Canada continues as world leader in refugee resettlement, UNHCR report shows
According to the annual Global Trends Report released by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Canada was the largest receiver of resettled refugees in 2021. That year, the country welcomed 20,400 refugees. This is more than double the 9,200 resettlement arrivals in the previous year. “That makes it three years running that Canada is the global leader in resettlement,” said the UNHCR.
Resettled refugees arriving in Canada came primarily from:
- Afghanistan (6,100),
- Syria (4,200), and
- Eritrea (3,700).
“There is very little to cheer about in this report, but one bright spot is Canada’s record of welcoming refugees,” said Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR’s Representative in Canada.
It is importatnt to mention that on June 10, 2022, Canada marked an important milestone by welcoming the 15,000th Afghan refugee since August 2021. To date, the country have welcomed 15,475 vulnerable Afghans. The latest newcomers arrived in Toronto, Ontario, on June 8 on a charter flight with approximately 300 Afghan nationals on board as part of Canada’s privately sponsored refugee program.
Other leading resettlement countries
In 2021, the United States of America received 13,700 refugees (43% more than in 2020), coming mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5,200), Syria (2,000) and Sudan (1,100).
Further, Sweden was the third largest country of resettlement. They welcomed 6,700 refugees mostly from Syria (2,600) and Afghanistan (1,600).
The proportion of a country’s population who become refugees
According to the report, the countries that have seen the greatest proportion of their national population become refugees are Syria (27,300 per 100,000 inhabitants), South Sudan, (17,200 per 100,000) and Venezuela (13,800 per 100,000).
displaced abroad is highest relative to its inhabitants.
In addition, the Syrian refugee population continues to be the largest globally, with 6.8 million refugees hosted in 129 countries. Moreover, Syrian refugees constituted 27 per cent of the global refugee population at the end of 2021. Also, Venezuelans are the second-largest population displaced across borders, with 4.6 million. Nearly all are located in the Americas region without formal refugee status. Afghans represent the third-largest refugee population globally, with more than 2.7 million hosted by 98 countries.
About Refugee Resettlement in Canada
Each year, IRCC facilitates the admission of a targeted number of permanent residents under the refugee resettlement category. These are persons who are outside of their home country and are unable to return based on a well-founded fear of persecution. This persecution could be due several reasons such as race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group or association with a political opinion. It also includes those who are outside their home country and have been seriously affected by civil war, armed conflict, and more.
According to our CEO and RCIC, Al Parsai, one option for these people is to seek asylum through the UNHCR. In some exceptional cases, they may still resettle to Canada if they receive support from a private sponsorship group. Moreover, a successful resettlement process could lead to the permanent residency of Canada upon arrival.
If you want to learn more about refugee programs in Canada, please visit the following articles:
- Refugee Definition
- Refugee Resettlement Canada
- Claiming Refugee Status
- Who may not file for refugee in Canada
- Moving to Canada as a refugee
- Refugee Claims inside Canada? We could help!
Let us help!
If you are currently inside Canada and intend to file for refugee status, click here and fill out the form. Of course, if your intention is not to move to Canada as a refugee in 2021, fill out our assessment form. Alternatively, you could book a consultation session with Al Parsai for official advice.
You may click here to explore other immigration options to Canada.
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