[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"question:15:en-US":3},{"metadata":4,"sys":7,"fields":28},{"tags":5,"concepts":6},[],[],{"space":8,"id":13,"type":14,"createdAt":15,"updatedAt":16,"environment":17,"publishedVersion":21,"revision":22,"contentType":23,"locale":27},{"sys":9},{"type":10,"linkType":11,"id":12},"Link","Space","ghhpjogyw4x7","15d2cd5c54eed5574028eae7146f693f","Entry","2021-11-11T07:04:47.791Z","2025-02-17T15:36:02.457Z",{"sys":18},{"id":19,"type":10,"linkType":20},"master","Environment",334,82,{"sys":24},{"type":10,"linkType":25,"id":26},"ContentType","question","en-US",{"globalId":29,"answers":30,"answersAsImages":51,"wrongPercentage":87,"name":88,"questionText":89,"statistics":90,"veryWrongStatistics":96,"correctSentence":102,"youWereWrong":103,"youWereRight":104,"dataSourceShortText":105,"dataSourceLinkLongText":106,"extendedAnswerText":107,"headingVeryWrong":108,"youWereVeryWrong":109,"headingWrong":110},"15",[31,53,70],{"metadata":32,"sys":35,"fields":48},{"tags":33,"concepts":34},[],[],{"space":36,"id":38,"type":14,"createdAt":39,"updatedAt":40,"environment":41,"publishedVersion":43,"revision":44,"contentType":45,"locale":27},{"sys":37},{"type":10,"linkType":11,"id":12},"2518d720ae29b231f814c0516c5b8c24","2021-11-11T06:50:44.996Z","2025-01-22T13:44:12.410Z",{"sys":42},{"id":19,"type":10,"linkType":20},90,61,{"sys":46},{"type":10,"linkType":25,"id":47},"answer",{"globalId":49,"correctAnswer":50,"isVeryWrong":51,"answerText":52},"15-a1",true,false,"Around 0.6%",{"metadata":54,"sys":57,"fields":67},{"tags":55,"concepts":56},[],[],{"space":58,"id":60,"type":14,"createdAt":61,"updatedAt":62,"environment":63,"publishedVersion":43,"revision":44,"contentType":65,"locale":27},{"sys":59},{"type":10,"linkType":11,"id":12},"22d22424cb997d6e74694a36fbba47e3","2021-11-11T06:50:46.775Z","2025-01-22T13:44:12.445Z",{"sys":64},{"id":19,"type":10,"linkType":20},{"sys":66},{"type":10,"linkType":25,"id":47},{"globalId":68,"correctAnswer":51,"isVeryWrong":51,"answerText":69},"15-a2","Around 6%",{"metadata":71,"sys":74,"fields":84},{"tags":72,"concepts":73},[],[],{"space":75,"id":77,"type":14,"createdAt":78,"updatedAt":79,"environment":80,"publishedVersion":43,"revision":44,"contentType":82,"locale":27},{"sys":76},{"type":10,"linkType":11,"id":12},"132617b8bc592ad8c96623237a34f107","2021-11-11T06:50:48.489Z","2025-01-22T13:44:12.478Z",{"sys":81},{"id":19,"type":10,"linkType":20},{"sys":83},{"type":10,"linkType":25,"id":47},{"globalId":85,"correctAnswer":51,"isVeryWrong":50,"answerText":86},"15-a3","Around 16%",80,"What share of the world's population are refugees?","What share of the world's population are international refugees?",[91,92,93,94,95],"uk 0.87","swe 0.87","dnk 0.92","fin 0.9","nor 0.92",[97,98,99,100,101],"uk 0.50","swe 0.37","dnk 0.36","fin 0.34","nor 0.35","Around 0.6% of the world’s population are international refugees.","You probably want to help refugees in some way, but as you are inflating the amount 10 times it must seem too costly to help them all.","As they inflate the number more than 10 times, they probably think it’s too costly to help them all.","Source: UNHCR","The number we use of around 0.6% is correct as of June 2023. It was calculated by dividing the number of international refugees (46 million) with the total world population of 8 billion. The number of refugees we use also includes asylum seekers and Venezuelans displaced abroad. We used the highest estimate to make sure we are not underestimating the share of refugees. This 46 million also includes the 5.7 million Ukrainians who had fled the country at the time we wrote this update. We cross-checked these figures with a UNHCR expert who confirmed our correct answer is correct.\n\n[1]  [UNHCR Figures at a glance](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unhcr.org\u002Ffigures-at-a-glance.html)  \n[2]  [UN Population Prospects 2024](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.un.org\u002Fdevelopment\u002Fdesa\u002Fpd\u002Fcontent\u002FWorld-Population-Prospects-2024)\n[3]  [UNRWA - United Nations Relief and Works Agency](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unrwa.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002Fcontent\u002Fresources\u002Funrwa_in_figures_2020_eng_v2_final.pdf)\n[4]  [UNHCR - Ukraine refugee data by year](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unhcr.org\u002Frefugee-statistics\u002Fdownload\u002F?url=6r9OTN) \n[5]  [UNHCR - Ukraine refugee situation](https:\u002F\u002Fdata2.unhcr.org\u002Fen\u002Fsituations\u002Fukraine) ","Refugees are in the news all the time, so it isn’t surprising that most people answer this question wrongly. When you hear that there are 46 million international refugees it seems like a big number, but it’s NOT if you divide it by the total world population of 8 billion. Then it’s less than one percent! The majority of people think that more than 6% of the world’s population are refugees, which would mean that 1 in every 20 people is a refugee. In reality, it’s more like 1 in 200.\n\nOf course, that global average disguises the fact that some countries stretch their resources far more than others in order to help people fleeing their countries. Our point is not to trivialize the trauma of people having to flee their homes or how hard some countries work to try to help refugees. What it is important to recognize is that there are more than enough resources to help the world’s refugees if more countries stepped up to help those in need.\n\nWe have tested this question on people with very different opinions about migration, and everyone was equally wrong about this, independent of their opinions. No matter how and where they think refugees should be supported, in reality the task to help them is smaller than they believe.\n\n### Why is it a problem that people are wrong about this?\nIf we overestimate the number of refugees, we can think there are too many to help. Helping those in need seems a lot more achievable when we realize they are only 0.6% of the world’s population!\n\n### Why are people wrong about this?\nThe media and politicians often talk about refugees and migration, so it’s no surprise people overestimate the numbers. \n\n### Where can I find the data about refugees in different countries? \nYou can find these numbers on the [UNHCR website ](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unhcr.org\u002Fflagship-reports\u002Fglobaltrends\u002F), or in this Gapminder graph [showing the share of refugees in all countries.](https:\u002F\u002Fgapm.io\u002Firefs). These figures get updated when they become publicly available.\n\n### Can I trust this fact?\nYes, the figures come from UNHCR, which are used by experts in the field. This was calculated by adding the UNHCR definition of international refugees in 2022 to asylum seekers and Venezuelans displaced abroad to get a total of around 46 million. This was then divided with the total world population of 8 billion people. We used the highest estimate to make sure we are not underestimating the share of refugees. We checked these figures with a UNHCR expert who agreed that our calculations including Ukrainians were correct.\n\n### How does the current situation in Ukraine affect the data?\n\nRussia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused many Ukrainians to seek refuge in other countries.\n\nThe current situation in Ukraine is developing rapidly and [UNHCR estimates are updated daily, here](https:\u002F\u002Fdata2.unhcr.org\u002Fen\u002Fsituations\u002Fukraine).\nThe total flow of refugees may not include those who have returned to Ukraine. We used the figure of 5.7 million on the recommendation of a UNHCR expert who explained that the situation when it comes to people returning or leaving again is very fluid. \n","There are 1 billion imaginary refugees in your head","You probably want to help refugees in some way, but as you are inflating the amount 30 times it must seem too costly to help them all.","There are 300 million imaginary refugees in your head"]