A revealing map has shown the most congested route taken by asylum seekers to reach their desired destinations in Europe and the US.
The United Nations Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) figures show that, as of the end of 2023, there were approximately 117 million displaced people worldwide.
Shockingly, an estimated 47 million (40 percent) of these are children below 18 years of age.
Conflict and repression around the world are causing many to make the difficult choice to flee their country of birth.
Around 90 percent of those who come to Europe come from the following countries: Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Gambia, and Bangladesh.
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The International Organisation for Migration has undertaken a project called the ‘Missing Migrants Project’, showing the routes most used by those fleeing abroad.
The research found that asylum seekers are not only making their way from the usual places in the Middle East and Africa but are also coming from other dangerous routes.
Particularly dangerous routes are found through Bangladesh, Myanmar and Malaysia as well as Central America.
The research showed how asylum seekers and migrants make their way to Europe.
The first route follows the movement of displaced people through the Eastern Mediterranean.
Refugees and migrants move through Turkey into the European Union – a route that has become increasingly congested after the outbreak of war in Syria back in 2011.
Many from Central and East African countries like Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan also use this route.
Another route sees migrants make their way through Central America. Poverty and violence have caused many people from the region to move north towards the US border.
Southeast Asia is also an area where migrants commonly leave for opportunities in Europe. The persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar is a major contributor.
The International Organisation for Migration adds that human trafficking, forced labour, and other abuses are also rife in the region.
The UNHCR has warned this week that the number of people forced out of their homes around the world last year was the equivalent of the population of London.
In 2023, 8.8 million people were forcibly displaced. This means that 1.5 percent of the world’s population is now forcibly displaced.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said: “Behind these stark and rising numbers lie countless human tragedies. That suffering must galvanise the international community to act urgently to tackle the root causes of forced displacement.”