File:Refugee_population_by_country_or_territory_of_asylum,_World,_2024_(cropped).svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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refugee

Also known as refugees, refugeedom

A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as a result of who they are, what they believe in or say, or because of armed conflict, violence or serious public disorder." Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by a contracting state or by the UNHCR if they formally make a claim for asylum.

AI overview

A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee their home country to escape persecution based on their identity or beliefs, or due to armed conflict and violence, and cannot safely return. Understanding refugees matters because it involves recognizing the circumstances that drive people from their homes and the international legal protections designed to help those in such desperate situations.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Ethnic group.group: Refugees in 2024
Ethnic group.population: 122.6 million forcibly displaced, including: 72.1 million internally displaced 8 million seeking asylum 43.7 million refugees, of which: 32 million are under the mandate of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 6 million are Palestinians under UNRWA's mandate, and 5.8 million are others in need of international protection
Ethnic group.region1: Sub-Saharan Africa
Ethnic group.pop1: 7.0 million
Ethnic group.region2: Europe and North Asia
Ethnic group.pop2: 12.4 million
Ethnic group.region3: Asia and the Pacific
Ethnic group.pop3: 6.8 million
Ethnic group.region4: Middle East and North Africa
Ethnic group.pop4: 2.4 million
Ethnic group.region5: Americas
Ethnic group.pop5: 800,000

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

23,518 papers

Refugee mental health: Culturally relevant considerations.ReviewCurrent opinion in psychology · 2022Mattar S, Gellatly RDOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101429
Mental health in refugee children.ReviewCurrent opinion in psychology · 2022Dangmann C, Dybdahl R, Solberg ØDOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101460
Middle eastern refugee children and adolescents mental health: A systematic review.International journal of mental health nursing · 2023Oleimat AS, Jones C, Hayter MDOI: 10.1111/inm.13088
Building on Resiliencies of Refugee Families.ReviewPediatric clinics of North America · 2019Fabio M, Parker LD, Siddharth MBDOI: 10.1016/j.pcl.2019.02.011
Refugee mental health and the role of place in the Global North countries: A scoping review.Health & place · 2023Ermansons G, Kienzler H, Asif Z et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.102964
Successful Refugee Cohabitation With Host Families: A Concept Analysis and Model Development.ReviewJournal of holistic nursing : official journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association · 2025Al-Hamad A, Yasin YM, Metersky K et al.DOI: 10.1177/08980101241273878
Clinicians as advocates amid refugee resettlement agency closures.ReviewJournal of public health policy · 2021Siddiq H, Rosenberg JDOI: 10.1057/s41271-021-00296-9
How refugee youth use social media: what does this mean for improving their health and welfare?Journal of public health policy · 2020Pottie K, Ratnayake A, Ahmed R et al.DOI: 10.1057/s41271-020-00231-4

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: A Dutch school teacher leads a group of refugee children just disembarked from a ship at Tilbury Docks in Essex during 1945. D24064.jpg

Show 4 more facts

male form of label: refugiat
Commons category: Refugees
female form of label: uchodźczyni
Wikidata usage instructions: brukes for menneske Q5 med verdi har rolle P12868

Sources (4)

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~84 min read

Article

51 sections

Contents

Etymology and usage
Definitions
Related terms
History
League of Nations
Rise of Nazism, 1933 to 1944
Post-World War II population transfers
Refugee studies
UN Refugee Agencies
UNHCR
UNRWA
Acute and temporary protection
Refugee camp
Urban refugee
Durable solutions
Integration and naturalisation
Voluntary return
Third country resettlement
Internally displaced person
Refugee status
Seeking asylum
Refugee status determination
Refugee rights
Right of return
Right to non-refoulement
Right to family reunification
Right to travel
Restriction of onward movement
World Refugee Day
Issues
Protracted displacement
Medical problems
PTSD
Malaria
Access to healthcare services
Exploitation
Crime
International relations
Representation
Employment
Education
Obstacles
Overcoming obstacles
Cultural differences
Refugee crisis
See also
Footnotes
References
Works cited
Further reading
External links

Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are often called refugees, but they are distinguished from refugees because they have not crossed an international border, although their reasons for leaving their home may be the same as those of refugees.