Europe

Where we work

Europe

Europe is expected to remain among the regions with the highest number of displaced people globally in 2025.

UNHCR staff member discussing with an older woman, both sitting on a bed.

Are you a refugee, asylum-seeker or stateless person looking for help? Visit the HELP site to find support and services from UNHCR.

Visit HELP site

Regional overview

Europe has a long history of offering sanctuary to refugees. The 1951 Refugee Convention was established as a response to the urgent needs of refugees generated by World War II. Since then, Europe has received people seeking asylum as they flee conflict, persecution and human rights violations.

Apart from refugees, the mandate of UNHCR also includes asylum-seekers, stateless people and internally displaced persons.

Europe remains among the regions with the highest number of displaced people globally, hosting 13.2 million refugees, including more than 6.2 million from Ukraine. As of mid-2024, Germany and Türkiye had some of the largest refugee and asylum-seeker populations, hosting over 3 million and 3.3 million, respectively.

With a Regional Bureau in Geneva, Switzerland, and office presence in 36 European countries, UNHCR is covering 49 States, including 27 EU Member States, and one territory in the region.

Global Appeal regional overviews:

2025 | 2024 | 2023

Global Report regional overviews:

2023 | 2022 | 2021

Ongoing emergencies in Europe

Anzhela (24) holds her little niece Liliya (4) as they wait to receive warm clothes and blankets.

Text and media 6

Ukraine emergency

In response to the massive humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine, UNHCR is working with national authorities, UN agencies, displaced communities and local and international partners to provide urgently needed assistance. 

What role does UNHCR play in Europe?

As the custodian of the 1951 Refugee Convention, UNHCR works to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons by providing guidance and support to governments across Europe and promoting the best international standards in legislation, policy and procedures.

As part of these efforts, we forge and strengthen partnerships and coordination mechanisms to garner wide-ranging support from relevant stakeholders in the spirit of the Global Compact on Refugees, to enhance joint advocacy efforts, mobilise resources and counter negative discourse.

UNHCR supports efforts by governments and other stakeholders to find solutions for refugees. We also promote safe and regulated avenues under which refugees can be admitted to a third country. These include community sponsorship programmes, family reunification, scholarships and humanitarian visas.

UNHCR has been advocating to end statelessness in Europe and globally by 2024, in line with the #IBelong campaign. At the same time, we are also calling for concerted European action to prevent loss of life in the Mediterranean and to improve the reception facilities and systems for asylum-seekers. 

We produce and publish statistics and data on refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless people and engage with the public to foster inclusiveness and empathy.

UNHCR works closely with refugee-led and community-based organizations to better understand the issues facing people forced to flee and to include people we serve in decision-making concerning their lives.

Working with European institutions

What is the difference between a refugee, an asylum-seeker and a migrant?

People who are forced to flee their country in fear of persecution are refugees. They have legal protections under the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, as well as other legal instruments. UNHCR, governments and humanitarian organizations offer assistance to refugees, who are recognized by State authorities or UNHCR, because it is too dangerous for them to return home. Asylum-seekers are people whose request for refugee status, or asylum, is being processed.

People who move to a different country primarily to improve their lives by finding work or gaining education, or to reunite with family, are known as migrants.

This distinction is important. States interact with refugees through specific norms dealing with refugee protection and asylum defined in regional and international frameworks.

How many refugees have arrived in Europe?

See our Operational Data Portal for the Ukraine Refugee Situation for the latest numbers on refugee movements related to the Ukraine emergency.

For up-to-date numbers of people arriving in Europe via the Mediterranean and Northwest African maritime routes, as well as the numbers of people who have died or gone missing after attempting to cross the sea, please see our Operational Data Portal for the Mediterranean Situation. 

You can find more statistics and data visualizations on the numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers in Europe on our Figures at a glance page, Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, and in the latest UNHCR Global Trends Report.

Where can I find statistics and information about refugees and asylum-seekers arriving in Europe?

UNHCR maintains a public database of statistics on refugees and asylum-seekers in Europe and around the world. It has also developed a mobile application for iOS and Android. Each year, we publish a Global Trends report, an authoritative overview of the world’s refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced people and stateless persons.

In addition, data on specific situations in Europe can be found on dedicated operational portals (Ukraine, Mediterranean and South Eastern Europe).

Access the database for more statistics

Who are UNHCR’s partners in Europe?

As per its mandated responsibilities and in line with the Global Compact on Refugees, UNHCR engages with a wide range of stakeholders to pursue its protection and solutions priorities in Europe. These include governments, international organizations within and outside the UN system, other humanitarian and development actors, regional actors (notably the European Union and its agencies, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), local authorities, municipalities, academia, the private sector, media, and civil society, including refugee-led and faith-based organizations. Refugees, other forcibly displaced, and stateless persons are key partners, and we have been strengthening our engagement with refugee-led organizations.

In collaboration with the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), we organize regular regional dialogues and bi-annual consultations with civil society actors to identify opportunities for joint and complementary advocacy.

UNHCR is committed to supporting the realization of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. In Europe, UNHCR is an integral part of the regional UN system and co-chairs the Issue-Based Coalition on Large Movements of People, Displacement and Resilience.

Four of our offices in Europe are accredited to regional institutions (the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Union Agency for Asylum, and Frontex).

Key publications

Population and financial overview

Europe

Use the year selector to access information from previous years.

Populations

Financial

How do I get in touch with UNHCR?

The best way to contact us is via our website.

How do I locate a spokesperson who can tell me more about UNHCR’s work in Europe or the world?

Contact UNHCR spokespeople at our headquarters in Geneva or in many of our country offices worldwide for media enquiries and interviews.

If I am an asylum-seeker or refugee in Europe and need help or advice, what should I do?

You can use the Help website in some countries, or contact UNHCR or one of its partners directly in the country where you are.

If I want to work for UNHCR, what should I do?

You can find available job openings, internships and other opportunities on the UNHCR careers page and on the UNHCR's country-specific and regional websites. There are also opportunities to volunteer with UNHCR and its partner organizations.

How can I contribute to and support UNHCR’s work?

UNHCR relies almost entirely on voluntary contributions from governments, UN and pooled funding mechanisms, intergovernmental institutions and the private sector, as well as individual donations. We encourage these funds to be allocated as flexibly as possible to enable us to assist where the needs are the most acute by providing protection, shelter, water, health, education and other essential support to refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons and internally displaced people across the region.

UNHCR’s website contains information on how to contribute financially. Donations can also be made to individual refugee-hosting countries through our private sector partnerships and also to specific emergencies.