The Slatest

United Nations Says There Are More Refugees Now Than at Any Other Time Since World War II

A young Syrian refugee plays soccer at a camp in Jordan.

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/Getty Images

Via USA Today, an upsetting report from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees about the state of global stability:

At the end of last year, 51.2 million people had been forced from their homes worldwide, the highest figure of displacement since World War II, said the UNHCR.

The war in Syria has caused that number to spike dramatically. The figure includes people displaced within their own countries as well as those who’ve fled abroad. The countries that have generated the most refugees are Afghanistan, Syria, and Somalia; the countries hosting the most refugees are Pakistan, Iran, and Lebanon.

The population of the world in 1940 was approximately 2.3 billion; today it’s around 7.2 billion.