The Number of Refugees and Displaced Persons Worldwide Exceeds 65 Million

The United Nations Refugee Agency reports that the number of refugees and displaced persons worldwide has reached an unprecedented figure of 65.3 million over the past year, many of whom have fled war-torn areas. This information was included in a recent report titled 'Global Trends,' published on Monday, June 21, in observance of World Refugee Day. According to Reuters, the UN Refugee Agency states that the new statistics indicate a 50 percent increase in the number of refugees and displaced persons over the past five years. The agency also notes that the number of refugees and displaced persons in 2014 was 59.5 million. The announcement of the new figures means that currently, one in every 113 people in the world is among refugees, displaced persons, or war victims either internally or externally displaced from their home countries. The report continues to state that the wars in Syria, Afghanistan, Burundi, and South Sudan have contributed to a total of 21.3 million refugees, half of whom are children. Concurrently with the release of this report, Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, stated at a press conference that 'the crossing of refugees and migrants across the Mediterranean Sea to reach the shores of Europe carries the message that if you do not solve the problems, the problems will find their way to you.' He further added, 'It is painful that people in wealthy countries have realized so late that they must end conflicts through political action, and that this method is the best way to prevent a flood of refugees.' The report also notes that industrialized countries saw two million new asylum applications in 2015, nearly 100,000 of which were related to unaccompanied and alone children. The highest number of asylum applications in 2015 was from Germany, which faced about 442,000 new applications, one-third of which were from Syrian citizens. In 2015, the United States ranked second with over 172,000 asylum applications. The asylum seekers entering the U.S. are primarily from Mexico and Central America, fleeing violence related to competition among criminal groups and drug trafficking. Nevertheless, developing countries still host 86 percent of the world's refugees, with Turkey leading the way by accepting two and a half million Syrian refugees, followed by Pakistan and Lebanon.