Iran, Pakistan home to 90pc of Afghan refugees: UN

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): The United Nations has noted an uptick in the number of Afghan refugees in different countries of the world from 5.7 million to 6.1 million.

In a new report released on Wednesday, UNHCR said together, Iran (3.4 million) and Pakistan (2.1 million) hosted 90 per cent of Afghan refugees.

The Mid-Year Trends Report from the UN agency said by the end of June, there were an estimated 35.8 million refugees globally, most of whom had been in displacement for many years.

Internationally, the number of people displaced by war, persecution, violence and human rights violations globally rose from 108.4 million at the end of last year to 110 million by the end of June 2023.

By the end of September, the report said, the number exceeded to a record 114 million.

Wars in Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo; a prolonged humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan were the main drivers in the first half of 2023.

Over half of refugees worldwide are Afghan, Syrian or Ukrainian. The number of Afghan refugees increased from 5.7 million to 6.1 million.

This increase primarily reflects new population estimates reported by the Pakistan government, accounting for the arrival of Afghans in the country since the Taliban takeover in August 2021.

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