Top 10 countries hosting Afghan refugees and asylum seekers
Thousands of people have been fleeing Afghanistan since the Taliban retook control of the country over two decades after a US-led coalition defeated them.
The influx of individuals attempting to flee adds to the 2.2 million refugees currently in neighboring countries and the 3.5 million people displaced within Afghanistan's borders due to persistent violence and political instability, reports BBC.
Here are the top countries that have been extending their aid and taking in these helpless refugees and asylum seekers.
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Neighbouring countries Pakistan and Iran saw the highest numbers of Afghanistan's refugees and asylum seekers last year.
According to UNHCR data gathered in 2020, almost 1.5 million fled to Pakistan in 2020, while Iran hosted 780,000.
Germany was third, with more than 180,100, while Turkey took nearly 129,300.
Austria, France and Greece took around 46,600, 45,100 and 41,200 people respectively. Sweden has taken in 31,300 Afghans last year.
Next on the list are Switzerland and India while they hosted 15,400 and 15,100 forcefully displaced Afghan people.
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 13 nations have committed to temporarily host at-risk Afghans who have been evacuated from Afghanistan, and a dozen more have agreed to act as transit sites for evacuees, including Americans and others.
Potential Afghan refugees not already vetted for resettlement in the United States will be kept at facilities in Albania, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Mexico, Poland, Qatar, Rwanda, Ukraine, and Uganda, according to Blinken in a Friday statement.
Bahrain, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Qatar, Tajikistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan are among the transit countries, reports The Hindu.
