Refugee-specific trends
Every year, millions of people around the world are displaced due to conflict and persecution. By mid-2021, over 84 million people worldwide were forcibly uprooted, according to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees; of these, over 26.6 million were considered refugees (UNHCR, 2021). The 2016 UNHCR Global Trends report outlines the nature of the ongoing refugee crises around the world.
UNHCR's Global trends report
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Read this fact sheet developed by UNHCR for more information on the process and programs related to resettlement in Canada.
During periods of intense regional conflict or human rights violations, a large number of refugees may originate from certain regions of the world.
In mid-2021, for example, the top five source countries for refugees were:
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Syrian Arab Republic
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Venezuela
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Afghanistan
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South Sudan
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Myanmar
The leading source countries of refugees change from year to year according to global circumstances. Canada has resettled or granted asylum to refugees from more than 140 countries (CIC, 2011).
In 2014, for example, the largest proportion of refugees resettled to Canada as permanent residents came from the regions of Africa and the Middle East. In contrast, the largest numbers of in-Canada refugee claimants were from China, Pakistan, Iraq, Nigeria and Colombia (CIC, 2015).
In 2015, the Government of Canada notably increased the number of resettled refugees to be accepted into the country. Since November 4, 2015, over 40,000 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada through GAR, PSR and BVOR programs (Government of Canada, 2016).