Do you think that your country is hosting the greatest number of refugees? A recent study shows that one in three people believe their own country is one of the three countries in the world hosting the greatest number of refugees.
Many of those surveyed by IPSOS across 28 countries noted that their country’s contribution to hosting refugees, with one-third (a global country average of 33%) thinking their own country is one of the top three taking in the most refugees worldwide.
When asked to select the three countries that hosted the most refugees in 2021, few correctly identified Turkey, Colombia, or the United States, which collectively host 25% of the world’s internationally displaced people (considering refugees, asylum-seekers, and Venezuelans displaced abroad). The survey, was conducted online between 22 April and 6 May 2022 with 20,505 adults aged under 74 in 28 countries
SOME FINDINGS
- Misperceptions are most prevalent in Sweden (49% of Swedes think their country is among the three hosting the most refugees, but its true rank is 26th)
- Italy (48% of Italians think it is in the top 3, true rank 35th), and Canada (46% of Canadians think it is in the top 3, true rank 34th).
- While three-quarters (77%) of those in Turkey know that Turkey is one of the top 3 , less than half in Colombia (45%) and the US (42%) selected their respective country.
- Nearly half of Germans (47%) think their country is in the top 3, while its actual rank is 5th.
- On average globally, only one in seven (15%)know that Turkey is in the top 3.
- In 2021, Turkey hosted 14% of internationally displaced people, despite being home to only 1% of the world’s population.
- Only 5% globally picked Colombia, which is second, although 26% correctly chose the United States (ranked third).
- Outside of Turkey, Colombia, and the US itself, people in Mexico (59%), Peru (54%), and Saudi Arabia (53%) were most likely to correctly pick at least one of the countries, while those in Spain (22%), Japan (23%), and Belgium (25%) were least likely to be able to identify even one.
ALLOWING MORE REFUGEES FROM UKRAINE
In the survey, the IPSOS found that majority of people in most of the 28 countries surveyed supported allowing more refugees from Ukraine into their country, with only one in seven (15%) opposing.
The three countries where support for allowing more refugees from Ukraine is highest are Sweden (73%), Brazil (69%), and the US (67%). In only eight of the 28 countries do less than half support allowing more refugees from Ukraine into their country: Japan (48%), South Africa (48%), Saudi Arabia (44%), Hungary (43%), South Korea (40%), Turkey (31%), China (26%), and Malaysia (18%). However, in Turkey, which currently hosts more internationally displaced persons than any other country in the world, only three in ten (31%) support allowing more refugees from Ukraine. Nonetheless, this exceeds support in Turkey for allowing more refugees from other countries. This support for refugees from Ukraine has been accompanied by a positive shift in attitudes toward refugees in general in most of the countries surveyed since last year, with over three quarters (78%) agreeing in principle that people should be able to take refuge in other countries, including in their own country
LOW LEVELS OF SUPPORT FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
Another finding is that levels of support for accepting refugees from other countries are lower than support for those from Ukraine. On average globally, only around one-third support accepting more refugees from Syria (32%), and a similar proportion oppose more refugees from Syria (30%). Countries where majorities support allowing more refugees from Syria are Saudi Arabia (59%) and Brazil (58%).
- Three in ten support accepting more refugees from Myanmar (31%, vs 25% oppose).
- Three in ten support accepting more refugees from Venezuela (30%, vs 28% oppose), with three in five in Brazil (60%) and just over half in Argentina (51%) supporting it.
- In Colombia, which hosts more Venezuelans displaced abroad than any other country in the world, 34% support allowing more refugees from Venezuela.
- Three in ten support accepting more refugees from Afghanistan (30%, vs 32% oppose).
- A third (global country average of 33%) say all countries should have the greatest responsibility for helping refugees, regardless of where they are or how wealthy they are, but another three in ten (30%) think the wealthiest countries should have the greatest responsibility for helping refugees. Mexico (41%), South Africa (39%), and the US and Brazil (both 38%) are most likely to agree that all countries should be responsible.
- Colombia (42%), Turkey (41%), and Italy (41%), on the other hand, are most likely to agree that the wealthiest countries should be responsible; notably, Turkey and Colombia hosted the largest populations of internationally displaced people in the world in 2021. A minority (16%) think countries in the same part of the world should bear the greatest responsibility. This view is most prevalent in the Netherlands (30%), China (29%), and Sweden (29%), and is least so in Turkey (7%). Few (6%) think that no countries should be responsible for helping refugees. This opinion is most common in South Korea (15%), Japan (12%), and Turkey (12%).