Country Position Paper: Statelessness in Syria
2. RELEVANT POPULATION DATA
Official Language:
Estimated Population:
Estimated number of stateless persons:
Estimated number of stateless persons before 2011:
Estimated number of Palestinian refugees from Syria:
Estimated number of internally displaced persons (IDPs):
Estimated number of refugees hosted by Syria (non-Palestinian):
Estimated number of Syrian refugees abroad:
Number of countries where Syrians have sought asylum:
Countries with largest population of Syrian refugees:
Arabic
18.5 million1
160,0002
300,0003
438,0004
6,202,7025
45,4186
6.3 million7
1258
Turkey (3,630,767);
Lebanon (944,613);
Jordan (660,393);
Iraq (253,672);
Egypt (132,165)9
United Nations Population Fund, World Population Dashboard – Syrian Arab Republic, 2019, available at:
https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population/SY
2
UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2018, at 67, available at: https://www.unhcr.org/5d08d7ee7.pdf. It is important to note
that UNHCR has not changed its estimate of stateless persons in Syria for a number of years, as “[c]ollecting data on statelessness
globally remains a challenge… [b]ecause the majority of countries do not report any data on statelessness…” (see page 23). It is hoped
this is improved in future with the announcement in mid-2018 of a joint UNHCR / World Bank data centre, which will “…work on data on
statelessness”, see: UNHCR, Global Report 2017, at 11, available at:
http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/gr2017/pdf/GR2017_English_Full_lowres.pdf
3
UNHCR, Submission by UNHCR to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Compilation Report Universal Periodic Review, May
2011, at 3, available at: https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4dcb716f2.pdf. Also see: UNHCR, Global Trends 2009, 15 June 2010, at 26,
available at: https://www.unhcr.org/4c11f0be9.pdf
4
UNRWA, Syria Regional Crisis - Emergency Appeal, 2018, at 1, available at:
https://www.unrwa.org/sites/default/files/content/resources/2018_syria_ea_final_web_0.pdf. Note that this figure of Palestinian refugees
only includes those registered with UNRWA. There are no reliable figures on the number of Palestinian refugees from Syria, who remain
unregistered with UNRWA – see 5.2 for further discussion.
5
UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2018, at 67, available at: https://www.unhcr.org/5d08d7ee7.pdf.
6
UNHCR, Syria Factsheet, January 2019, available at:
http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/UNHCR%20Syria%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20January%202019.pdf
7
UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2017, 25 June 2018, at 14, available at: https://www.unhcr.org/5b27be547.pdf
8
UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2017, 25 June 2018, at 14, available at: https://www.unhcr.org/5b27be547.pdf
9
UNHCR, Operational Portal: Refugee Situations – Syria Regional Refugee Response, 9 April 2019, available at:
https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria
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