Toggle Menu
  1. Home/
  2. World News/

These mesmerizing maps depict global refugee flow in the past 15 years

Robert Muggah, global security expert and research director at the think tank Igarapé Institute created an interactive platform in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University called Earth TimeLapse, that depicts the global refugee flow in the past 15 years.

Robert Muggah and Carnegie Mellon University created these maps using data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). All of the maps have dots that represent the refugees, with each red dot representing 17 refugees that arrive in a country and the yellow dots representing the refugees that leave their home countries behind.

2001

such as Afghanistan and Macedonia,
Photo: Earth TimeLapse

In 2001 there were around 500,000 refugees that fled mainly from countries in the Middle East, such as Afghanistan and Macedonia, as well as African countries like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

loading...

2004

These mesmerizing maps depict global refugee flow in the past 15 years
Photo: Earth TimeLapse

2004 saw a continued Sudanese migration, besides waves of Afghani refugees that fled into Pakistan and Iran. The US also experienced an influx of Somali refugees.

2007

These mesmerizing maps depict global refugee flow in the past 15 years
Photo: Earth TimeLapse

In 2007 there were 11,4 million refugees, driven by ongoing conflict in eastern Africa. South American also saw conflict, as Colombian refugees fled to Venezuela, Ecuador, and the US. In Asia, a Myanmar uprising pushed people towards the north.

2011

These mesmerizing maps depict global refugee flow in the past 15 years
Photo: Earth TimeLapse

Congolese, Sudanese, and Somali refugees made up the largest portion of displaced persons this year, heading to European destinations. Refugees from Haiti arrived in the US and Dominican Republic.

2015

These mesmerizing maps depict global refugee flow in the past 15 years
Photo: Earth TimeLapse

The Syrian refugee crisis was the main movement of displaced persons this year, with over a million people arriving in Europe and in South Africa.

Lydia Peirce

Loading...