[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"question:66:en-US":3},{"metadata":4,"sys":15,"fields":35},{"tags":5,"concepts":14},[6,11],{"sys":7},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":10},"Link","Tag","global",{"sys":12},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":13},"refugees",[],{"space":16,"id":20,"type":21,"createdAt":22,"updatedAt":23,"environment":24,"publishedVersion":28,"revision":29,"contentType":30,"locale":34},{"sys":17},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"Space","ghhpjogyw4x7","86c6a9a0720df7780e859eb55c2fd6b4","Entry","2021-11-11T07:08:51.783Z","2024-02-06T10:36:13.479Z",{"sys":25},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},"master","Environment",172,29,{"sys":31},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":33},"ContentType","question","en-US",{"globalId":36,"answers":37,"answersAsImages":58,"wrongPercentage":94,"name":95,"questionText":95,"statistics":96,"veryWrongStatistics":101,"correctSentence":106,"youWereWrong":107,"youWereRight":108,"dataSourceShortText":109,"dataSourceLinkLongText":110,"extendedAnswerText":111,"headingVeryWrong":112,"youWereVeryWrong":113,"headingWrong":112},"66",[38,60,77],{"metadata":39,"sys":42,"fields":55},{"tags":40,"concepts":41},[],[],{"space":43,"id":45,"type":21,"createdAt":46,"updatedAt":47,"environment":48,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":52,"locale":34},{"sys":44},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"1520493a96f7cc86dfdf2b780f2a5019","2021-11-11T06:54:50.252Z","2023-10-19T12:53:12.778Z",{"sys":49},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},33,15,{"sys":53},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},"answer",{"globalId":56,"correctAnswer":57,"isVeryWrong":58,"answerText":59},"66-a1",true,false,"Around 15%",{"metadata":61,"sys":64,"fields":74},{"tags":62,"concepts":63},[],[],{"space":65,"id":67,"type":21,"createdAt":68,"updatedAt":69,"environment":70,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":72,"locale":34},{"sys":66},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"793f540673abca4aa1dbf760254b02de","2021-11-11T06:54:52.099Z","2023-10-19T12:53:24.489Z",{"sys":71},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},{"sys":73},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},{"globalId":75,"correctAnswer":58,"isVeryWrong":58,"answerText":76},"66-a2","Around 25%",{"metadata":78,"sys":81,"fields":91},{"tags":79,"concepts":80},[],[],{"space":82,"id":84,"type":21,"createdAt":85,"updatedAt":86,"environment":87,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":89,"locale":34},{"sys":83},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"c11867326a93527f6429be6d1bb7f209","2021-11-11T06:54:53.730Z","2023-10-19T12:53:31.241Z",{"sys":88},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},{"sys":90},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},{"globalId":92,"correctAnswer":58,"isVeryWrong":57,"answerText":93},"66-a3","Around 35%",70,"What share of all migrants in the world are refugees?",[97,98,99,100],"uk 0.62","deu 0.65","usa 0.71","jpn 0.76",[102,103,104,105],"uk 0.204","usa 0.158","deu 0.175","jpn 0.223","Around 15% of all the world's migrants are refugees.","Next time you hear about migration, you shouldn’t assume it’s about refugees, because they are only a small fraction of all migrants.","They probably confuse the discussion about migration and refugees.","Sources: UNHCR\u002FUN Population Division","We arrived at the figure of 15% as the number for the share of migrants who are refugees by using the number of refugees (which includes asylum seekers and Venezuelans displaced abroad) from UNHCR in mid-2023, to get a total of 47.8 million. We then divided that by the UN Population Division’s[2] number for the total number of migrants (280.6 million in mid-2020). \n\nAs we know that both of these numbers are estimates and potentially a little bit wrong, we left large gaps between our answer options. \n\nExperts we have spoken to agreed that both of these data sources are the best estimates for these figures. \n\n[1]  [UNHCR Refugee Data Finder](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unhcr.org\u002Frefugee-statistics\u002F) \n\n[2]  [United Nations Population Division - International Migrant Stock ](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.un.org\u002Fdevelopment\u002Fdesa\u002Fpd\u002Fcontent\u002Finternational-migrant-stock)\n\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\n[4]  [UNHCR – \"“Refugees” or “Migrants”? How word choices affect rights and lives\"](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unhcr.org\u002Fafrica\u002Fnews\u002Fstories\u002Frefugees-or-migrants-how-word-choices-affect-rights-and-lives)","In 2020, the number of international migrants in the world was around 281 million. As of June 2023, there were around 48 million international refugees. Migrant statistics include all people living in a different country than where they were born, which is roughly 4% of all people in the world.\n\nMost debates about refugees fail to distinguish between the needs of refugees vs. the needs of other kinds of migrants. The two terms are often used as if they meant the same, but the vast majority of migrants are not refugees, they are people like foreign-born software developers, guest workers from neighboring countries, guest researchers or retired people who move abroad after they finish working. Together they make up roughly 85% of all migrants. The reasons these people are living abroad is NOT that they fled their home to save their lives.\n\n### Why is it a problem that people are wrong about this?\nMany people assume the discussion about migration is about refugees, instead of separating the discussions and thinking carefully about the very different situations of these different kinds of migrants.\n\n### Why are people wrong about this?\nIn most cases when migrants are discussed in the news it’s about refugees. That may be one reason why refugees seem like a large share of all migrants. In discussions about refugees, migrants are often discussed at the same time, as if the terms were interchangeable. News reports about refugees often refer to statistics that actually count migrants, instead of refugees, maybe because it’s easier to find migration statistics, and maybe because the numbers are larger which makes the reports sound more alarming.\n\n### Where can I find the data on refugees, share of migrants in different countries? \nYou can find these numbers in this Gapminder graph  [showing the share of refugees in all countries.](https:\u002F\u002Fgapm.io\u002Fed9). These numbers are updated when data become publicly available. \n\n### Can I trust this data?\nYes, you can, but there are uncertainties as with all statistics. The numbers on total migrants came from the UN migrant stock database, which are trusted as the best estimates by experts we spoke to. It is a number for 2020. The figure we calculated for refugees came from UNHCR refugee numbers for mid-2023 (including asylum seekers and Venezuelans displaced abroad). We checked these calculations with a UNHCR expert who confirmed they are correct. The vast majority of migrants and refugees around the world are counted and included in these numbers, but not all are counted directly. But even the highest estimates of unrecorded migrants and refugees wouldn’t change the big picture that roughly 15% of migrants are refugees.\n","Few migrants are refugees","Next time you hear something about migrants, don't assume it’s about refugees."]