REFUGEES

This article is not about individual stories, but it is an attempt to provide a bigger picture of an issue affecting an astounding number of people across the globe. The United Nations high commissioner for refugees tracks the number of displaced people forcibly displaced. Their reported figures count people defined as refugees under the 1951 Geneva Convention. This includes persecuted people because of their race, religion, nationality, social status, or political beliefs.

Since it can be hard to imagine the scale of displacement, we want to compare it to some of the biggest urban areas on the planet. So let's imagine the following. How big would it be if all refugees lived in a single city,

Now, comparing different city sizes is difficult because there's the question of whether suburbs outside of the administrative city limits should still be counted as part of the urban area. So for better comparison, we will consider the larger metropolitan areas.

Just 10 years ago, it was estimated that there were 15.4 million refugees worldwide. If you compare this number to the most populous cities on the planet, this city would be the ninth largest in the world.

But our city is growing many times faster than other cities

In 2013, there were 16.7 million refugees. In 2016, 22.5 million. And in 2020, there will be 26.3 million refugees worldwide, a 70% increase over the last 10 years

This means this fictional city would be the third largest in the entire world.

Let's now look at the countries from which refugees originate. With 6.6 million, the group of people fleeing from Syria forms the largest single origin, followed by Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar, and Somalia. That means about half of all refugees worldwide come from these five nations.

And most of these people don't find shelter in wealthy countries. Instead, 85% of all refugees are hosted in developing countries. But to get a complete picture of the scale of displacement, counting refugees is not enough.

In addition, another 4.2 million people are seeking asylum, meaning these peoples' individual need for protection is currently being determined. Particularly in the case of larger refugee movements, people may have to wait a long time to receive asylum. Only then will they legally be considered refugees. In addition, many Venezuelans in exile who might qualify for asylum don't show up on refugee figures. That's because they often choose other illegal forms of residence that facilitate faster access to the labour market and education.

These are 3.6 million people who mainly seek protection in Latin America and the Caribbean. This brings our total to 34.1 million people leaving their country to seek protection. But this number does not come close to the full figure, as it does not include internally displaced people.

45.7 million people do not leave the territory of their home country during their escape. And if we also add people who flee because of natural disasters, this number rises to 50.8 million.

There is an ongoing discourse about whether refugee protection, according to the Geneva Convention, is comprehensive enough, as emergencies such as natural disasters are not explicitly listed. Given how climate change can result in sudden and long-term changes to the local environment, some call for these causes to be added to the refugee definition in international law.

Counting internally displaced people, refugees, asylum seekers, and Venezuelans abroad, the UNHCR estimates that 80 million people are currently forcibly displaced.

That means about 1% of the world's population is seeking refuge. And this fictional city is already twice the size of the Tokyo metropolitan area. These are dimensions where even a comparison with the world's largest urban region is no longer sufficient. In addition, there is probably the most decisive difference; displaced people are often denied the protection that a city embodies, lacking infrastructure, medical care, access to education and labour, and self-governance, meaning they only have limited possibilities to stand up for their interests.

The city shows how far-reaching displacement has become on a global scale. However, each affected person is unique, faces different challenges, and has its own story.