Foreigners Seeking Refuge in Brazil Have More than Doubled in a Year

06/19/2018 - 11h50

In one year, the number of foreigners who already have or are seeking refugee status in Brazil has more than doubled, according to a report for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (Acnur)

Adding the number of known refugees in Brazil, 10,264, to those who are awaiting a decision (85,746) and the foreigners with other kinds of protected status, the number totals 148,645 in 2017, a 118% increase over 2016.

The increase largely reflects the exodus of Venezuelans due to the crisis that has led 1.5 million residents to leave that country.

Throughout the world, the number of people who have been forced to leave their homes reached a record 68.5 million in 2017. The increase is largely due to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and ongoing conflicts in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The greatest number of dispossessed are Syrians: 12.6 million in 2017 of which 6.3 million are refugees. 146.7 thousand are awaiting processing of their status as refugees and 6.2 have been dislocated internally in the country.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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