Top 5 Largest Refugee Camps In The World

Most of us cannot imagine the life of running away from our home and country and leaving behind everything that is dear to us to be in refugee camps. This group of refugees brings various connotations whether it can be positive or quite the opposite.

While some parties do support the side of refugees, other see them as troublesome that requires immediate attention. It is without a doubt very heartbreaking to leave everything behind us just for the purpose of survival for our families.

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The refugees will also have to live with hundreds of thousands of people who have little to nothing in hand. Here we would like to share with you the top 5 largest refugee camps in the world that place thousands of refugees.

5. Yida Refugee Camp (South Sudan)

How would you feel to be a refugee in your own country? That is what the 72,000 South Sudanese refugees have to deal with as they are forced to move to different places amidst the broken war in their own country.

The refugee camp is located in a state known as Unity which can be found in swamp areas. Starting with only 20,000 people, this figure quickly grew from year on out to the extent that Yida now is one of the most active refugee camps in its economy.

Nevertheless, the refugees are at a big risk as this refugee camp existed unofficially and experience serious flooding each season. Attempts have been made to move the refugees from Yida to UNHCR readily camps in Pamir since 2016 but it definitely comes with challenges.

As of February 2020, only 6,000 were successfully moved despite the food aid to the Yida camp being put to a stop on October 2019.

4. Zaatari Refugee Camp (Jordan)

This is the biggest location in the world placing Syrian refugees as of now. The Zaatari refugee camp is in Jordan and it is a specialized place for refugees who fled during the Syrian civil war in 2011.

The influx of Syrians caused this region to be the 4th most populous city in Jordan which is merely home to 9.9 million people. The camp is home to almost 80,000 refugees with 20,000 of them being children.

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Following the high number of children, education became the main priority in the Zaatari camp with the opening of 32 schools inside as well as 58 community centers for various activities.

For the Syrian refugees that are permitted to stay outside of the camp, they have managed to live on with their lives in the city of Jordan. A fun fact will be that almost 10%(670,000) of the population in Jordan is comprised of Syrian refugees.

3. Dadaab Refugee Complex (Kenya)

Formed from three refugee camp networks nearby, the Dadaab Refugee Complex places three different camps mainly Dagahaley, Ifo, and Hagadera. The total population of these three camps was reported to exceed 200,000 refugees with Hagadera having more than 100,000 people.

Different from other regular refugee camps established, the concept of Dadaab resembles a small town undergoing a development process. The camp was open since 1991 and it is currently home to the 2nd and 3rd generation family who are able to live comfortably in this camp.

It places the majority of refugees from the civil war involving the ruler of Somalia with the group of rebels. The people here are still not able to go back to their hometown due to ongoing conflicts that seem to never end.

2. Kakuma Refugee Camp (Kenya)

Another huge refugee camp in Kenya, the Kakuma Refugee Camp was opened in 1987 with records of more than 2 million deaths. The war that broke out between the Muslims of North Sudan and the Catholics of the South reached its peak at the time resulting in the nation splitting into two.

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The conflict only ended in 2005 and the earliest refugees of the camp were mainly children who lost their parents from the war. The population of this camp quickly grew to 196,666 at the end of July 2022.

This is multiple times much higher than Kakuma City which is home to only 60,000 residents.

1. Kutupalong Refugee Camp

The Kutupalong Refugee Camp is the largest refugee camp in the world with a population of around 600,000 people. The Rohingyas start to go all over the place due to the restrictions in their own country.

The military conducted a cleansing operation known as Pyi Thai in 1991 to free the country from any immigrants including the Rohingyas. Almost 250,000 Rohingyas were forced to flee to Bangladesh which led to the establishment of the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in 1992 by the Bangladeshi government.

With an area of only 13 sqkm, it places more than 600,000 people altogether. This is far much higher than other refugee camps combined. What is more interesting about Kutupalong Refugee Camp is the economic system that is similar to an expanding city.

The economy can be seen as going rather well with modern houses start being built inside.

Source:

• Iluminasi

• Wikipedia

Also read: Top 10 Most Dangerous Prisons In The World