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Countries With the Fastest Decline in Refugee population by asylum (5-Year Change)

Change in Refugee population by asylum over the five years to each country's latest year, as a percentage of the earlier value. Only countries that fell are listed. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

China fell the most: by 100%, from 13.19 million people to 2,072 people in the five years to 2023. Guinea-Bissau is second (−99.9%), followed by Eritrea (−99.1%). 133 countries fell over that period; the median change among them was −78.2%.

#1
China · −100%
Median
−78.2%
Coverage
133 countries
Data year
2023
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: 5-year change (%)Bar chart of the top 10: 1. China -100; 2. Guinea-Bissau -99.9; 3. Eritrea -99.1; 4. Israel -98.9; 5. Bosnia and Herzegovina -98.9; 6. Naoero -98.7; 7. Liberia -97.8; 8. St. Lucia -96.9; 9. Libya -96.4; 10. Yemen, Rep. -96.4.China-100Guinea-Bissau-99.9Eritrea-99.1Israel-98.9Bosnia and Herzegovina-98.9Naoero-98.7Liberia-97.8St. Lucia-96.9Libya-96.4Yemen, Rep.-96.4
Top 10: 5-year change (%). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. China -100; 2. Guinea-Bissau -99.9; 3. Eritrea -99.1; 4. Israel -98.9; 5. Bosnia and Herzegovina -98.9; 6. Naoero -98.7; 7. Liberia -97.8; 8. St. Lucia -96.9; 9. Libya -96.4; 10. Yemen, Rep. -96.4.

Full ranking

Countries With the Fastest Decline in Refugee population by asylum (5-Year Change), 2023
RankCountryFromTo5-year change (%)
1China13,192,0002,072−100%
2Guinea-Bissau198,940168−99.9%
3Eritrea92,332833−99.1%
4Israel760,8608,645−98.9%
5Bosnia and Herzegovina214,3302,436−98.9%
6Naoero44,044585−98.7%
7Liberia373,4108,148−97.8%
8St. Lucia1294−96.9%
9Libya360,49012,859−96.4%
10Yemen, Rep.10,839,000388,980−96.4%
11Gabon28,1361,428−94.9%
12Mauritius63635−94.5%
13Botswana83,8345,327−93.6%
14Venezuela, RB2,758,700205,350−92.6%
15Sri Lanka32,6762,639−91.9%
16Cuba11,767952−91.9%
17Afghanistan2,961,400243,780−91.8%
18Guinea176,05015,337−91.3%
19Suriname1,701168−90.1%
20Ghana487,77049,399−89.9%
21Australia2,334,300241,510−89.7%
22Ecuador4,163,700440,290−89.4%
23Angola1,634,200176,220−89.2%
24Tanzania11,411,0001,322,700−88.4%
25Monaco1,025119−88.4%
26South Africa3,660,700470,020−87.2%
27Indonesia442,30059,150−86.6%
28Rwanda5,959,700809,500−86.4%
29Senegal588,72082,992−85.9%
30Kuwait27,5314,004−85.5%
31Thailand4,191,700611,200−85.4%
32Sudan44,210,0006,457,300−85.4%
33Türkiye150,950,00022,758,000−84.9%
34Lebanon58,412,0008,953,800−84.7%
35Sint Maarten (Dutch part)22535−84.4%
36Sierra Leone38,9316,210−84%
37Nepal853,000137,070−83.9%
38Gambia, The165,18026,663−83.9%
39Serbia1,268,800205,560−83.8%
40Sweden10,177,0001,663,400−83.7%
41Ukraine106,99017,584−83.6%
42Nicaragua13,2112,177−83.5%
43Bahrain10,7521,778−83.5%
44Oman12,6902,100−83.5%
45Egypt, Arab Rep.10,117,0001,683,500−83.4%
46Iraq11,604,0002,005,400−82.7%
47Syrian Arab Republic23,714,0004,171,700−82.4%
48Jordan121,200,00021,445,000−82.3%
49Qatar7,7591,379−82.2%
50Algeria3,868,100690,130−82.2%
51Mozambique201,28036,064−82.1%
52Papua New Guinea410,94073,661−82.1%
53Somalia, Fed. Rep.686,290124,390−81.9%
54Bangladesh37,172,0006,803,900−81.7%
55Ethiopia37,032,0006,858,900−81.5%
56Panama102,71019,068−81.4%
57Guyana1,005189−81.2%
58Malaysia4,973,500951,100−80.9%
59Chile83,13616,366−80.3%
60New Zealand63,53512,859−79.8%
61Argentina141,38028,728−79.7%
62Burundi2,931,600596,600−79.6%
63United Arab Emirates47,8179,912−79.3%
64Madagascar1,649343−79.2%
65Djibouti750,030161,440−78.5%
66Cameroon15,593,0003,397,000−78.2%
67Kenya17,271,0003,772,300−78.2%
68India8,031,4001,770,100−78%
69Zimbabwe319,62070,798−77.8%
70United States12,843,0002,864,400−77.7%
71South Sudan11,965,0002,668,700−77.7%
72Côte d'Ivoire74,14816,590−77.6%
73Mauritania3,410,600787,840−76.9%
74Uganda47,792,00011,042,000−76.9%
75Malta351,74082,068−76.7%
76Eswatini35,8848,414−76.6%
77Bolivia32,9627,819−76.3%
78Morocco243,29058,065−76.1%
79Korea, Rep.118,62028,371−76.1%
80Pakistan57,564,00013,918,000−75.8%
81Cayman Islands1,394343−75.4%
82Zambia2,045,000506,880−75.2%
83Turks and Caicos Islands19549−74.9%
84Philippines25,9816,538−74.8%
85Canada4,678,2001,186,100−74.6%
86Burkina Faso1,029,900264,150−74.4%
87Niger7,192,0001,890,000−73.7%
88Italy7,758,5002,088,100−73.1%
89Congo, Rep.1,537,200424,460−72.4%
90France15,102,0004,650,600−69.2%
91Saudi Arabia10,8133,339−69.1%
92Norway2,337,400725,240−69%
93Mongolia22570−68.9%
94Haiti9630−68.8%
95Switzerland4,264,7001,347,500−68.4%
96Denmark1,501,600482,380−67.9%
97Austria5,279,8001,804,700−65.8%
98Nigeria1,423,900489,580−65.6%
99Bahamas, The368130−64.7%
100Namibia98,21436,099−63.2%

Showing the top 100 of 133. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#10 Yemen, Rep.

Yemen, Rep. ranks #10 on this list with −96.4%.

Capital
Sanaa, Aden
Continent
Asia
Income group
Low income
Population
41.77 million people (2025)
Life expectancy
69.4 years (2024)
Urban population
37% of population (2025)
International tourist arrivals
398,000 arrivals (2015)
CO2 emissions per person
0.261 t CO2e per person (2024)

Largest cities: Sanaa, Aden.

Also ranks #2 in prevalence of stunting (under-5) · #2 in prevalence of wasting (under-5) · #12 in unemployment rate.

Full country profile

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Related rankings

Source and method

Change in Refugee population by asylum over the five years to each country's latest year, as a percentage of the earlier value. Only countries that fell are listed.

Source: The World Bank, indicator SM.POP.REFG. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

The World Bank: Refugee population by country or territory of asylum: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNRWA through UNHCR's Refugee Data Finder at https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/. (via World Development Indicators)

Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNRWA through UNHCR's Refugee Data Finder at https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/..

Values are shown as published (changes are computed from the published values). Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.