Only 6% of forcibly displaced people are in Europe. Still, migrants make 15% of the total population

Day Figure

Author: Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council.

According to the UN statistics, in 2015 there were 65.3 million forcibly displaced persons in the world (including 21.3 million refugees[1]).

Contrary to popular belief, only 6% of these people are in Europe, while 12% are in North and South America, and 14% are in East and South Asia.

The major part of displaced people is in sub-Saharan Africa (29%), as well as in the Middle East and North Africa (39%). The main countries to host displaced people are Turkey (2.5 million), Pakistan (1.6 million), Lebanon (1.1 million), Iran (0.98 million), and Ethiopia (0.74 million).

In other words, as of today, about 3.9 million displaced people (0.7% of the total population) are being hosted by Europe. At the same time, Europe is home to 76 million migrants (15% of the total population), which is second to no other region of the world. Accordingly, the fundamental demographic and socio-cultural changes in Europe have been brought about by the migration policies in the region during the last five-six decades, rather than the current “invasion of refugees.” The “refugees’ invasion” has only highlighted the numerous problems, accumulated since the middle of the last century.

[1] This statistics takes no account of displaced persons and refugees associated with the Ukrainian crisis.