World Refugee Day: visualizing migration trends
We looked at the latest migration data to understand where people go when they have to leave their homes
In 2022, the world reached a bleak milestone: over 100 million people on the planet were forcibly displaced.
108 million people, to be precise. This means that 1 in 78 people have been forced to flee their home – that is 1.5 times the entire population of the UK.
The reasons people flee their homes vary. Yet, events like natural disasters or conflicts are big catalysts for the influx of refugees. Last year, the world saw the largest numbers of refugees coming from Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan – three countries facing conflicts in their territory.
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Visualizing 2022 migration trends
In 2022, five countries alone – Germany, Pakistan, Uganda, Iran and Turkey – received over 40% of all asylum requests worldwide. With 3.6 million applications registered, Turkey was the biggest recipient.
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Out of the top five recipient countries, two are in Europe. This is also the region that saw the highest increase in asylum applications: a 77% rise compared to 2021.
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To better understand the upward migration trend in the region, we’ve focused on two specific situations: the war in Ukraine and the arrival of migrants to Europe by boat.
Migration trends spotlight: Ukraine a year after the invasion
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a massive displacement on the continent. The UN’s Refugee Agency (UNHCR) data shows that, by the end of the 2022, over 5.5 million Ukrainians had applied for asylum within the continent.
According to the UN agency, 70% of asylum seekers relocate to neighboring countries. In line with this trend, most Ukrainians fled to adjacent countries. Russia, Germany and Poland were the top destinations.
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Ukrainians accounted for 45% of refugees in Europe by the end of 2022. In some countries, almost all asylum applications came from Ukrainian nationals, like in Russia, Czechia and Estonia.
Others, like Germany and the UK, saw a considerable influx, but the number of refugees with other nationalities was also high. However, some countries were barely impacted, like Turkey, where Ukrainians made up 0.1% of all applicants, according to UNHCR data.
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With the conflict in Ukraine still raging, it is likely that these trends will continue.
Migration trends spotlight: The arrival of migrants to Europe by boat
In the first three months of 2023, over 60,000 refugees and migrants reached European shores – on average over 600 a day – by undertaking treacherous journeys from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries torn apart by war and persecution.
There are several routes into Europe, most commonly located on the southern coast of the continent.
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Over time, 14 countries in Europe were identified as first points of arrival for migrants. Out of these, nine (64%) registered an increase in the number of migrants arriving in the first three months of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.
In Italy, the number of arrivals in the first quarter of the year was four times larger than the previous year: from 6,832 to 27,690.
Slovenia saw a similar trend at their border in the first three months of 2023, with the number of people arriving being almost four times larger than in the same period in 2022 (up 299%).
Arrivals to Croatia saw a three-fold increase (up 199%).
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Crossing the channel to reach the UK
Once in Europe, migrants might try to resettle in a different country than the one they initially arrived to. A fairly common migration trend in Europe is the crossing of small boats across the English channel.
Migrants wanting to resettle in the UK might try to cross the 180 kilometers that separate the island from mainland Europe. According to the Refugee Council, the reduction in safe routes to the UK means migrants have no option but to take dangerous journeys.
So far this year, 10,469 migrants were detected crossing the channel.
This is down 10% from the same time last year but government officials predict that 65,000 will cross the channel by the end of 2023, over a third more than in 2022.
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The highest number of people crossing the channel within one day this year was on the 11th of June, with 549 people being detected. Data from 2022 shows that most crossings are attempted in the spring and summer months, presumably because of the favorable weather.
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What does this mean?
The concept of migration is almost as old as humankind itself, though the term “refugee” is much newer. The first recognized refugees were the millions of forcibly displaced men, women and children in the aftermath of World War II. Facing this unprecedented event, the international community agreed to provide travel documents to these people and to help resettle them.
In 1951, the Refugee Convention set the guidelines to help define this new concept introduced into society. At its core, it’s the principle of non-refoulement, which states that a refugee should not be sent back to a country that poses a threat to their safety and freedom.
First observed in 2001, World Refugee Day serves as a reminder that millions of people are being forced to leave their homes every day. Facing persecution, imprisonment or death, millions of people embark on dangerous journeys to try and give themselves and their families a dignified life.
You can learn more about this day on the UN’s website.