Refugee

Refugees in 2024
Total population
122.6 million forcibly displaced, including: 72.1 million internally displaced 8 million seeking asylum 43.7 million refugees, of which: 32 million are under the mandate of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 6 million are Palestinians under UNRWA's mandate, and 5.8 million are others in need of international protection
Regions with significant populations
Sub-Saharan Africa	7.0 million
Europe and North Asia	12.4 million
Asia and the Pacific	6.8 million
Middle East and North Africa	2.4 million
Americas	800,000

Legal status of persons
Birthright
Birthplace Aboard aircraft and ships Jus sanguinis Jus soli Birth tourism
Nationality
Citizenship missing multiple transnational Naturalization Ius Doni Oath Test Law Lost citizenship denaturalized renounced
Immigration
Alien Enemy Criminalization Diplomatic protection Expatriate Foreign worker Illegal Law Integration Permanent residency Refugee Right to homeland Voluntary return Identity cleansing Right of return

Immigration
General
Immigration by country List of immigrant populations Immigration country Immigration policy Illegal immigration Forced displacement Internal migration
History and law
Alien Asylum shopping Border security Citizenship Crime Deportation Self-deportation Detention Emigration Externalization Immigration law Immigrant investor programs Immigration tariff Indefinite leave to remain Migration diplomacy Net migration rate list New Pact on Migration and Asylum EU Non-refoulement Permanent residency Population transfer Pushback Repatriation Extradition Residence permit Return migration Right of asylum Right of return Refugee Safe third country Smuggling Surveillance Voluntary return
Social processes
Acculturation (Acculturation gap) Birth tourism Anchor baby Satellite babies Economic effects Expatriate Human capital flight Human migration Immigrant assimilation Immigration consultant Immigrant generations Integration Migration background Persecution Refugee crisis Social exclusion Student migration Unreported employment Visa fraud
Political Theories
Civic nationalism Religious nationalism Replacement migration Social cohesion Nativism Multiculturalism Plurinationalism Push and pull factors Ethnocentrism Foot voting
Causes
Chain migration Economic migrant Foreign worker Global labor arbitrage War Weaponized
Opposition and reform
Criticism of multiculturalism Immigration reform Opposition to immigration White genocide conspiracy theory

A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as a result of who they are, what they believe in or say, or because of armed conflict, violence or serious public disorder." Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by a contracting state or by the UNHCR if they formally make a claim for asylum.

Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are often called refugees, but they are distinguished from refugees because they have not crossed an international border, although their reasons for leaving their home may be the same as those of refugees.