THE TO HAVE GRANTED Number of people who have been

granted refugee status,

TOP 20 PROTECTION
complementary forms of protection
and temporary protection during
the year. It also includes refugees
TO REFUGEES IN arriving through resettlement

COUNTRIES
programmes. Country ranking based

THE 21 ST CENTURY on cumulative number of grants and

arrivals between 2000 and 2014.

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 TOTAL 2000-2014

TURKEY

LEBANON

USA

*JORDAN

ETHIOPIA

KENYA

UGANDA

CHAD

SUDAN

CANADA

ISLAMIC REP.
OF IRAN

AFGHANISTAN

IRAQ

UNITED
KINGDOM

SYRIAN
ARAB REP.

PAKISTAN

CAMEROON

YEMEN

LIBERIA

RUSSIAN FED.

OTHER

TOTAL 1,204,000 829,000 571,000 543,000 504,000 426,000 387,000 539,000 634,000 754,000 555,000 1,099,000 1,457,000 2,916,000 3,380,000

*The total number of Iraqi

refugees who arrived in 100,000 1,000,000
Jordan is unknown. This 1,000 10,000
graph is limited to Iraqis who
were registered by UNHCR. = 50,000 persons
Number of persons
Table of Contents
Main Findings 8
Introduction 13

G lobal An alysis

Chapter 1:
Sources, Methods, and Data Considerations 17
The Population Census as a Tool to Capture Statistical Information
on Forcibly Displaced Persons
By Vebjørn Aalandslid, Kari-Anne Lund, and Frode Berglund, Statistics Norway 21

Chapter 2:
Displacement Levels and Trends 27

Chapter 3:
Durable Solutions and New Displacement 41

Chapter 4:
Asylum and Refugee Status Determination 51
Improving Asylum Statistics in the European Union
By European Asylum Support Office 56

Chapter 5:
Demographic and Location Data 63
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics for Refugees
By Helge Brunborg 67

Chapter 6:
From Data Protection to Statistics 75

Annexes 79
List of Figures
1.1 Trends in sources of refugee data | 2009-2014 19
1.2 Key actors and stakeholders involved in refugee data collection 19
1.3 Basis of refugee data | 2014 20
2.1 Global forced displacement | 2000-2014 27
2.2 Major refugee-hosting countries | 2014 32
2.3 Major source countries of refugees | 2014 33
2.4 Number of refugees per 1 USD GDP (PPP) per capita | 2014 34
2.5 Number of refugees per 1,000 inhabitants | 2014 35
2.6 IDPs protected/assisted by UNHCR | end-2014 36
2.7 Number of countries reporting statistics on stateless persons | 2004-2014 36
2.8 Historical review of major host and source countries of refugees | 1980-2014 38
3.1 Refugee returns | 1995-2014 42
3.2 Resettlement arrivals of refugees | 1990-2014 43
4.1 Main destination countries for new asylum-seekers | 2013-2014 53
4.2 Step-by-step development of the EPS, in close cooperation
with GPS members 59
5.1 Demographic characteristics available on UNHCR’s
population of concern | 2006-2014 64
5.2 Average per cent of persons below five in the general
population who have been registered 71
5.3 Number of refugees who have not been registered at birth 72
List of Tables
1.1 Inclusion of topics in national population censuses by world region
(2010 round of censuses) 23
1.2 RFM coverage in 2010 round of censuses, by world region 24
1.3 Inclusion of RFM categories by world region (2010 round of censuses) 24
2.1 Refugee populations by UNHCR regions | 2014 31
4.1 New and appeal applications registered | 2011-2014 52
4.2 New asylum claims registered in top 10 UNHCR offices | 2014 52
4.3 Substantive decisions taken | 2012-2014 55
5.1 Demographic characteristics of refugees | 2003-2014 65
5.2 Accommodation of refugees | 2012-2014 66

List of Maps
2.1 Total population of concern to UNHCR by country
of asylum and category | end-2014 28

Annex
1. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, returnees, stateless persons,
and others of concern to UNHCR by country/territory of asylum | end-2014 80
2. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, returnees,
stateless persons, and others of concern to UNHCR by origin | end-2014 85

Annex tables 3 through 29 can be downloaded from the UNHCR website at:
http://www.unhcr.org/statisticalyearbook/2014-annex-tables.zip
3. Refugee population and people in refugee-like situations, excluding
asylum-seekers, and changes by country/territory of asylum | 2014
4. Refugee population and people in refugee-like situations, excluding
asylum-seekers, and changes by origin | 2014
5. Refugee population and people in refugee-like situations, excluding
asylum-seekers, and changes by origin and country of asylum | 2014
6. Internally displaced persons protected/assisted by UNHCR | 2014
7. Persons under UNHCR’s statelessness mandate | 2014
8. Others of concern to UNHCR | 2014
9. Asylum applications and refugee status determination by country/territory
of asylum | 2014
10. Asylum applications and refugee status determination by country/territory
of asylum and level in the procedure | 2014
11. Asylum applications and refugee status determination by origin | 2014
12. Asylum applications and refugee status determination by origin and
country/territory of asylum | 2014
13. Demographic composition of populations of concern to UNHCR | end-2014
14. Demographic composition of refugees and people in refugee-like
situations | end-2014
15. Major locations and demographic composition of populations of concern to
UNHCR | end-2014
16. Major locations and demographic composition of refugees and people in
refugee-like situations | end-2014
17. Population of concern to UNHCR by type of accommodation | end-2014
18. Refugees, including people in a refugee-like situation,
by type of accommodation | end-2014
19. Refugees, including people in a refugee-like situation,
by type of location | end-2014
20. Spontaneous refugee arrivals | 2014
21. Major voluntary repatriation/returnee movements | 2014
22. Resettlement departures of refugees from first asylum countries | 2014
23. Resettlement arrivals of refugees | 2014
24. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, returnees, stateless
persons, and others of concern to UNHCR by region | 2013-2014
25. Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, returnees, stateless
persons, and others of concern to UNHCR | 2005-2014
26. Indicators of host country capacity and contributions | 2014

Regional Classifications And Country/Territory Codes

27. United Nations major areas
28. UNHCR Regional Bureaux/Operations
29. UNHCR country/territory codes
MAIN FINDINGS
More detailed
analyses, including
the definitions used
and limitations of the
This section provides an overview of the major statistical data, can be found in
developments in 2014 and a summary of key findings. Chapters I to VI.

Global Trends

59.5 million By end-2014, 59.5 million individuals

were forcibly displaced worldwide as a
An estimated 13.9 million individuals
were newly displaced due to conflict or
result of persecution, conflict, generalized persecution in 2014. This includes 11.0
violence, or human rights violations. This is million persons newly displaced within the
8.3 million persons more than the previous borders of their own country, the highest
year (51.2 million) and the highest annual figure on record.2 The other 2.9 million
increase on record. individuals were new refugees.
24 th

Some 19.5 million persons were refugees: 14.4 million under

UNHCR’s mandate and 5.1 million Palestinian refugees
registered by UNRWA. The global figure included 38.2 million 42,500
internally displaced persons1 and 1.8 million asylum-seekers. During 2014, conflict and persecution forced
The total was the highest recorded level in the post-World an average of 42,500 individuals per
War II era. If these 59.5 million persons were a nation, they
would make up the 24th largest in the world. day to leave their home and seek protection
elsewhere, either within the borders of their
own country or in other countries. This
compares to 32,200 per day in 2013, 23,400 in
TOTAL POPULATION OF CONCERN 2012, 14,200 in 2011, and 10,900 in 2010.

The 2014 Statistical Yearbook By the end of 2014, the total population
identifies seven population of concern to UNHCR was estimated at 14.4 million refugees 4
categories: 54.96 million people, broken down
as follows: 1.8 million asylum-seekers
1. refugees
2. asylum-seekers 126,800 refugees who had returned to
their country of origin during the year
3.


internally displaced
persons (IDPs) protected
and/or assisted by UNHCR
54.96 million 32.3 million IDPs protected
4. stateless persons and/or assisted by UNHCR
5. returned refugees 1.8 million who had returned to
6. returned IDPs their place of origin during the year
7. others of concern
3.5 million stateless persons
These categories are collectively referred
to as the ‘total population of concern’ or 1.1 million others of concern
as ‘persons of concern’.3

1 Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)

2 The highest figure since 1989, when record-keeping began.
3 For definitions of the various population categories, see Chapter I.
4 The 5.1 million Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) are not included in UNHCR’s statistics.

8 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2014

 1
1
3 2
4
2

3
5

REFUGEES

14.4 million Top Top

host origin
The number of refugees under UNHCR’s
mandate at end-2014 was 14.4 million, 1. Turkey (1.59 million) 1. Syrian Arab Republic (3.88 million)
including 694,400 individuals considered 2. Pakistan (1.51 million) 2. Afghanistan (2.59 million)
by the agency to be in a refugee-like 3. Lebanon (1.15 million) 3. Somalia (1.11 million)
situation. The previous year, this figure 4. Islamic Republic
was 11.7 million. of Iran (982,000)
5. Ethiopia (659,500)

12.4 million For the first time, Turkey became the More than half (53%) of all refugees
largest refugee-hosting country worldwide, worldwide came from just three
By the end of 2014, developing countries with 1.59 million refugees. Turkey was countries: the Syrian Arab Republic (3.88
hosted 12.4 million refugees, or 86 followed by Pakistan (1.51 million), Lebanon million), Afghanistan (2.59 million), and
per cent of the global refugee population, (1.15 million), the Islamic Republic of Iran Somalia (1.11 million).
the highest such figure in more than two (982,000), Ethiopia (659,500), and Jordan
(654,100).
decades. The Least Developed Countries 5.3%
provided asylum to 3.6 million refugees, or Americas
25 per cent of the total.
20.6% 26.8%
Asia and Pacific
The Asia and Pacific region hosted Middle East and
roughly one quarter of the global refugee North Africa
population (26.8%). This was followed by
sub-Saharan Africa (25.7%), Europe (21.6%),
the Middle East and North Africa (20.6%),
and the Americas (5.3%).5

21.6%
5 The geographical regions used are those of UNHCR.
See Annex, Table 27 for country breakdown.
Europe 25.7%
sub-Saharan Africa
UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2014 9
REFUGEE STATUS DETERMINATION
A record high of nearly 1.7 million
individual applications for asylum
or refugee status were submitted to
governments and UNHCR offices in 157
countries or territories in 2014. UNHCR
Top Top
recipients origins
offices registered a record high of 245,600
or 15 per cent of these claims.
An estimated 1.47 million of these were 1. Russian Federation (274,700) 1. Ukraine (288,600)
initial applications submitted at ‘first 2. Germany (173,100) 2. Syrian Arab Republic (170,000)
instance’ procedures, while 191,400 were 3. United States of America 3. Iraq (100,000)
submitted on appeal, including to courts.6 (121,200) 4. Afghanistan (73,400)
4. Turkey (87,800) 5. Eritrea (60,000)

With 274,700 asylum claims, the Russian The Ukraine was the single largest country
Federation was the world’s largest recipient of origin for asylum-seekers in 2014, with
626,500 of new individual applications, followed 288,600 new applications submitted by
by Germany (173,100), the United States of its nationals during the year – on average,
Some 626,500 asylum-seekers were America (121,200), and Turkey (87,800). every fifth claim. The Syrian Arab Republic
either recognized as refugees (286,700) was the second-largest country of origin
or granted a complementary form of for asylum-seekers (170,000), followed by
protection (339,800) during 2014. Iraq (100,000), Afghanistan (73,400), Eritrea
(60,000), Serbia and Kosovo (S/RES/1244

27%
(1999)) 7 (55,300), and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (48,100).

Refugee status based on the 1951

Convention was granted in 27 per cent
6 Statistical information on outcomes of asylum
of decisions in 2014. With the addition 1.8 million
appeals and court proceedings is under-reported in UNHCR of complementary forms of protection,
statistics, as this type of data is often either not collected by
States or not published separately.
59 per cent of all substantive asylum By the end of the year, 1.8 million
7 References to Kosovo shall be understood to be decisions taken in 2014 were positive. Both individuals were reported to be
in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), of these numbers differ from the rates in awaiting a decision on their asylum claims,
henceforth referred to in this document as Kosovo
(S/RES/1244 (1999)). 2013 (32% and 43%, respectively). the highest such number in many years.

Internally Displaced Persons Stateless Persons

32.3 million 8.6 million 10 million

The number of internally displaced UNHCR’s statistics included IDP Statelessness is estimated to have affected
persons benefiting from UNHCR’s populations in 24 countries. Its offices at least 10 million people in 2014.
protection and assistance activities, reported some 8.6 million IDPs who However, data captured by governments
including 267,500 in IDP-like were newly displaced in 2014, while 1.8 and communicated to UNHCR were
situations, stood at 32.3 million at the million IDPs were able to return home limited to 3.5 million stateless
end of 2014. This was the highest such during this period. individuals in 77 countries.
figure on record, and 8.3 million more than
at the start of the year (23.9 million).

10 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2014

 Sex and Age Host Country Contributions

54.96 million 1 st
Ethiopia had the largest
number of refugees in
relation to its economic
Pakistan had the second-largest number
of refugees per 1 USD GDP (PPP) per capita
(315 refugees), followed by Chad (208
Of the 54.96 million people of capacity, hosting 441 refugees per 1 USD refugees) and Uganda (194 refugees). The
concern to UNHCR in 2014, data on sex Gross Domestic Product by Purchasing largest refugee-hosting developed country
and age are available for 30.38 million Power Parity – commonly referred to as was the Russian Federation, in 35th place,
(55%) and 16.95 million (31%), respectively. GDP (PPP) 8 – per capita. with nine refugees per 1 USD GDP (PPP) per
capita.
Comparing the number of refugees
50% to the national population of a host
country shows that Lebanon topped this
The available information disaggregated list with 206 refugees per 1,000
by sex revealed that on average 50 per inhabitants. Jordan (88) and Nauru (39)
cent of refugees were female, a ranked second and third, respectively.
proportion that has slightly increased
in recent years.

Durable Solutions
Children
Disaggregated information on age showed 126,800 26 countries
that children under the age of 18
represented an average of 51 per cent
of the total refugee population, up from Over the course of 2014, 126,800 During the year, UNHCR submitted 103,800
41 per cent in 2009 and the highest such refugees returned to their country refugees to States for resettlement.
of origin. More than two-thirds of these According to government statistics,
figure in more than a decade. Less than
half (46%) of the refugee population was returned to the Democratic Republic 26 countries admitted 105,200
between the ages of 18 and 59 years, of the Congo (25,200), Mali (21,000), refugees for resettlement during 2014
whereas 3 per cent was 60 years or older. Afghanistan (17,800), Angola (14,300), or (with or without UNHCR’s assistance). The
Sudan (13,100). This figure was the lowest United States of America admitted the
level of refugee returns in 30 years. highest number (73,000).

Type of Location
On the type of location in which Out of 14.4 million refugees, the type
populations of concern were found, the of accommodation was known for 12.2
available data revealed that more IDPs, million (85%). More than half of this
returned IDPs, and returned refugees number was living in individual or private
resided in rural areas than in urban accommodation (63%), while less than
areas. On the other hand, refugees and a third (29%) was reportedly living in
asylum-seekers were found more often planned/managed refugee camps.
living in urban areas.

8 Source for Gross Domestic Product (PPP): International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, October 2015 (accessed 10 November 2015). Source for national populations:
United Nations, Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision, New York, 2015. For the purpose of this analysis, the 2014 estimates have been taken into account.

UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2014 11

 Residents of the old Homs neighbourhood
in the Syrian Arab Republic have been severely
affected by the conflict. Those displaced
by the fighting struggle to rebuild their lives
among the ruins.

12 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2014

 Introduction

F
or the most part, UNHCR’s statistics mandate, with special focus on developments
reflect global trends in forced displace- occurring during 2014 unless otherwise stated. As
ment over a given time period, and they such, the Yearbook provides the official statistics
have contributed significantly to effective of UNHCR. Figures reported in this publication
decision-making on programming, protec- have been carefully evaluated and reviewed. Data
tion, and monitoring of displaced persons around sources and methodologies have also been verified
the world. UNHCR records indicate that individ- to ensure that they conform to the requisite stand-
uals have been newly displaced every year since ards of UNHCR’s statistics.
the agency’s creation in 1951. There has not been This Yearbook has six chapters. Chapter I pro-
a single year when individuals did not have to flee vides the sources, methods, and other data consid-
their country of origin due to armed conflict, war, erations used throughout this publication. Where
or persecution. Some refugees are compelled to live applicable, this chapter provides and explains the
in exile for years, with little or no hope of return- definitions used in the field of forced displace-
©  U N H C R / B . D i a b

ing to their country of origin. Unfortunately, the ment, defines relevant terminologies, and reviews
number of individuals facing forced displacement the contributions of actors and stakeholders in the
each year tends to be significantly higher than the data-collection process in this field. The chapter
number of those who find durable solutions. As concludes with a contribution by three statisticians
a consequence, statistics on forced displacement from Statistics Norway,9 focusing on the impor-
around the world have trended upward over the tance of national censuses in determining the
past decade. magnitude of forced displacement. This section is
This Statistical Yearbook offers a compila-
tion and analysis of the global information and
9 Statistics Norway staff on secondment to UNHCR through the Norwegian Refugee
data on the population falling under UNHCR’s Council’s Norcap deployment programme.

UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2014 13

 Introduction

based on a review of some 150 census question- Chapter VI concludes the Statistical Yearbook
naires in the 2010 World Population and Housing with critical analysis of the ethical challenges
Census Programme, analysing whether these docu- concerning the use of refugees’ personal data.
ments have included refugees, asylum-seekers, or This chapter examines data-protection principles
internally displaced persons. in UNHCR and beyond, discussing the ethical
With an estimated 59.5 million persons consid- and statistical dimensions of the use of refugees’
ered forcibly displaced by the end of 2014, the high- personal data in light of the organization’s newly
est level in the post-World War II era, Chapter II released Policy on the Protection of Personal Data of
provides general displacement levels and trends Persons of Concern to UNHCR.
for the year. It also includes reference to persons The tables appearing in the Annex provide
falling under UNHCR’s statelessness mandate. detailed data for 2014. Statistical data on histori-
This chapter discusses changes in refugee flows, cal trends, allowing for easy global comparisons
particularly with regard to the Syrian refugee situ- by region and country for all major themes, can
ation around the world, presenting major source be found on UNHCR’s statistical website (www.
countries of refugees as well as hosting countries. unhcr.org/statistics). These data can also be
This chapter concludes with an analysis of the downloaded from UNHCR’s Statistical Online
impact and burden of hosting refugees through Population Database, at popstats.unhcr.org.
the statistical measurement of economic and pop- Statistics reflected in this Yearbook are, for the
ulation density. most part, those reported by UNHCR country
In Chapter III, UNHCR’s comprehensive solu- offices, drawn either from their own data or those
tions for refugees – that is, voluntary repatriation, of the government. The use of estimates is clearly
resettlement, and local integration – are critically indicated. Some data contained in this publication
examined alongside new displacement trends. The may differ from those published earlier, due to
chapter finds that, on the one hand, 2014 saw one retroactive adjustments or the inclusion of previ-
of the lowest levels of returning refugees recorded ously unavailable data. It is expected that the data
in the past three decades, while on the other, the contained in the 2014 Yearbook will likewise be
number of refugees resettled during the report- subject to minor future adjustments. n
ing period increased. This chapter concludes with
a discussion on the challenges of quantifying and
measuring the local integration of refugees.
Chapter IV focuses on the analysis of asylum and
refugee status determination. With the number of
individuals requesting international protection on
an individual basis at a record high, this chapter
reviews and analyses trends in asylum applica-
tions, decisions, and pending cases. In addition,
attempts to harmonize asylum statistics in Europe
pose important challenges; some of these are pre-
sented in an external contribution by the European
Asylum Support Office on its work with the Group
for the Provision of Statistics.
©  U N H C R / A . G r e c o

Chapter V provides a detailed analysis of both

the demographic breakdown and location infor-
mation of refugees and other persons of concern to
UNHCR. Meanwhile, civil registration and vital
statistics (CRVS) are increasingly gaining interest
at the international level, with a significant num-
ber of countries having committed to improving
these systems. This chapter includes a contribu-
tion by an independent researcher on the impor-
tance of CRVS in the refugee context.

14 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2014

 Introduction

Hundreds of internally displaced peopletake shelter at Bangui’s

M’Poko International Airport in the Central African Republic.
While the deployment of United Nations peacekeeping forces in
September 2014 brought hope for a stabilization of the security
situation, continued fighting and human rights abuses targeting
civilians resulted in massive displacement inside the country and
across borders.

UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2014 15