Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
As of last year, more people have been forced by violence and conflict to flee their homes than live in the U.K. or France.
Why it matters: That's upwards of 60 million people — a global nation of refugees. If all of these asylum-seekers, internally displaced people and refugees were a country, they'd be the 21st most populous nation in the world, according to UNHCR estimates. More than half of refugees are under the age of 18.
The crisis is the worst its been since World War II, and it's not getting better:
- This population will continue to grow as violent conflicts drag on and climate change wreaks havoc.
- Host countries and refugee camps will increasingly become permanent homes to tens of millions of refugees while many wealthy nations turn their backs.
The top five places people are running from are:
- Syria: Where millions of people have been forced from their homes amidst internal conflict and terrorism by the Islamic State, or ISIS.
- Afghanistan: Ongoing violence has created one of the largest, longest-lasting refugee crises.
- South Sudan: Millions of South Sudanese have fled to Uganda and other surrounding nations as a civil war rages.
- Myanmar: The Rohingya minority has faced deadly, violent persecution and many have fled.
- Somalia: A combination of natural disasters and 25 years of conflict have produced hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees.
What's next:
- Climate change is expected to create even more internally displaced people as natural disasters become more frequent and intense.
- An anti-immigrant strain of populism has made it more difficult for international organizations and humanitarian groups to resettle and care for refugees, particularly in Europe and the U.S.
- "That is the shift in the narrative," said Eskinder Negash, president and CEO of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and former director of HHS's Office of Refugee Resettlement under Obama, told Axios.
The future: This crisis of displacement will have an impact on generations.
- Many who have been displaced internally will continue to suffer from poverty and persecution inflicted by governments, extremists or natural disasters.
- Many young refugees face a future of limited education and job opportunities, and some will grow up with mental trauma and little memory of their home countries.
Be smart: The word "refugee" is often used to describe many different types of displaced people, but it's important to understand the different terms and how they should be used.
- Refugees have fled and found protection outside of their home nation. A multilateral UN treaty known as the 1951 Refugee Convention has established refugee rights including work, access to the courts, primary education and documentation.
- Asylum-seekers have also fled to a new country, but their application for sanctuary there is still pending. They are not yet legally recognized as a refugee.
- Internally displaced people have been forced to leave their homes or areas of the country, but have not crossed international borders. They are vulnerable: They are subject to the laws of their national government, even if those laws are oppressive.
- Migrant is a general term that typically applies to anyone now residing in a nation that is not their own— regardless of legality, permanence or reason.
Go deeper:
- 1 human being: A 20-year journey from Bhutan to Oregon
- How climate change is already deepening the refugee crisis
- Developing nations — not the U.S.— are carrying the refugee load
- How the Western world has closed the door on refugees and migrants
- The dangerous journey to asylum
- Growing up, and parenting, as a refugee
- Expert Voices: A closer look at Colombia’s Venezuelan migrant crisis
- Wasted talent: Work and hope for refugees