Chapter 5
Elsewhere, refugee returns did take place
in conditions much more conducive to their
reintegration in their country, including in Nigeria
(37,700), Burundi (21,100), the Central African
Republic (19,900) and Cameroon (17,700). For
example, returns of Nigerian refugees rose by 19
per cent in 2024, mostly from Niger (21,600) and
Cameroon (15,500). Efforts are being made by the
government and UNHCR to support Nigerian asylumseekers and refugees living outside the country to
return home voluntarily, in safety and dignity.180
While there are no official statistics on returns of
Venezuelan refugees and other people in need of
international protection, the Venezuelan authorities
have reported some 300,000 Venezuelans
have been repatriated since 2018 through the
government-sponsored Plan Vuelta a la Patria while
others have spontaneously returned to Venezuela
over the last few years.
Refugee resettlement and
complementary pathways
According to official government data on resettlement
arrivals and UNHCR statistics on resettlement
departures, 22 countries reported 188,800 arrivals
through resettlement and sponsorship pathways181
during 2024. This was 19 per cent more than
during 2023 and was the highest number reported
for more than 40 years.182 While the total number
of resettlement arrivals still only accounted for 8
per cent of the estimated 2.4 million individuals
globally identified by UNHCR in 2024 as in need of
resettlement,183 this is the highest proportion that has
been achieved since 2017.
Over six in ten refugees resettled globally were
supported through UNHCR’s resettlement
programme, with the remainder finding solutions
through sponsorship pathways. Of all the cases
submitted by UNHCR to States in 2024, 88 per cent
of resettlement submissions concerned survivors
of torture and/or violence, people with legal and
physical protection needs and particularly vulnerable
women and girls. Submissions by children accounted
for 47 per cent of all resettlement submissions
facilitated by UNHCR in 2024.184
Just four countries accounted for 94 per cent of all
resettlement arrivals in 2024, including those arriving
through sponsorship pathways. The United States
of America received the largest number of resettled
refugees (105,500), with the majority originating
from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (18,800),
Afghanistan (17,000), Venezuela (14,500), Syria
(10,400) and Myanmar (8,900). Canada resettled
49,300 refugees, primarily from Eritrea (15,500),
Afghanistan (8,900), Syria (6,600) and Somalia
(4,900). Just over 17,200 resettled refugees arrived in
Australia, 6,300 of whom were from Afghanistan and
2,100 from Syria. Germany welcomed 5,600 refugees,
with most from Syria (2,900) and Afghanistan (1,000).
Refugee local integration
Accurate data on local integration remains limited,
posing a significant challenge to effectively measuring
progress in its assessment. Data on naturalization of
refugees and the granting of permanent residence
permits are commonly used as proxies to assess local
integration outcomes. However, inconsistencies in
data reporting across countries and time undermine
comparability and trend analysis.
According to the data received from 26 refugee
hosting countries in 2024, approximately 88,900
refugees, originating from 173 countries, acquired
citizenship or were granted permanent residency.185
The total number of refugees naturalizing was nearly
three-times more than during 2023 (30,800). This
rise is largely due to improved reporting of data on
naturalization, rather than a substantive change in
naturalization policies. Statistics were newly available
for Norway and Sweden, a positive step forwards
in improving the coverage of statistics about local
integration. As only 1 in 7 countries worldwide provide
these statistics, they remain only indicative.
Refugees who acquired citizenship or were granted
permanent residence in their host countries in 2024
180 See Can we end forced displacement in Nigeria?, UNHCR.
181 See the master glossary of terms, UNHCR.
182 See footnote 46.
183 See Projected global resettlement needs 2024, UNHCR.
184 See UNHCR official statistics on resettlement, UNHCR.
185 See annex 12.
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UNHCR > GLOBAL TRENDS 2024