In 2014, 59.5 million people fled their homes and countries amid violent conflicts in order to find safety for themselves and their families, according to a report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The report reveals that Turkey hosted the most number of refugees (1.5 million), followed by Pakistan (1.51 million), Lebanon (1.15 million), Islamic Republic of Iran (982 000), Ethiopia (659 000) and Jordan (654 000) in the top six host countries.

Of the 59.5 million count, 19.5 million are officially classified as refugees, 38.2 million as internally displaced persons and 1.8 million as asylum-seekers.

On average, 425 000 people were forced to flee their home per day, the report states.

The maps below by The Washington Post shows where refugees who fled last year are currently living. Northern and Central Africa and south west Asia account for the bulk (85%) of the population. This is largely due to the fact that refugees more often than not flee to the country nearest to them.

The report also reveals a number of other startling facts including:

• Children below 18 years of age constituted 51% of the refugee population in 2014, up from 41% in 2009 and the highest figure in more than ten years.
• More than half (53%) of all refugees worldwide came from just three countries: the Syrian Arab Republic (3.88 million), Afghanistan (2.59 million), and Somalia (1.11 million)
• Africa recorded 15 million refugees in 2014
• Forced displacement numbers went up by 8 million from 51.2 million at the end of 2013

Conflicts in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia are some of the top contributors to forced displacements in Africa.

“We are witnessing a paradigm change, an unchecked slide into an era in which the scale of global forced displacement as well as the response required is now clearly dwarfing anything seen before,” said Antonio Guterres, UN high commissioner for refugees.

You can read the full report on the UNHCR website.

[Image – CC 2.0 by Jordi Bernabeu Farrús]