525 3, ,336 Guinea-Bissau 7, ,782 Liberia 10, , , , ,085 Mali 11,233 1, ,066 Niger Nigeria 9, , ,000 19,840 Senegal 20,712 2, ,341 Sierra Leone 59, ,352 Togo 9, ,000 6, ,710 WA Total 377,167 27,316 77, , ,744-3,034 1,031,030 Africa Bureau 2,571, , ,400 1,532, ,744-39,175 4,929,946 Afghanistan , ,505 17, ,679 Algeria 9 94, ,408 Bahrain

12 Table 1. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees (refugees and IDPs), stateless persons, and others of concern to UNHCR by country/region of asylum, end-2005 Region/Country 1 Refugees 2 refugees 4 IDPs 5 seekers 3 IDPs 6 persons 7 Various 8 Total Asylum- Returned Returned Stateless Egypt 88,946 11, ,047 Iraq 50,177 1,948 56,155 1,200, , ,000-1,634,280 Islamic Rep. of Iran 716, ,611 Israel ,548 Jordan , ,544 Kazakhstan 7, ,576-57,906 Kuwait 1, ,000 21, ,726 Kyrgyzstan 2, , ,096 Lebanon 1,078 1, ,547 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 10 12, ,366 Mauritania ,500 30,224 Morocco 219 1, ,066 Occupied Palestinian Territory Oman Pakistan 11 1,084,694 3, ,088,121 Qatar Saudi Arabia 240, , ,913 Syrian Arab Rep. 26,089 1, , ,006 Tajikistan 1, ,080 Tunisia Turkmenistan 11, ,965 United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan 43, ,537 Yemen 81, ,741 CASWANAME Total 2,467,310 42, ,377 1,342, , ,685 50,519 5,654,810 Argentina 3, ,899 Belize Bolivia Brazil 3, ,000 7,744 Canada 147,171 20, ,723 Chile Colombia ,000, ,000,210 Costa Rica 10 11, ,476 Cuba Ecuador 10,063 2, , ,552 El Salvador Guatemala Haiti Honduras Mexico 3, ,390 Nicaragua Panama 1, ,265 12,434 Paraguay Peru ,187 Suriname United States , , ,083 Uruguay Venezuela 408 5, , ,320 RBAC Total 564, , ,000, ,265 3,229,822 Australia 64,964 1, ,786 Bangladesh 21, , ,156 Cambodia

13 Table 1. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees (refugees and IDPs), stateless persons, and others of concern to UNHCR by country/region of asylum, end-2005 Region/Country 1 Refugees 2 refugees 4 IDPs 5 seekers 3 IDPs 6 persons 7 Various 8 Total Asylum- Returned Returned Stateless China 301, ,125 Hong Kong SAR, China 1,934 1, ,031 India 139, ,586 Indonesia Japan 1, ,474 Lao People's Dem. Rep Malaysia 33,693 10, , ,083 Mongolia Myanmar , ,587 Nepal 126,436 1, ,000 10, ,636 New Zealand 5, ,703 Papua New Guinea 9, ,003 Philippines Rep. of Korea Singapore Sri Lanka , ,699 27, ,811 Thailand 117,053 32, ,351 Timor-Leste Viet Nam 2, ,000-17,536 RBAP Total 825,599 49,391 3, ,699 27, ,076 73,658 2,205,714 Albania Armenia 219, ,620 Austria 21,230 40, ,440 Azerbaijan 3, ,545-2, ,292 Belarus ,983 2,414 13,178 Belgium 15,282 18, ,432 Bosnia and Herzegovina 10, , ,747 5, ,967 Bulgaria 4, ,218 Croatia 2, ,261 4,804 2, ,756 Cyprus , ,769 Czech Rep. 1, ,726 Denmark 44, ,329 Estonia , ,015 Finland 11, ,535 France 137,316 11, ,851 Georgia 2, , , ,482 Germany ,016 71, , ,116 Greece 2,390 8, ,000 14,257 Hungary 8, ,779 Iceland Ireland 7,113 2, ,527 Italy 20, ,561 Latvia , ,658 Liechtenstein Lithuania ,708-9,294 Luxembourg 1, ,822 Malta 1, ,088 Netherlands 118,189 14, , ,353 Norway 43, ,975 Poland 4,604 1, ,305 Portugal Rep. of Moldova ,530-1,762 Romania 2, ,720

14 Table 1. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees (refugees and IDPs), stateless persons, and others of concern to UNHCR by country/region of asylum, end-2005 Region/Country 1 Refugees 2 refugees 4 IDPs 5 seekers 3 IDPs 6 persons 7 Various 8 Total Asylum- Returned Returned Stateless Russian Federation 1, ,544 1,677 71, , ,029 Serbia and Montenegro 148, , ,391 2,482-85, ,998 Slovakia 368 2, ,075 Slovenia Spain 5, ,392 Sweden 74,915 15, ,299-95,916 Switzerland 48,030 14, ,486 TfYR Macedonia 1, , ,320 Turkey 2,399 4, ,400 8,692 Ukraine 2,346 1, ,077 2,809 76,851 United Kingdom 293,459 13, ,064 RBE Total 1,965, ,697 12,588 1,417,280 12, , ,749 4,731,570 Various Total Grand Total 8,394, ,492 1,105,544 6,616, ,430 2,381, ,366 20,751,882 Notes The data are generally provided by Governments, based on their own definitions and methods of data collection. A dash (-) indicates that the value is zero, not available or not applicable. 1 UNHCR region and country or territory of asylum or residence. In the absence of Government figures, UNHCR has estimated the refugee population in many industrialized countries, based on recent refugee arrivals and recognition of asylum-seekers. For Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, estimates are based on arrivals/recognition during the past five years, whereas for most European countries a 10-year period has been applied. These periods reflect the different naturalization rates for refugees. 2 Persons recognized as refugees under the 1951 UN Convention/1967 Protocol, the 1969 OAU Convention, in accordance with the UNHCR Statute, persons granted a complementary form of protection and those granted temporary protection. 3 Persons whose application for asylum or refugee status is pending at any stage in the procedure. 4 Refugees who have returned to their place of origin during the calendar year. Source: Country of origin and country of asylum. 5 Persons who are displaced within their country and to whom UNHCR extends protection and/or assistance. 6 IDPs of concern to UNHCR who have returned to their place of origin during the calendar year. 7 Persons who are not considered nationals by any country under the operation of its laws. See Table 15 for further details. 8 Persons of concern to UNHCR not included in the previous columns. See Table 16 for further details. 9 According to the Government of Algeria, there are an estimated 165,000 Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf camps data for Costa Rica (asylum-seekers) and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (refugees and asylum-seekers). 11 UNHCR figures for Pakistan only include Afghans living in camps who are assisted by UNHCR. According to a 2005 government census of Afghans in Pakistan and subsequent voluntary repatriation during the year, there are an additional 1.5 million Afghans living outside camps, some of whom may be refugees. Those Afghans living outside camps receive no UNHCR assistance except access to UNHCR-facilitated voluntary repatriation. 12 UNHCR s method of estimating the refugee population in the United States is currently under review due to newly available information. As a result, the estimated refugee population in the country might increase significantly as of With the introduction of the new Immigration Act in 2005, the Central Aliens Register now encompasses new residence categories and simultaneously refines previous ones, allowing for a better differentiation of refugee statistics. The refugee data included in this table refers to 15 December 2005.

15 Table 2. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees (refugees and IDPs), stateless persons, and others of concern to UNHCR by origin, end-2005 Origin Refugees 1 refugees 3 IDPs 4 seekers 2 IDPs 5 persons 6 Various 7 Total Asylum- Returned Returned Stateless Burundi 438,663 8,268 68,248 11, ,679 Central African Rep. 42,890 1, ,807 Chad 48,400 3,113 1, ,000 55,960 Congo 24,413 8, ,933 Congo 430,625 55,962 39, ,637 Equatorial Guinea Gabon Rwanda 100,244 15,880 9, ,978 Sao Tome and Principe United Rep. of Tanzania 1,544 5, ,794 CA-GL Total 1,087,361 98, ,019 11, ,000 1,319,486 Djibouti Eritrea 143,594 4, , ,741 Ethiopia 65,293 16, ,680 Kenya 4,620 11, ,064 Somalia 394,760 30,467 11, , , ,203 Sudan 693,267 13,476 18, , ,567,214 Uganda 34,170 4, ,507 EHA Total 1,336,207 80,187 30,649 1,241, ,141 2,727,130 Angola 215,777 8,352 53, ,900 Botswana Comoros Lesotho Madagascar Malawi 101 3, ,950 Mauritius Mozambique Namibia 1, ,320 Seychelles South Africa Swaziland Zambia Zimbabwe 10,793 17, ,119 SAO Total 228,774 31,171 53, ,769 Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon 9,016 4, ,876 Cape Verde Côte d'ivoire 18,303 6, , ,700 Gambia 1, ,340 Ghana 18,432 2, ,784 Guinea 5,820 3, ,100 Guinea-Bissau 1, ,300 Liberia 231,114 6,000 70, , , ,968 Mali ,500 4,373 Niger ,246 Nigeria 22,098 14,039 7, ,538 Senegal 8,671 1, ,521 Sierra Leone 40,447 5, ,607 Togo 51,107 7, ,000 6, ,589 WA Total 409,934 54,515 77, , ,744-3,500 1,091,462

16 Table 2. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees (refugees and IDPs), stateless persons, and others of concern to UNHCR by origin, end-2005 Origin Refugees 1 refugees 3 IDPs 4 seekers 2 IDPs 5 persons 6 Various 7 Total Asylum- Returned Returned Stateless Africa Bureau 3,062, , ,400 1,532, ,744-44,641 5,451,847 Afghanistan 8 1,908,052 14, , ,505 17, ,356 2,934,076 Algeria 12,006 1, ,398 Bahrain Egypt 6,291 2, ,620 Iraq 262,142 34,441 56,155 1,200, ,000-16,273 1,765,011 Islamic Rep. of Iran 98,722 12, ,684 Israel ,258 Jordan 1, ,459 Kazakhstan 4, ,924 Kuwait Kyrgyzstan 3, ,493 Lebanon 18,323 2, ,337 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 1, ,304 Mauritania 31,651 2, ,955 Morocco 2, ,383 Occupied Palestinian Territory 9 349,673 1, , ,742 Oman Pakistan 29,698 16, ,157 Qatar Saudi Arabia Syrian Arab Rep. 16,281 7, ,304 Tajikistan 54, ,942 Tunisia 3, ,494 Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan 8,323 1, ,798 Western Sahara 10 90, , ,676 Yemen 1, ,750 CASWANAME Total 2,906, , ,377 1,342, , ,640 5,519,589 Antigua and Barbuda Argentina ,148 Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda Bolivia Brazil Canada Cayman Islands Chile ,030 Colombia 60,415 19, ,000, ,900 2,540,074 Costa Rica Cuba 19,000 1, ,684 Dominica Dominican Rep Ecuador ,057 El Salvador 4,281 45, ,486 Grenada Guatemala 3,379 31, ,229

17 Table 2. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees (refugees and IDPs), stateless persons, and others of concern to UNHCR by origin, end-2005 Origin Refugees 1 refugees 3 IDPs 4 seekers 2 IDPs 5 persons 6 Various 7 Total Asylum- Returned Returned Stateless Guyana Haiti 13,542 13, ,061 Honduras 535 1, ,762 Jamaica Mexico 2,313 12, ,927 Nicaragua 1,463 4, ,933 Panama Paraguay Peru 4,865 1, ,517 Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands United States Uruguay Venezuela 2,590 2, ,422 RBAC Total 118, , ,000, ,900 2,717,092 Australia Bangladesh 7,294 10, ,461 Bhutan 106,537 1, , ,647 Brunei Darussalam Cambodia 17, ,670 China 124,021 19, ,415 Dem. People's Rep. of Korea Fiji 1, ,752 French Polynesia Hong Kong SAR, China India 16,275 12, ,470 Indonesia 34,384 4, ,241 Japan Kiribati Lao People's Dem. Rep. 24, ,801 Macao SAR, China Malaysia Maldives Micronesia (Federated States of) Mongolia ,296 Myanmar 164,864 41, ,102 Nauru Nepal 2,065 2, ,490 New Caledonia New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Philippines ,315 62,647 Rep. of Korea

18 Table 2. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees (refugees and IDPs), stateless persons, and others of concern to UNHCR by origin, end-2005 Origin Refugees 1 refugees 3 IDPs 4 seekers 2 IDPs 5 persons 6 Various 7 Total Asylum- Returned Returned Stateless Samoa Singapore Solomon Islands Sri Lanka 108,059 4,238 2, ,699 27, ,881 Thailand Tibetans 20, ,135 Timor-Leste Tonga Viet Nam 358,248 1, ,919 RBAP Total 988, ,940 3, ,699 27,185-73,333 1,517,838 Albania 12,702 2, ,281 Andorra Armenia 13,965 4, ,317 Austria Azerbaijan 233,675 4, , ,346 Belarus 8,857 1, ,288 Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina 109,930 1,815 1, ,747 5, ,929 Bulgaria 4,254 1, ,471 Croatia 119, ,261 4,804 2, ,163 Cyprus Czech Rep. 3, ,792 Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia 7,301 3, , , ,809 Germany Greece Hungary 3, ,776 Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia 2, ,553 Lithuania 1, ,636 Luxembourg Malta Monaco Netherlands Norway Poland 19, ,253 Portugal Rep. of Moldova 12, ,639 Romania 11,492 1, ,621 Russian Federation 102,965 14, ,544 1, , ,942 San Marino Serbia and Montenegro 189,850 18,132 5, ,391 2,482-85, ,683 Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden

19 Table 2. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees (refugees and IDPs), stateless persons, and others of concern to UNHCR by origin, end-2005 Origin Refugees 1 refugees 3 IDPs 4 seekers 2 IDPs 5 persons 6 Various 7 Total Asylum- Returned Returned Stateless Switzerland TfYR Macedonia 8, ,305 Turkey 170,131 11, ,468 Ukraine 84,213 2, ,884 United Kingdom RBE Total 1,123,123 69,848 12,588 1,417,280 12, ,087 2,856,383 Stateless Total 12,211 1, ,381,886-2,396,046 Various Total 183,003 97, , ,087 Grand Total 8,394, ,492 1,105,544 6,616, ,430 2,381, ,366 20,751,882 Notes The data are generally provided by Governments, based on their own definitions and methods of data collection. A dash (-) indicates that the value is zero, not available or not applicable. 1 Persons recognized as refugees under the 1951 UN Convention/1967 Protocol, the 1969 OAU Convention, in accordance with the UNHCR Statute, persons grante a complementary form of protection and those granted temporary protection. 2 Persons whose application for asylum or refugee status is pending at any stage in the procedure. 3 Refugees who have returned to their place of origin during the calendar year. Source: Country of origin and country of asylum. 4 Persons who are displaced within their country and to whom UNHCR extends protection and/or assistance. 5 IDPs of concern to UNHCR who have returned to their place of origin during the calendar year. 6 Persons who are not considered nationals by any country under the operation of its laws. See Table 15 for further details. 7 Persons of concern to UNHCR not included in the previous columns. See Table 16 for further details. 8 UNHCR figures for Pakistan only include Afghans living in camps who are assisted by UNHCR. According to a 2005 government census of Afghans in Pakistan and subsequent voluntary repatriation during the year, there are an additional 1.5 million Afghans living outside camps, some of whom may be refugees. Those Afghans living outside camps receive no UNHCR assistance except access to UNHCR-facilitated voluntary repatriation. 9 This figure only refers to Palestinians under the UNHCR mandate. 10 According to the Government of Algeria, there are an estimated 165,000 Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf camps.