The Migrant Crisis Just Reached A New Zenith At 60 Million People
As of this week, there are approximately 60 million people that have been displaced by conflict and mistreatment, a number that is far higher than that of a decade ago.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres reported the new figure on Monday at a meeting in Geneva. According to AP, Guterres noted that the recent surge of refugees entering Europe has contributed to the problem.
The “interlinked mega-crises” in Iraq and Syria have uprooted 15 million people, he said. And in the last 12 months, 500,000 people have fled their homes in South Sudan, 190,000 in Burundi, 1.1 million in Yemen and 300,000 in Libya. Tens of thousands are fleeing gang violence in Central America. And there has been little or no improvement in the crises in Central African Republic, Nigeria, Ukraine and Congo, he said.
What’s more, ten years ago the number of refugees was at 38 million people, and that figure was on its way down.
Here’s a list of countries whose total population is approximately equal to the number of migrants living in the world right now:
- Thailand
- United Kingdom
- Italy
- South Africa
The journeys that many migrants embark on are notoriously dangerous. But even Guterres, during his speech, noted that the risk was sometimes the best option for people faced with few better choices.
“To be honest, in these circumstances, I would probably do the same with my own family,” he said.
