Where do six million Syrian refugees live today?

On Sunday morning, millions of Syrians, both within the country and abroad, woke up to a changed nation after opposition forces swept into Damascus, bringing an end to President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule.

After a 13-year conflict, during which millions of Syrians were forced to flee the country or cross its borders in search of a chance to rebuild their lives, Damascus fell.

More than 13 million Syrians displaced

In 2011, at the start of popular uprisings against al-Assad, Syria’s population was approximately 21 million.

In the years that followed, nearly half a million people were killed, more than a million injured and about 13 million fled their homes.

As of 2024, the United Nations reports, at least 7.4 million Syrians remain internally displaced, with approximately 4.9 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. An additional 1.3 million have resettled elsewhere, mostly in Europe.

The neighbouring countries with the most registered Syrian refugees include Turkiye, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.

Which countries host the most Syrian refugees?

About half of Syria’s registered refugees, or 3.1 million, live in Turkiye, which hosts the largest refugee population in the world. Syrians are granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which allows them to remain legal in Turkey, but it does not offer a path to citizenship.

Lebanon is the second-largest host of Syrian refugees with about 774, 000 registered people. Including unregistered individuals, the total rises to an estimated 1.5 million. With one in five Syrian refugees living in Lebanon, that is the country with the highest proportion of people there.

Germany hosts the third-largest number of Syrian refugees – about 716, 000 – according to the UN. The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community in Germany announced that Syrian citizens’ asylum applications would not be granted. The decision affects more than 47, 770 asylum applications, according to a spokesperson for the Federal&nbsp, Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).

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