(Project) The Refugee Crisis
Skills: Power BI
Refugee Report (1990–2023)
Purpose
The refugee crisis has become a global mass migration of such scale that it demands attention. The purpose of this report is to better understand the refugee crisis through a focused analysis of five of the most heavily impacted countries: Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan. While some data is quantitative, much of this report is qualitative in nature — offering a broad overview of the political, social, and environmental forces that have displaced tens of millions of people. Using Power BI, I aim to answer the questions:
Key Years: Where do we see the most increased fluctuation in numbers from 1990 -2023?
Asylum: What countries are providing asylum?
Patterns: What events lead to increased refugees? What patterns are there, if any?
Dataset
The dataset for this report is gained from the WorldBank: World Development Indicators. It consists of two excel files:
Refugee population by country of origin 1990 -2023
Refugee population by country of asylum 1990 -2023
Key Years
2022 experienced the largest year-over-year (YOY) increase in refugees from 1990 - 2023 with a +39% increase. The countries that contributed most to this spike were Syria(25% of refugees), Ukraine (20%) and Afghanistan (19%).
This surge is likely tied to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, alongside ongoing displacement from conflict zones in Syria and Afghanistan.
Following, are years:
2007 with a +16% YOY increase
Civil war begins in Iraq
Taliban regain strength in south and east Afghanistan
2014 with a +24% YOY increase
ISIS rises in power in Iraq and Syria and Assad regime increases sieges
NATO leaves Afghanistan and Taliban intensifies attacks
Al-Shabaab increases attacks in Somalia amidst famine and drought
2017 with a +16% YOY increase
Heavy Russian, U.S., and coalition forces led airstrikes and government offensives in Syria
Taliban expands control with increased attacks in Afghanistan
Civil war escalates amidst famine in South Sudan
Asylum
From 1990 to 2023, the countries that provided the most asylum to refugees were Jordan (11%), West Bank (9%), Iran (9%), Pakistan (8%), and Turkey (5%). Together, these five nations accounted for 42% of the global refugee population granted asylum, totaling 243 million people during that period. The most significant year-over-year increases in refugee asylum occurred in 2007 (+11%), 2014 (+14%), 2017 (+13%), and 2022 (+30%), with countries like Jordan, Turkey, Iran, West Bank, and Pakistan consistently among the top recipients. These nations took in refugees largely due to geographic proximity to conflict zones—such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine—making them immediate destinations for those fleeing violence.
The West Bank in particular hosted a high number of refugees not just due to proximity, but because it is historically home to a large Palestinian refugee population, with many displaced people residing there since the mid-20th century. Over time, the area became a hub for those fleeing regional instability, especially from within the broader Palestinian diaspora. Despite its limited infrastructure and ongoing political conflict, the West Bank remained a central point for displaced Palestinians seeking relative safety or reunification with family. In contrast, other nations—despite being geographically closer—often had stricter borders, limited refugee capacity, or political constraints that reduced their intake.
Patterns
Without marginalizing the distinct histories and conflicts within each nation, several recurring themes emerge across these countries:
Authoritarian Governments
In each of these five countries, political authority has frequently rested in the hands of authoritarian or dictatorial regimes. These regimes — whether it was the Taliban in Afghanistan, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the Barre dictatorship in Somalia, or the Islamist-military governments in Sudan — often marginalized minorities and responded to protests with brutal crackdowns.
What often begins as protest turns to rebellion, then to prolonged civil war. Attempts to replace one government often result in regimes just as repressive or dysfunctional as those they succeeded.
Violent Extremist Groups
Power vacuums left by weak or collapsed governments tend to attract extremist organizations. Groups such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Al-Shabaab exploited instability in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia to gain territory and enforce radical ideologies through terror. In many cases, governments themselves empowered militia groups to suppress opposition — such as Hezbollah in Syria or the Janjaweed in Sudan — often with disastrous consequences for civilians.
Ethnic, Sectarian, and Tribal Divides
Deep social fragmentation is another unifying element. These nations are often composed of rival ethnic, tribal, or religious factions — Kurds, Arabs, Pashtuns, Hazaras, Shia, Sunni, Christians, and others — with longstanding grievances. Loyalty to one’s sect or tribe frequently overrides national unity, contributing to cycles of violence and persecution. Minority groups have faced targeted oppression, ethnic cleansing, and even genocide.
Foreign Interference
Superpowers and regional actors have long used these countries as geopolitical chessboards. The United States and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) have repeatedly intervened, whether to support ideals of a government or rebels (Afghanistan), contain perceived economic or terrorist threats (Iraq, Syria), or attempt stabilization (Somalia’s Black Hawk Down incident). Often, these interventions inflamed tensions, prolonged conflicts, or created power vacuums for extremist groups that worsened refugee crises.
Force Majeure
Compounding the violence are natural disasters and public health crises. Prolonged droughts in Somalia and Sudan have driven famine. The COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed already fractured health systems. Earthquakes in Afghanistan and Syria worsened already-dire conditions.
Conclusion
The refugee crises across Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan are not merely the results of singular wars or natural disasters, but the outcomes of entrenched systems of authoritarianism, social fragmentation, violent extremism, and foreign manipulation, all compounded by environmental and public health crises. Each crisis is unique — yet disturbingly familiar.
On the receiving end, countries like Jordan, the West Bank, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey played disproportionately large roles in sheltering displaced populations—collectively hosting 42% of all refugees granted asylum over this period. Their geographic proximity to conflict zones, combined with cultural, historical, and political ties, made them default destinations for those seeking safety. Notably, the West Bank’s role underscores how regions already burdened by decades of displacement often become further hubs of refuge, even with limited resources and ongoing conflict of their own.
Unless both the root causes are addressed and the long-term needs of displaced people are met, history suggests these patterns will repeat. It is a good question what role outside countries should play in this. Considering the patterns, at the very least, these causes should be met with support for democratic institutions, conflict resolution, minority protections, and climate resilience.