Today, there are 65 million people displaced globally, an unprecedented figure, of which 21.3 million are refugees. The dire situation in Syria has been a major driver of these numbers—more than 4.9 million Syrians are living outside the country—with the largest numbers in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. In Lebanon, one in every five people is a Syrian refugee. In Jordan, Syrian refugees make up 7 percent of the population. Over one million have applied for asylum in Europe, while countless others have already crossed borders without official refugee status. Meanwhile, upwards of 13 million people remain in need of assistance within Syria, with nearly 7 million Syrians internally displaced. And these numbers continue to grow, with no resolution to the conflict in sight.
Commentary
by
Julie Snyder,
Shannon N. Green,
Elliot Hecht ,
and
Jillian Rafferty
— June 20, 2016
