Since the summer of 2016, a lot has been written about the fact that the term “refugee crisis” – used constantly in the media and politics – suggests that Europe is receiving unprecedented numbers of refugees. We know it is not. Not historically, and not if you compare the numbers to those hosted by countries outside of Europe.
To get an idea of how informed the public was on this issue, we decided to conduct a quick survey on the streets of Berlin – in a tourist area to get an international sample – and see which countries people think accommodate the highest numbers of refugees. We had no idea what their answers would be and were surprised. All participants were included in the final video. Have a watch for yourself:
Looking for the answers? Here are the UNHCR stats and here they are in map form. The fact is that countries in the Global South host the majority of refugees. If we were to highlight just one number it is this: Lebanon is hosting 1.1 million refugees. That’s 20% of its total population.