Emergencies

SYRIA REFUGEE CRISIS

15.3 million

15.3 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, accounting for 70 percent of people living inside Syria.

90%

Over 90 percent of the population in Syria lives below the poverty line.

2 million

More than 2 million Syrian refugee children are out of school and an additional 1.6 million are at risk of dropping out.

About the Crisis in Syria

As the Syria crisis enters its twelfth year, the humanitarian situation is more difficult than ever. An estimated 15.3 million people need humanitarian assistance and more than half of the population remains displaced from their homes - including 5.3 million refugees living in neighboring countries and more than 6.8 million internally displaced inside Syria. Women and children comprise more than two thirds of those displaced.

Over the years, Syrians have shown remarkable resilience, but as war continues, hope is fading fast. Over 90 percent of Syrians live under the poverty line and it's estimated that 12 million people are food insecure and 2.5 million are severely food insecure as of Jan 2023. In Lebanon, economic challenges in the country have pushed Syrians further into poverty with over 90 percent of Syrian refugees living in extreme poverty.

On February 6, 2023, two powerful earthquakes struck south-eastern Türkiye and northern Syria, claiming thousands of lives and causing untold destruction to homes and infrastructure across the region. This is a crisis on top of existing crises already impacting internally displaced Syrians and Syrian refugees.

With no end in sight to the conflict, UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi calls it "the biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time and a continuing cause for suffering."

VIDEO

Albeit a silent one, Syria remains the world’s largest refugee crisis of our time.

What is UNHCR doing to help Syrian refugees?

The UN Refugee Agency has been on the ground since the start of the crisis providing shelter, lifesaving supplies, clean water, hot meals and medical care to families who have been forced to flee their homes. During winter, UNHCR also supports vulnerable families with vital winter relief items - such as warm clothes, sleeping bags, thermal blankets, stoves, fuel for heating and insulation for tents - as well as cash assistance to help Syrian refugees pay rent and purchase food and medicine.

As part of the COVID-19 response, UNHCR has provided protective equipment to hospitals and health clinics, distributed medicines and supported the construction of quarantine areas and hygiene facilities. UNHCR has also distributed cash assistance to nearly 800,000 additional Syrian refugees and is working closely with host countries to ensure that refugees, internally displaced and stateless people are included in national responses to the pandemic as well as COVID-19 vaccination programs. In Jordan, for example, the government has included refugees in every aspect of their public health response and some refugees have already started to receive the vaccine.

UNHCR and humanitarian partners are responding to the Türkiye-Syria Earthquakes by stepping up their assistance in the two countries, something that requires greater and urgent international support. Since the earthquake, UNHCR alone has delivered tens of thousands of tents, beds, mattresses, thermal blankets and other desperately needed support.

Syrian Refugee Camps and Settlements

Syrian refugee mother and her son inside their shelter in Tripoli, Lebanon.

More Facts About the Syrian Refugee Crisis

Syrian refugees have sought asylum in more than 130 countries, but the vast majority live in neighboring countries within the region, such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.
Turkey alone hosts the largest population (over 3.6 million) and Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees per capita in the world – 1.5 million Syrians.
Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan is home to more than 82,000 refugees. More than half of refugees in the camp are children and 23.4 percent are women.
As of 2022, roughly 5.7 million Syrian refugees live in camps, settlements and host communities. The majority of Syrians in the region live with host communities.

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Emergencies

About the Crisis in Syria

How to Help Syrian Refugees

What is UNHCR doing to help Syrian refugees?

Syrian Refugee Camps and Settlements

Make a Monthly Gift

Help Refugee Families

Stories from the Syria Refugee Crisis

Ukraine

Central America

Europe

Iraq

South Sudan

Yemen