2009 in review Trends at a Glance • There were 43.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide at the end of 2009, the highest number since the mid-1990s. Of these, 15.2 million were refugees; 10.4 million who fell under UNHCR’s responsibility and 4.8 million Palestinian refugees under UNRWA’s mandate. The figure also includes 983,000 asylumseekers and 27.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). • More than 26 million people – 10.4 million refugees and 15.6 million IDPs – were receiving protection or assistance from UNHCR at the end of 2009. This is 1 million more people than in 2008. • By the end of 2009, UNHCR had identified some 6.6 million stateless persons in 60 countries. However, the Office estimated that the overall number of stateless persons worldwide could be far higher about 12 million people. • Some 5.5 million refugees were in a protracted situation at the end of 2009. They were living in 21 different countries, accounting for 25 protracted situations. • Developing countries were host to four-fifths of the world’s refugees. • Pakistan was host to the largest number of refugees worldwide (1.7 million), followed by the Islamic Republic of Iran (1.1 million) and the Syrian Arab Republic (1.05 million; Government estimate). Pakistan also hosted the largest number of refugees in relation to its economic capacity with 745 refugees per 1 USD GDP (PPP) per capita, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (592) and Zimbabwe (245). • Afghan and Iraqi refugees accounted for almost half of all refugees under UNHCR’s responsibility worldwide; one out of four refugees in the world was from Afghanistan (2.9 million). Afghans were located in 71 different asylum countries. Iraqis were the second largest refugee group, with 1.8 million having sought refuge primarily in neighbouring countries. • Some 251,500 refugees repatriated voluntarily during 2009, the lowest figure since 1990. In contrast, more than 2.2 million IDPs were able to return, the highest in at least a decade. • UNHCR presented over 128,000 refugees for resettlement consideration by States. Some 84,000 refugees were resettled with UNHCR’s assistance. According to government statistics, 19 countries reported the admission of 112,400 resettled refugees during 2009 (with or without UNHCR assistance). The United States of America accepted the highest number (80,000). • More than 922,000 individual claims for asylum or refugee status were registered in 2009. Of these, UNHCR registered 119,100 (13%) With more than 222,000 claims - almost one quarter of applications globally South Africa was the world’s largest recipient of individual applications, followed by the United States of America and France. • More than 18,700 asylum applications were lodged by unaccompanied and separated children in 71 countries, the highest number in four years. The applications came mostly from Afghan and Somali children. • Based on the data available for 8.8 million refugees, UNHCR estimates that more than half of the world’s refugees resided in urban areas and less than onethird in camps. However, 6 out of 10 refugees in sub-Saharan Africa resided in camps. • Women and girls represented, on average, 49 per cent of persons of concern to UNHCR. They constituted 47 per cent of refugees and asylum-seekers, and half of all IDPs and returnees (former refugees). Forty-one per cent of refugees and asylum-seekers were children below 18 years of age. 2009 Global Trends 1