Graphic Truth
The Graphic Truth: Who hosts the most Afghan refugees?
Countries that hosted the highest number of Afghan refugees in 2020(millions of refugees)
Afghanistan has been mired in conflict — spanning the Soviet invasion, civil war, and the US occupation — since the late 1970s, prompting a decades-long refugee crisis. In 2020, after the Trump administration announced the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and inked a subsequent deal with the Taliban, Afghans began leaving the country in droves, fearing exactly what we are seeing today: a Taliban takeover. Most have gone to neighboring Pakistan, as well as Iran. We take a look at which countries hosted the most Afghan refugees as of December 2020, and how that compares to their broader refugee populations.
The surge first began when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed a coalition with far-right leaders Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, and accelerated after the attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, by the Gaza-based militant group Hamas.
Global humanitarian needs are rising sharply – right as the systems designed to respond to them are facing the deepest funding cuts in years. At a recent UN event focused on the wellness of aid workers, GZERO’s Tony Maciulis spoke to experts, including Rajabi and Michel Saad, a deputy director at the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who leads efforts in the Middle East and North Africa.