While Lebanon is neither a signatory to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees nor its 1967 Protocol, the government maintains an “open border†policy whereby registered Syrian refugees can live and work in Lebanon.
Syrian Arabic is similar to Lebanese Arabic, but differs significantly from colloquial Arabic in neighboring Iraq and Jordan . A Syrian would find colloquial Moroccan Arabic virtually incomprehensible. Like most people speaking dialects, Syrians proudly regard their dialect as the most refined.
According to latest global estimations, 61% of Lebanon's population identify as Muslim while 33.7% identify as Christian. The Muslim population is somewhat evenly split between followers of Sunni (30.6%) and Shi'a (30.5%) denominations, with smaller numbers of those belonging to Alawite and Ismaili sects.
Only a trickle of Syrians have left Lebanon for Syria since 2011. In studies, a majority say they want to return — but don't think conditions will be safe enough for several more years. Nonetheless, Lebanon says it's time to leave.
As of 2016, there are 114,911 registered Syrian refugees living in Egypt. The country is also under the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), a coordination effort between countries neighboring Syria (Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq), Egypt, and UN agencies with NGOs including UNHCR and 240 partners.
The number of Syrians in Germany is estimated at around 800,000 people in March 2021 and consists mainly of refugees of the Syrian Civil War. Between 2008 and 2015, the number of employees in companies that were migrants grew by 50%.
Turkey is the largest host country of registered refugees, with over 3.6 million Syrian refugees.
Refugees of the Syrian civil war.
| Syrian refugees |
|---|
| By country | Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt |
| Settlements | Camps: (Jordan) |
| Internally Displaced Syrians |
| Casualties of the war |
3.6 million Syrian refugees
Ranking of the largest Syrian refugee-hosting countries in 2019
| Characteristic | Number of admitted Syrian refugees |
|---|
| Germany | 572,818 |
| Iraq | 245,810 |
| Egypt | 129,210 |
| Sweden | 113,418 |
1.5 million Syrian refugees
Many of the Lebanese hailed from the villages of Buhandoun and Amyoun while the Syrians came from villages in the 'Valley of the Christians. ' These Arabs emigrated to the Caribbean from as early as 1904 in an attempt to escape religious persecution and economic hardship in their native countries.
Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country. They often have had to flee with little more than the clothes on their back, leaving behind homes, possessions, jobs and loved ones. Learn more about refugees.
As of 2020, the Lebanese government estimates their country hosts 1.5 million Syrian refugees. Close to 300,000 Palestinian refugees also live in Lebanon.
"The average length of time that refugees spend in camps is 17 years." This cruel statistic has been quoted many times, influencing our perception of refugee crises as never-ending events which are spinning out of control.
Canada will support Syrian refugees, host communities and those who have been internally displaced.†Canada has committed up to $3.5 billion in funding for Syria and the region from 2016 to 2021, including significant humanitarian, development and stabilization assistance.
Find out all the ways to support refugees in your community and around the world:
- Donate online.
- Donate goods.
- Speak out.
- Spread the word.
- Volunteer.
- Help a refugee with their taxes.
- Fundraise.
- Share refugee stories.
Most modern-day Syrians are described as Arabs by virtue of their modern-day language and bonds to Arab culture and history. Genetically, Syrian Arabs are a blend of various Semitic-speaking groups indigenous to the region.
Conflict in Syria reached its 10th year in 2020. There are 13.5 million displaced Syrian, representing more than half of Syria's total population. 6.7 million Syrian refugees are hosted in 128 countries. 80% of all Syrian refugees are located in neighboring countries, with Turkey hosting more than half (3.6 million).
In line with government policy, no formal refugee camps were established in Lebanon in response to the influx of Syrian refugees. Consequently, some one million registered Syrian refugees live in cities, villages or spontaneously set-up tented settlements throughout the country.
The ten host countries with the highest number of refugees are:
- Turkey (3.7 million)
- Jordan (2.9 million)
- Lebanon (1.4 million)
- Pakistan (1.4 million)
- Uganda (1.1 million)
- Germany (1 million)
- Iran (979,400)
- Ethiopia (921.00)
Turkey has by far the largest refugee population at 3.7 million people, mostly from Syria, which neighbours the country at its southern border.
As more than 800,000 refugees arrived in the Cox's Bazar region of Bangladesh, Kutupalong became the world's largest refugee camp.
Where are Syrian refugees going? The majority of Syrian refugees, about 5.6 million, have fled — by land and sea — across borders to neighboring countries but remain in the Middle East. Turkey — Nearly 3.7 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey, the largest refugee population worldwide.
