Refugee Council of Australia
Syrina family arriving in airport

Global resettlement statistics

How many refugees need to be resettled? How many get resettled?

The first graph shows the proportion of refugees who are estimated by UNHCR as needing to be resettled, compared to the number of refugees under UNHCR’s mandate.

Only around 7% of the refugees worldwide are estimated as needing resettlement.

However, while nearly 1.5 million refugees need resettlement, UNHCR requested resettlement ('submissions') for only 63,190  people, and even fewer departed. As you can see, resettlement is a reality for a very small percentage of refugees.

This second graph shows the number of people UNHCR requests resettlement for ('submissions'), and how many people leave for another country (departures) over time.

This graph shows a dramatic decline since 2016, and especially in 2020, as borders closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This graph shows where people were resettled in the past year.

Be a champion for refugee rights

Join our mailing list and be the first to receive active resources. We need you to show Australia cares about refugees.

Search

  • Category

  • Topic