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Afghan refugees

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Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan in 2004
Afghan refugees living under a bridge on Paris' Canal Saint Martin, 2010

Afghan refugees are Afghanistan nationals who fled their country as a consequence of the long-going Afghan conflict, lasting since 1978. Ever since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, refugees have fled into the surrounding states. After the Soviets left, civil war, Taliban conquest, and most recently the Western-led invasion after September 11, 2001 have meant constant warfare in Afghanistan. Millions have fled the violence, then in times of relative peace returned, only to flee again when renewed fighting broke out. About six million Afghan refugees have fled to neighboring Pakistan (mainly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province) and Iran, making Afghanistan the largest refugee-producing country in the world, a title it has held for 32 years.[1] The mass majority of Afghan refugees (95%) are located in either Iran or Pakistan.[1] Some NATO countries that were part of the NATO forces took in refugees or Afghans that worked with their respective forces.[2] Ethnic minorities, like Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, often fled to India.[3]

In 2013-2014, 2.4 million Afghan refugees were living in Iran, with only 0.8 million of them being registered as migrants who entered legally.[4] Similarly 1.5 million officially registered Afghan refugees were reported to be living in Pakistan in addition to approximately one million more unregistered refugees.[5][6]

In December 2014, there was a terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar by the Pakistani Taliban, and over 100 school children were killed. Following the attack, Afghan refugees in Pakistan began to encounter serious harassment and often were told to return to Afghanistan. There was a mass exodus of tens of thousands of refugees, which as of February 2015 was ongoing.[7]

Statistics

As shown in the table below, the refugees fled Afghanistan in four main waves:[5][8]

Country/Region Soviet war in Afghanistan (1978-89) Civil War (1992–96) Taliban Rule (1996–2001) War in Afghanistan (2001–present) - Present
Pakistan Pakistan 3,100,000 [9] 2,500,000 [5][6][A 1]
Iran Iran 3,100,000 [9] 950,000 - 2,400,000 [4][10][11][12]
United Arab Emirates UAE 300,000 [13] [A 2]
Germany Germany 126,334 [14] [A 3]
United States United States 90,000 [15] [A 4]
United Kingdom United Kingdom 56,000 [16] [A 5]
Austria Austria 20,349 [17]
Australia Australia 19,416 [18] [A 6]
Denmark Denmark 15,854 [19] [A 7]
India India 18,000 [20] [A 8]
Canada Canada 4,215 [21] [A 9] 5,390 [21] [A 10] 10,320 [21] [A 11] 16,240 [21] [A 12]
Sweden Sweden 6,904 [22] [A 13]
Tajikistan Tajikistan 1161 [23] 15,336 [23] 3,427 [23] [A 14]
Qatar Qatar 3,500 [24]
Syria Syria 1,750 [25] [A 15]
Turkey Turkey 4,150 [26] [A 16]

See also

References

  1. ^ 2013
  2. ^ 2012
  3. ^ 2009 Census
  4. ^ 2011 Census
  5. ^ 2009
  6. ^ 2006 census
  7. ^ 2006 census
  8. ^ 2011 news report
  9. ^ 2006 census
  10. ^ 2006 census
  11. ^ 2006 census
  12. ^ 2006 census
  13. ^ 2007
  14. ^ 2003 news report
  15. ^ 2013 UNHCR report
  16. ^ 2005 UNHCR report
  1. ^ a b BBC News 2013
  2. ^ Stainburn 2013
  3. ^ Bose 2006
  4. ^ a b Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA World Factbook 2015. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 4 nov. 2014 ISBN 1629149039
  5. ^ a b c Nordland 2013
  6. ^ a b United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 2013
  7. ^ Joseph Goldstein (February 23, 2015). "Refugees Are Pushed to Exits in Pakistan". The New York Times. Retrieved February 24, 2015. they all say they have been beaten and slapped and told nobody in Pakistan wants them anymore
  8. ^ National Geographic Society 2013, p. 1
  9. ^ a b United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1999
  10. ^ Demographics of Iran
  11. ^ UNHC Iran 2015 figures
  12. ^ "Afghan refugees in Iran". Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  13. ^ Shahbandari 2012
  14. ^ Haug & Müssig 2009, p. 76 chart 5
  15. ^ United States Census Bureau 2013
  16. ^ Jones 2010, p. 2
  17. ^ [1]
  18. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006
  19. ^ Denmark Bureau of Statistics 2014
  20. ^ Associated Press 2013
  21. ^ a b c d Statistics Canada 2006
  22. ^ Government of Afghanistan 2007
  23. ^ a b c Erlich 2006
  24. ^ bq magazine - Qatar´s population by nationality
  25. ^ UNHCR - Syrian Arab Republic
  26. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 2005, p. 393
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