Jordan hosts second largest number of refugees per capita — report

AMMAN — Jordan has the second largest number of refugees per capita, according to an international report.

The report by Statista, a Germany-based statistics portal, said Jordan ranked after Lebanon, with the ratio of refugees standing at 87 per 1,000 per capita.

According to official figures, there are some 1.4 million Syrians in Jordan.

In Lebanon, there are an estimated 1.15 million refugees, equating to 232 per 1,000 inhabitants, the report said.

“Jordan came after Lebanon as the population of Lebanon is smaller and this is relative. If the other non-Syrian refugees in Jordan are taken into account the ratio will be higher in Jordan,” Musa Shteiwi, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, told The Jordan Times Wednesday.

The number of people who live in Jordan currently is estimated at around 10 million, around 6.6 million are Jordanians while the rest from various nationalities, according to official data. Lebanon’s population is estimated at over 4 million, according to web sources.

Refugees from 44 nations, including Somalis, Iraqis and Sudanese, reside in Jordan, according to the UNHCR.  

The influx of refugees from many nations is a testimony to Jordan’s safety and security, Shteiwi said.

“The fact that Jordan has a large number of refugees shows that Jordanians are very hospitable, tolerant and welcoming to people from other races, ethnicities and backgrounds, which is a reason why all those people seek refuge in the Kingdom,” he added.

“At the same time, the presence of large numbers of refugees causes a burden on the economy and many sectors including health, education and energy,” Shteiwi said, adding that the situation makes it necessary to increase aid to Jordan.

By the end of 2014, 59.5 million people were forcibly displaced, compared to 51.2 million a year earlier, the Statista report said. 

Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees with 1.59 million, due to the conflict in neighbouring Syria. 

The report by Statista showed that the ratio of refugees per 1,000 per capita in Chad reached 34, in Djibouti 23, in South Sudan 21, in Turkey 21, 19 in Mauritania and 15 in Sweden.