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Emergencies

SYRIA REFUGEE CRISIS

16.7 million

16.7 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, up from 15.3 million in 2023 (as of March 2024).

90%

Over 90 percent of the population in Syria lives below the poverty line (as of March 2024).

12.9 million

12.9 million Syrians are food insecure and 7.2 million are internally displaced (as of March 2024).

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Right now, war and violence have forced more than 120 million people to flee their homes. Sign up to learn how you can help!

About the Crisis in Syria

After more than a decade, the humanitarian situation in Syria is more difficult than ever. An estimated 16.7 million people need humanitarian assistance and more than half of the population remains displaced from their homes - including more than 5 million refugees living in neighboring countries and more than 7.2 million internally displaced inside Syria. Women and children comprise more than two thirds of those displaced.

Over the years, Syrians have shown remarkable resilience, but as war continues, hope is fading fast. Over 90 percent of Syrians live under the poverty line and it's estimated that 12.9 million people are food insecure. In Lebanon, economic challenges in the country have pushed Syrians further into poverty with over 90 percent of Syrian refugees living in extreme poverty.

On February 6, 2023, two powerful earthquakes struck south-eastern Türkiye and northern Syria, claiming thousands of lives and causing untold destruction to homes and infrastructure across the region. The earthquake impacted 8.8 million people across the country, many of whom had already been displaced. This is a crisis on top of existing crises already impacting internally displaced Syrians and Syrian refugees. 

With no end in sight to the conflict, UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi calls it "the biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time and a continuing cause for suffering."

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Albeit a silent one, Syria remains the world’s largest refugee crisis of our time.

How to Help Syrian Refugees

UNHCR is on the ground aiding Syrian refugees, but resources are stretched too thin. Your gift will offer hope for a safe future.

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What is UNHCR doing to help Syrian refugees?

The UN Refugee Agency has been on the ground since the start of the crisis providing shelter, lifesaving supplies, clean water, hot meals and medical care to families who have been forced to flee their homes. During winter, UNHCR also supports vulnerable families with vital winter relief items - such as warm clothes, sleeping bags, thermal blankets, stoves, fuel for heating and insulation for tents - as well as cash assistance to help Syrian refugees pay rent and purchase food and medicine.

UNHCR and humanitarian partners are responding to the Türkiye-Syria Earthquakes by stepping up their assistance in the two countries. In Syria, UNHCR has delivered protection assistance, including psychosocial support, to more than 311,000 people affected by the earthquakes. UNHCR is also providing shelter support, cash assistance and other aid to those affected. In Türkiye, UNHCR has provided over 3 million relief items including tents, containers, hygiene kits, bedding and warm clothing for refugees and local residents in temporary accommodation centers. UNCHR is also supporting protection activities for more than 500,000 people – including legal counseling, identification and referral of people with specific needs, psychosocial support and cash assistance. 

Syrian Refugee Camps and Settlements

Syrian refugee mother and her son inside their shelter in Tripoli, Lebanon.

More Facts About the Syrian Refugee Crisis

  • Syrian refugees have sought asylum in more than 130 countries, but the vast majority live in neighboring countries within the region, such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.
  • Turkey alone hosts the largest population (over 3.6 million) and Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees per capita in the world – 1.5 million Syrians. 
  • Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan is home to more than 82,000 refugees. More than half of refugees in the camp are children and 23.4 percent are women.  
  • Some 90 percent of the Syrian refugee population in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt are in debt, borrowing money from friends and neighbors to cover their basic needs.

Stories from the Syria Refugee Crisis

Lebanon Explainer 1

What is happening in Lebanon?

The latest escalation of violence in Lebanon mark the most intense attacks on the country in the last two decades. More than one million people in Lebanon are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

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Lebanon UNHCR

UNHCR: Lebanon crisis deepens as Israeli airstrikes intensify

The escalating conflict and intensified Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon are taking an increasingly devastating toll on civilians in the country, pushing more people to flee to Syria.

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Lebanon Grandi

UNHCR’s Grandi appeals for urgent humanitarian support and an end to the bloodshed in Lebanon

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, calls for greater international support to stem the humanitarian catastrophe engulfing Lebanon.

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Lebanon Displaced Families

Displaced families in Lebanon yearn for peace and a return home

In Lebanon, UNHCR’s Grandi urges increased international support and an immediate ceasefire to ease the plight of some 1.2 million people displaced by deadly airstrikes.

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