The Rising Flow of Syrian Refugees

In the first half of 2012, a small but steady trickle of refugees left Syria, seeking haven in Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey. By July 2012, 65,253 Syrians had registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The number of people fleeing the civil war in Syria continued to rise steadily between October 2012 and January 2013. In the first six months of 2013, the amount of refugees crossing into neighbouring countries rose sharply – over 820,000 people had fled Syria by April of this year.

The number people displaced by the conflict has continued to rise rapidly – by September 2013, 1.8 million Syrians had registered with UNHCR with another 200,000 awaiting registration. About half of all Syrian refugees are children under 18 years of age.