ICMCEUROPE WelcometoEurope.pdf (5.89 MB)

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CHAPTER II CHAPTER I
Pakistani refugees in Bangkok, Thailand /Andrew McConnell/Panos Pictures/The IRC
1.3. International protection –
needs and numbers
By the end of 2012, there were 35.8
million 9 ‘persons of concern’ 10 to
UNHCR. Of this number, 10.5 million
were refugees, 11 the majority of
whom were in Africa and Asia. 12
Approximately 80% of the world’s refugees
are hosted by developing countries.
Pakistan hosts the largest number
of refugees in the world (1.64 million),
followed by Iran (868,200). 13 In Europe,
the refugee population increased by
more than 16% to 1.8 million, largely as
a result of the arrival of 308,000 Syrian
refugees into Turkey. 14 Most refugees
9 UNHCR, Global Trends 2012
10 See footnote 6
11 This figure does not include the 4.9 million
Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)
12 UNHCR, Global Trends 2012
13 By the end of 2012. UNHCR, Global Trends 2012
14 Some 68,600 returned spontaneously to Syria over
the course of the year.
in Europe live in Germany (589,737)
and Turkey (267,063). 15
Although refugees are generally portrayed
as living in camps, the reality
is that two-thirds of the world’s 10.5
million refugees now reside in urban
settings in cities and towns. 16 Although
urban environments may provide
greater opportunities for self-reliance,
urban refugees are often exposed to
additional protection risks such as
arbitrary arrest, detention and deportation.
The dispersal of urban refugees
throughout cities also limits outreach
and registration activities by UNHCR
and its partners, meaning that urban
refugees can be a relatively ‘invisible’
group, lacking documentation and
with limited access to assistance.
Many urban refugees are subsequently
forced into illegal employment or other
15 By the end of 2012. UNHCR, Global Trends 2012
16 UNHCR, Urban Refugees - Trying to get by in the
City, 2013
CHAPTER VI CHAPTER V
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER VII