List of largest refugee crises

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This article provides a list of data to rank the largest refugee crises in modern history by the event(s) that caused them. Only those events that resulted in the creation of at least one million refugees—not including internally displaced persons—are included in this ranking.

For events for which estimates vary, the geometric mean of the lowest and highest estimates is calculated in order to rank them. As the dates for some events are disputed, the provided data only covers the time since or between the listed years.

List

Rows that are highlighted in red denote crises that are ongoing, as of 2026. Data for ongoing events may be outdated or disputed, and may be adjusted to reflect smaller or larger figures with newer analyses and reports.

More information Event, Refugees (est.) ...
Event Refugees (est.) Origin From Until Duration Ref.
World War II 60 million Europe 1939 1945 6 years [1][2][3][4][5][6]
Partition of India 20 million South Asia 1947 1948 1 year [7][8]
World War I 15 million Europe 1914 1918 4 years [9][10][11]
Bangladesh genocide 9.9 million East Pakistan (Bangladesh)[note 1] 1971 1971 8 months [12]
Venezuelan crisis 8.9 million Venezuela 2014 Present 11 years [13]
Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present) 7 million[note 2] Europe 2022 Present 4 years, 2 months [14][15][16][17]
Syrian civil war 6.7 million Syria 2011 2024 13 years [18]
Soviet–Afghan War 6.2 million Afghanistan 1978 1989 11 years [19]
Yemeni civil war (2014–present) 4.5 million Yemen 2014 Present 11 years [20]
Sudanese civil war (2023–present) 4.25 million Republic of the Sudan 2023 Present 3 years [21] making it the largest displacement crisis in the world.[22]
Indochina crisis 3 million Mainland Southeast Asia 1975 2000 25 years [23]
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) 2.6–2.7 million Afghanistan 2001 2021 20 years [24][25]
Yugoslav Wars 2.4 million Yugoslavia 1991 2001 10 years [26]
Korean War 1–5 million Korean Peninsula 1950 1953 3 years [27][28]
Iraq War 2.2 million Iraq 2003 2011 8 years [29]
Rwandan genocide 2.1 million Rwanda 1994 1996 2 years [30]
Iraqi uprisings 1.8 million Iraq 1991 1991 1 month [23]
Wars in the Caucasus 1.5–2 million Caucasus 1988 1996 8 years [31][32]
Mozambican Civil War 1.7 million Mozambique 1977 1992 15 years [23]
Arab–Israeli conflict 2+ million (1,000,000+ Palestinians and 850,000+ Jews) West Asia and North Africa 1947 Present 78 years [33]
South Sudanese Civil War 1.5 million Republic of South Sudan 2011 2020 9 years [34]
Rohingya genocide 1.3 million Myanmar 2016 Present 9 years [35]
Armenian genocide 1 million Ottoman Empire 1915 1923 8 years [36][37][38][39][40]
Algerian War 1 million Algeria 1954 1962 8 years [23]
Irish Great Famine 1 million Ireland 1845 1849 4 years [41]
First Libyan Civil War 1 million Libya 2011 2011 8 months [42]
Somali Civil War 1 million Somalia 1991[note 3] Present 34 years [43]
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Notes

  1. [1]
    Pakistan's Operation Searchlight began on 25 March 1971. The Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence occurred on 26 March 1971 before being taken up by the India-backed Provisional Government of Bangladesh on 10 April 1971.
  2. [2]
    Includes 5.7 million Ukrainian refugees globally (not IDPs) and 35,000 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia by the end of 2024; and 900,000+ (total) Russians fleeing the government's military campaign in Ukraine by the aftermath of the 2022 Russian mobilization.
  3. [3]
    Disputed. Various sources also assert 1981 or 1988 (in addition to 1991) as the years in which the conflict began, depending on the event chosen.

See also

References

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