Refugee

Refugees are people who fled their home country due to persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or social group membership. As of 2024, refugees plus internally displaced people (those who remain inside their own country) were reported at more than 100 million. The two categories are counted separately, so always check which one a given figure covers.

As of UNHCR's end-2024 figures, major origin countries include Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sudan, and South Sudan; major host countries include Turkey, Iran, Colombia, Germany, and Pakistan. Totals and rankings move from year to year, and they also depend on whether a count covers refugees only or everyone in need of international protection, so for quizzes the regional pattern is more useful than the ranking.

When a hint says a country hosts many refugees, start with neighbors of conflict zones such as Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Colombia. The largest host changes with the year and with the counting definition, so the dependable rule is that refugees concentrate in countries bordering conflict zones. Origin countries follow the same logic: they are the places where conflict has dragged on.