CHAPTER 2
At the year’s end, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo represented the sixth-largest country of
origin, with 537,500 refugees, a small decrease
compared with the end of 2015. The majority of
refugees from the Democratic Republic of the
Congo were hosted by nearby countries including
Uganda with a population of 205,400, Rwanda
(73,100), 25 Burundi (57,100), the United Republic of
Tanzania (Tanzania) (50,300), Zambia (21,300),
South Sudan (14,500), Angola (12,900), the Republic
of the Congo (Congo) (12,300), and Zimbabwe
(5,900). Substantial refugee populations were also
hosted by South Africa (26,200), France (15,000),
and Kenya (13,300).
Violence in the Central African Republic continued
to force people to flee, with refugee numbers
increasing from 471,100 to 490,900 during 2016.
The overwhelming proportion of refugees found
asylum in neighbouring countries. Cameroon
hosted most of these refugees with 283,600 at the
end of 2016, followed by the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (102,500), Chad (70,200), and Congo
(24,500).
The number of refugees from Myanmar rose to
490,300 by the end of 2016, from 451,800 the
previous year. Bangladesh continued to host the
largest number of these refugees (276,200). 26 Other
countries with large numbers of refugees from
Myanmar included Thailand (102,600), Malaysia
(87,000), and India (15,600).
Eritrea remained the ninth-largest country of origin
with 459,400 refugees at the end of 2016, a notable
increase from late 2015 when this population stood
at 407,500. Most Eritrean refugees were hosted by
Ethiopia (165,500) and Sudan (103,200), but many
also sought protection farther away, such as in
Germany (30,000), Israel (27,800), 27 Switzerland
(26,300), and Sweden (26,000).
The number of refugees from Burundi, the 10thlargest refugee-producing country, increased by
nearly 40 per cent during 2016, rising from 292,800
at the start of the year to 408,100 by year-end.
Nearly all of these refugees (97 per cent) were
located in neighbouring countries, with Tanzania
hosting 230,900 Burundian refugees, followed by
Rwanda (82,900), Uganda (41,000), and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (36,300).
UNHCR > GLOBAL TRENDS 2016
Other major countries of origin for refugees in 2016
were Viet Nam (329,400), 28 Iraq (316,000), Colombia
(311,100), Rwanda (286,100), Ukraine (239,100), and
Nigeria (229,300).
N E W R E F UG E E A R R I VA L S
During 2016, more than 1.4 million refugees were
newly displaced. 29 This was less than in 2015, when
1.8 million refugees were newly displaced, and
significantly lower than 2014 (2.9 million).
Uganda reported the largest number of new
refugees in 2016, with 514,000 new arrivals, mostly
in the second half of the year. Nearly all of these
new refugees (489,000) originated from South
Sudan, with a smaller number from Burundi
(18,600).
Turkey registered 328,900 Syrian refugees. 30 The
conflict in South Sudan also affected other
countries, with Sudan registering 102,800 new
arrivals, almost entirely from South Sudan. The
Democratic Republic of the Congo registered
82,700 new refugees, with 61,100 originating from
South Sudan and 13,200 from Burundi. Other
countries registering significant numbers of new
refugee arrivals in 2016 included Ethiopia (81,100),
Tanzania (71,800), Niger (43,400), Cameroon
(40,800), Jordan (38,300), Kenya (23,500), and
Russia (22,000).
In 2016, there were 736,200 new refugees from
South Sudan. The majority fled to Uganda, but
significant numbers also went to Sudan, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia
(55,600), Kenya (22,600), and the Central African
Republic (5,000). This influx was concentrated
mostly in the second half of the year.
25 Government estimates are higher than UNHCR estimates reported
here.
26 Out of the 276,200 refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh,
243,000 are persons in a refugee-like situation.
27 Data relate to end-2015.
28 Nearly all Vietnamese refugees are hosted by China and are
considered to be well integrated into Chinese society.
29 The figure of newly displaced refugees refers to refugees
recognized on a group or prima facie basis in 2016, and does
not include refugees recognized following a refugee status
determination process.
30 In Turkey, Syrian refugees are granted temporary protection
on a group basis under the Temporary Protection regime,
whereas other nationalities undergo an individual refugee status
determination procedure. There may be a lag between arrival and
registration.
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