This table is taken from the US Committee for Refugees web site. 

The data in the table below is for 1997.

 


Refugees and Asylum Seekers Worldwide

AFRICA

This table includes statistics on two categories of people in need of protection and/or assistance: refugees, who are unwilling or unable to return to their home countries because they fear persecution or violence there; and asylum seekers, who claim that they are refugees. Generally, this table does not include refugees and asylum seekers once they have been granted permanent status. Host countries, and the number of refugees and asylum seekers received, are printed in bold type. Below each host country is a breakdown that shows the country of origin of those refugees and asylum seekers.

AFRICA TOTAL 3,684,000
Algeria 114,000 *
  • Western Sahara
80,000 *
  • Mali
15,000
  • Niger
15,000
  • Palestinians
4,000
Angola 9,300
  • Zaire
9,300
Benin 11,000
  • Togo
10,000
  • Nigeria
1,000
Burkina Faso 26,000
  • Mali
25,000
  • Other
1,000
Burundi 12,000
  • Zaire
10,000
  • Rwanda
2,000
Cameroon 1,000
  • Chad
1,000
Central African Republic 36,400
  • Sudan
31,000
  • Chad
5,000
  • Other
400
Chad 100
Congo 16,000
  • Angola
13,000
  • Chad
2,000
  • Other
1,000
Côte d’Ivoire 320,000
  • Liberia
320,000
Djibouti 22,000
  • Somalia
20,000
  • Ethiopia
2,000
Egypt 46,000 *
  • Palestinians
40,000 *
  • Somalia
3,500
  • Sudan
1,500 *
  • Other
1,000
Eritrea 1,000
  • Sudan
1,000
Ethiopia 328,000 *
  • Somalia
240,000 *
  • Sudan
70,000
  • Djibouti
10,000 *
  • Kenya
8,000
Gabon 1,000
Gambia 5,000
  • Senegal
2,000
  • Other
3,000
Ghana 35,000
  • Togo
20,000
  • Liberia
15,000
Guinea 650,000 *
  • Liberia
400,000 *
  • Sierra Leone
250,000 *
Guinea-Bissau 15,000
  • Senegal
15,000
Kenya 186,000 *
  • Somalia
150,000 *
  • Sudan
30,000
  • Ethiopia
5,000
  • Other
1,000
Liberia 100,000 *
  • Sierra Leone
100,000 *
Libya 27,200 *
  • Palestinians
25,000 *
  • Somalia
2,100
  • Other
100
Mali 15,000
  • Mauritania
15,000
Mauritania 15,000
  • Mali
15,000
Namibia 1,000
  • Angola
1,000
Niger 27,000
  • Mali
25,000
  • Chad
2,000
Nigeria 8,000
  • Liberia
5,000
  • Cameroon
1,500
  • Chad
1,500
Rwanda 20,000
  • Zaire
15,000
  • Burundi
5,000
Senegal 51,000
  • Mauritania
50,000
  • Other
1,000
Sierra Leone 15,000 *
  • Liberia
15,000 *
South Africa1 22,500
  • Angola
6,000
  • Somalia
3,500
  • Nigeria
2,600
  • Zaire
2,500
  • Other
7,900
Sudan 395,000 *
  • Eritrea
340,000 *
  • Ethiopia
50,000 *
  • Chad
4,000
  • Other
1,000
Tanzania 335,000 *
  • Burundi
240,000 *
  • Rwanda
50,000 *
  • Zaire
40,000
  • Other
5,000
Togo 10,000
  • Ghana
10,000
Tunisia 300
Uganda 225,000
  • Sudan
200,000
  • Zaire
20,000
  • Rwanda
5,000
Zaire 455,000 *
  • Rwanda
200,000 *
  • Angola
100,000 *
  • Sudan
100,000
  • Burundi
40,000
  • Uganda
15,000
Zambia 126,000 *
  • Angola
100,000 *
  • Zaire
20,000
  • Other
6,000
Zimbabwe 1,000

1 Figures for Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United States, and countries in Europe that have individualized asylum procedures are, for the most part, for those persons who applied for asylum during 1996. USCR considers Bosnians as having a prima facie claim to refugee status within the parameters of the UN Refugee Convention, and has therefore attempted to include all Bosnians who have applied for asylum in 1996, been excluded from applying for asylum, or received temporary legal status. See individual country reports for explanation.

* Indicates that sources vary significantly in the number reported.


 
Copyright 1999, USCR