Refugee crisis hits 73 million, highest number since the Second World War
Damascus (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The world has not seen so many refugees or internally displaced persons since the end of the Second World War, in 1945, and the numbers are expected to increase, this according to an Australian research centre.
About 1 per cent of the global population, or about 73 million people, have been forced to leave their homes amid a spike in armed conflict over the past four years, the Institute for Economics and Peace said in a report it released today. The institute compiles the Global Peace Index.
“One in every 130 people on the planet is currently a refugee or displaced and most of that comes out of conflicts in the Middle East,” institute director Steve Killelea noted. The numbers in Syria, where as many as 13 million of its 22 million people are displaced, are “staggering,” he said.
The number of people killed in conflict rose to 180,000 in 2014 from 49,000 in 2010; of that number, deaths from terrorism increased by 9 per cent to an estimated 20,000, according to the report.
Displaced people and the victims of war and terrorism have also had a devastating impact on the global economy, with a price tag of US$ 14.3 trillion in the past year. This includes the cost of waging war, homicides, internal security services, and violent and sexual crimes.
“To put into perspective, it’s 13.4 per cent of global gross domestic product, equivalent to the combined economies of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom,” Killelea said.
The study indicates that Iceland tops the index as the most peaceful country in the world, whilst sectarian, war-torn Syria is the least.
Regionally, the Middle East and North Africa are the most violent areas. In 2014, they replaced South Asia as the most dangerous region in the world over the previous year.
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29/01/2016 20:31
