United States: Country Report | 2024
AI Generated Analysis based on UNHCR Forced Displacement Statisitics.
Executive Summary
To: The High Commissioner From: Lead Strategist & Speechwriter Subject: Key Trends Executive Summary: United States Data Report (2024)
Key Trends in U.S. Displacement & Protection
The United States is facing a displacement challenge of historic proportions, acting as a critical nexus for global forced migration. By the start of 2024, the country hosted 3.6 million people of concern to UNHCR, a staggering 21 per cent increase of over 635,000 individuals in a single year. This dramatic rise, fueled by escalating instability in the Americas and beyond, is driven primarily by a surge in the ‘Others of concern’ category, reflecting a complex and rapidly evolving protection landscape.
This unprecedented influx has placed the nation’s asylum system under immense pressure. With over 1.1 million new case actions filed, the backlog of pending cases has swelled to nearly 3.5 million. This widening protection gap translates into years of uncertainty for those seeking safety, while significant disparities in recognition rates among different nationalities—ranging from 4% to 37%—underscore the urgent need for enhanced capacity and equitable access to protection.
Yet, amidst these immense challenges, a powerful counter-narrative of hope is emerging. The United States has demonstrated a remarkable acceleration in providing durable solutions. In a critical turning point, the number of solutions offered—such as resettlement—has now decisively surpassed the number of new refugee recognitions. In 2024, over 105,000 solutions were provided, a testament to the progress possible when resources and political will are mobilized. While global needs remain vast, this trend proves that addressing backlogs and providing futures for the displaced is an achievable and essential goal.
Population Overview
Population Overview: The United States of America
By the start of 2024, the United States of America hosted 3.6 million people of concern to UNHCR, reinforcing its position as a major destination for those seeking safety and protection. This constitutes a significant rise of 635,500 individuals, or 21 per cent, compared to the beginning of 2023. The data reveals a complex and rapidly evolving displacement landscape within the country.
Behind these stark numbers, the composition of the population is highly concentrated. The vast majority of individuals—nearly 3.2 million, or 88 per cent of the total—fall under the category of ‘Others of concern to UNHCR’. This group was also the principal driver of the overall increase, growing by more than 582,000 people in a single year. While smaller in absolute terms, other populations also expanded, with the number of asylum-seekers rising by nearly 20,000 and the refugee population growing by almost 12,000.
Demographic analysis for a segment of over 600,000 individuals, for whom detailed age and gender data is available, shows that working-age adults (18-59 years) form the largest cohort. This granular data, which includes 100 per cent gender disaggregation, is vital for UNHCR and partners to tailor protection and assistance programmes, from livelihood opportunities for adults to education for children and specialized care for the elderly.
The profile of the refugee population further underscores the impact of specific global crises. While the United States provides refuge to people from diverse nations, arrivals from a single country of origin account for a substantial 171,000 refugees, a figure significantly larger than that of any other nationality. This highlights how specific geopolitical instability and conflict continue to shape displacement flows towards the country. Collectively, these trends depict a growing and increasingly complex protection environment, demanding a sustained and well-resourced response.
Demographics
AI Insight: Treemap of populations of concern in the United States of America, where one category accounts for 3.2 million of the total 3.62 million individuals., This treemap visualizes the breakdown of the 3,619,000 individuals classified as populations of concern in the United States of America as of 2024. The data is segmented into seven distinct population types, with the area of each rectangle being proportional to its size. The distribution is highly skewed, with one single category dominating the dataset, comprising 3,184,162 individuals, which is approximately 88% of the total. Two other categories have significant populations of around 217,000 each. Notably, four of the seven categories, including ‘Returned refugees’ and ‘Returned IDPs’, have a recorded value of zero. This is statistically confirmed by the median value being zero, while the mean is over 517,000, heavily influenced by the largest group.
AI Insight: Population pyramid showing the age and gender distribution for 601,691 persons of concern in the United States of America in 2024, where the largest cohort is adults aged 18 to 59., This population pyramid provides a detailed demographic breakdown of the 601,691 persons of concern residing in the United States of America as of 2024. The population includes refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless persons, and others of concern to UNHCR. A key strength of this dataset is that gender disaggregation is available for 100% of the individuals.
The chart is structured with age cohorts on the vertical axis (0-4, 5-11, 12-17, 18-59, and 60+ years) and population counts on the horizontal axis, split by gender. The shape of the pyramid provides insights into the population’s composition. The largest group is the adult cohort (18-59 years), representing the primary working-age population. The younger age groups (0-17) and the elderly group (60+) constitute the dependent populations.
This granular data is vital for humanitarian response planning. It enables UNHCR and its partners to tailor programs and allocate resources effectively, addressing the specific needs related to education for children, livelihood opportunities for adults, and healthcare and support for the elderly, while also ensuring that the distinct protection risks and needs of different genders are met.
Trends Over Time
AI Insight: Column chart of population types in the United States of America from 2019 to 2024, where ‘Others of concern to UNHCR’ constitute the vast majority of the population and show a significant increase., This column chart displays the number of people (in thousands) for six different population types of concern to UNHCR in the United States of America, for each year from 2019 to 2024.
The statistical analysis reveals a highly skewed distribution. The category ‘Others of concern to UNHCR’ is by far the largest group, reaching a peak of over 3.18 million people in one of the years shown. This single category’s size heavily influences the overall figures, driving the mean population value across all categories to approximately 360,000, despite the median value being zero. This indicates that most other categories have very small populations. For instance, ‘Returned refugees’ has a maximum value of approximately 15,000 in one year but is zero for at least 75% of the time period. ‘Returned IDPs’ are consistently zero, which is expected for the context of the United States. The visualization starkly contrasts the immense and growing number of ‘Others of concern’ against the negligible figures for other population types.
AI Insight: Bar chart of changes in population groups in the United States between 2023 and 2024, where the ‘Others of concern’ category showed the largest increase of 582,695 people., This vertical bar chart illustrates the increases and decreases among UNHCR’s populations of concern in the United States of America, comparing data from the start of 2023 to the start of 2024. The chart highlights changes in absolute numbers and percentages for six distinct population groups.
The most significant change occurred in the ‘Others of concern to UNHCR’ category, which grew from 2,601,467 to 3,184,162, marking an increase of 582,695 people (+22.4%). The ‘Asylum-seekers’ population also saw a substantial rise, increasing by 19,598 individuals (+2.7%). The population of ‘Refugees’ increased by 11,812 (+3.7%), and ‘Venezuelans displaced abroad’ grew by 21,379 (+3.0%).
Conversely, two population groups showed no change during this period. The number of ‘Internally displaced persons’ remained at zero, and the ‘Stateless persons’ population was stable. Overall, the total population of concern in the USA increased by 635,484 people, from 3,011,289 in 2023 to 3,646,773 in 2024.
AI Insight: Horizontal bar chart of the number of refugees in the United States by top 9 countries of origin for 2024, where one country of origin accounts for a significantly higher number of refugees (171,002) than all others., This horizontal bar chart details the refugee population in the United States as of 2024, broken down by the top nine countries of origin. The y-axis lists the countries, while the x-axis quantifies the number of people. The data reveals a highly skewed distribution. While the number of refugees from a single origin ranges from a minimum of 14,022 to a maximum of 171,002, there is a notable outlier. One country is the origin for 171,002 refugees, a figure substantially larger than the others. The median number of refugees across these top countries is 28,290, and the mean is 43,533; the large difference highlights the impact of the top country’s high value. The majority of the other top countries fall within a much smaller range, with 50% of them having between 16,916 and 43,544 refugees. This visualization effectively communicates that while the U.S. receives refugees from various nations, a single country’s crisis is the primary driver of refugee arrivals in 2024.
Geography & Movements
Geography & Movements: The Americas
The data on forced displacement related to the United States of America reveals a complex, dual reality: the country is simultaneously a major host nation for those fleeing persecution and a country of origin for its own citizens seeking protection abroad. This dynamic underscores the multifaceted nature of displacement in the region.
As a host country, the United States continues to be a significant destination for forcibly displaced populations. Longitudinal data indicates a substantial growth in the total number of people in need of international protection between 2019 and 2025, with the composition of origin countries evolving in response to shifting global and regional crises. As of 2024, the country hosted 435,330 refugees. Behind these stark numbers, the data reveals that these populations are not evenly distributed by origin; a single country accounts for over 171,000 refugees, representing nearly 40 per cent of the total. This concentration highlights the profound and lasting impact of a specific protracted crisis on displacement patterns reaching the country.
Conversely, a notable, though smaller-scale, trend of outward displacement from the United States is also evident. Analysis of the 41 countries hosting refugees and asylum-seekers from the United States highlights an exceptionally concentrated distribution. The overwhelming majority of this population—over 60,150 individuals—is hosted by a single country of asylum. The figures for other nations are dramatically lower, with the median number of people hosted across all destination countries being just 17. This pattern strongly suggests that movements are not widely dispersed but are instead driven by specific factors such as geographical proximity, established diaspora communities, or particular legal pathways. Together, these intersecting trends paint a picture of the United States as a central nexus in the geography of forced displacement, serving as both a critical haven for many and a point of departure for a concentrated few.
AI Insight: Choropleth map of destination countries for people of concern from the United States of America in 2024, where the population is highly concentrated in a few countries, primarily in North America and Europe., This choropleth map illustrates the global distribution of refugees, asylum-seekers, and other people of concern to UNHCR originating from the United States of America as of 2024. Countries are color-coded based on the total number of these individuals they host, with darker shades indicating higher populations.
Statistically, the data reveals a highly skewed distribution across 41 host countries. The total number of individuals in any single country ranges from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 4,363. The median number of people hosted is 17, indicating that half of the destination countries host a very small number of individuals. This contrasts sharply with the mean of 155, which is inflated by a few countries with exceptionally large populations. The 75th percentile is at 60 individuals, further highlighting that the vast majority of host countries have low figures.
The key insight from this visualization is that displacement from the United States is not widely dispersed. Instead, it is concentrated in a small number of destination countries. The significant difference between the median and the maximum value underscores the presence of major outliers, suggesting that specific legal, social, or geographical factors are driving people of concern from the U.S. to select destinations.
