1. How many refugees are in Africa?
   
   There are 3.1 million refugees in Africa, according to the World Refugee Survey , published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees. Refugees are those who have fled their country in search of safety from human conflict and repression.

2. How many Africans are internally displaced?

   Internally displaced persons are those who have been forced from their homes by violence or repression, but they remain inside their own country. Approximately 10.6 million people in Africa are internally displaced. This is an increase of 2 million during the past year.

3. How many Africans are uprooted, either as refugees or internally displaced?

   Approximately 13.7 million people in Africa are uprooted (refugees and internally displaced combined). This is an increase of 2.2 million during the past year. This is the second consecutive annual increase after five consecutive years of declining numbers. This is the most uprooted people in Africa in four years.

4. How many people in Africa actually fled their homes during the course of 1999?

   About 3.2 million people in 15 African countries became newly uprooted during 1999. This indicates Africa's continued volatility. Some became refugees in neighboring countries; some became internally displaced; some returned home after a few weeks or months; some remain uprooted to this day.

Who is Fleeing In Africa?

1. What countries produce the most refugees in Africa?
   
   More than half of all African refugees have fled from four countries: Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, and Angola. Seven countries are each producing a quarter-million or more refugees (Eritrea, Burundi, Liberia, and the four countries cited above). Nine countries are each producing 100,000 or more refugees.

2. What countries are the main sources of Africa's internally displaced persons?

   More than half of Africa's internally displaced persons come from Sudan and Angola. Seven African countries have a half-million or more displaced persons.

3. What African countries produce the most uprooted people, including refugees and displaced persons?

   More than half of all uprooted people in Africa originate from three countries: Sudan, Angola, and Burundi. All three of those countries, plus Congo-Kinshasa, have each produced more than 1 million uprooted people.

   The violence and repression causing people to flee is a widespread problem in Africa. Nine countries are each producing a half-million or more uprooted people. Some 100,000 or more people have been uprooted in each of 15 countries.

4. What were the most volatile countries during 1999?

   Two countries—Angola and Congo—Brazzaville-accounted for nearly half of Africa's 3.2 million newly uprooted people during 1999. Seven countries each produced at least 100,000 newly uprooted people during the year. In 14 African countries, at least 10,000 people were forced to flee their homes during 1999.

Where are People Fleeing to in Africa?

1. What are the main asylum countries in Africa?
   
   Five countries are hosting more than half of all Africa's refugees: Guinea, Tanzania, Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Although African countries are among the poorest in the world, nine of them are each hosting 100,000 or more refugees. Twenty-seven countries in Africa are hosting significant numbers of refugees.

2. Are African refugees safe in asylum?

   Many are in unsafe asylum locations. Some 1.2 million African refugees are seeking asylum in countries that themselves experienced armed conflict during 1999. This suggests that more than one-third of all African refugees are in asylum countries that are potentially unsafe for refugees and humanitarian aid workers.

3. What is the good news?

   About a quarter-million refugees voluntarily repatriated to 11 African countries during 1999, including at least 80,000 to Liberia. At least 1.2 million African refugees have voluntarily repatriated during the past three years. There are about 2.8 million fewer African refugees than five years ago.

End-of-decade Perspective from Africa?

1. At the end of the 1990s, was Africa better or worse than when the decade began?
   
   It is a mixed record. The decade ended with one-third fewer African refugees than when the decade began. But massive internal displacement became more widespread: 13 African countries each had 100,000 or more displaced persons in 1999, compared to 8 such countries at the start of the decade.

   Twelve countries are each producing a quarter-million or more uprooted persons (refugees and internally displaced combined), compared to seven such countries at the start of the decade.