Global Trends Report 2021

Global forced displacement is at an all-time high, increasing every year over the past decade. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and other emergencies, from Africa to Afghanistan and beyond, pushed the figure over the dramatic milestone of 100 million. Despite these alarming trends, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, continues to support people forced to flee from war, violence and persecution at their greatest moment of need. Check out some key takeaways from UNHCR's 2021 Global Trends Report. 

1) A record number of people were forcibly displaced by the end of 2021

A record 89.3 million people were forcibly displaced by the end of 2021, but this figure quickly rose to unprecedented levels with the invasion of Ukraine in the early months of 2022. The war has forcibly displaced millions of people and pushed global displacement to the staggering milestone of 100 million.

2) More than two-thirds of all refugees originate from just five countries

By the end of 2021, more than two-thirds of all refugees and Venezuelans displaced across borders came from just five countries: Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar. 

3) Türkiye hosted the largest population of refugees worldwide

Since 2014, Türkiye has hosted the largest population of refugees in the world. By the end of 2021, the country remained the largest refugee-hosting country with more than 3.8 million refugees, or 15 percent of all people displaced across borders. An estimated 83 percent of refugees are hosted by low- and middle-income countries.

4) In 2021, 41% of all forcibly displaced were children

Children are overrepresented in the global refugee crisis, accounting for 41 percent of all forcibly displaced people but only making up 30 percent of the world’s population. According to UNICEF, displacement of children has reached record levels with 36.5 million children displaced from their homes in the past year—the highest number recorded since WWII.

5) The United States was the world’s largest recipient of new individual asylum applications

The United States was the world’s largest recipient of new individual claims with 188,900 applications in 2021. More than half of all new applications to the U.S. were lodged by nationals from just five countries in the Americas: Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Cuba. 

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