The Crisis in Numbers
Editor’s Note: This article previously appeared in a different format as part of The Atlantic’s Notes section, retired in 2021.
The number of migrants who have crossed the EU’s borders this year: 340,000. The European Union’s population: 508.2 million. (Incoming migrants are 0.067 percent of the total population).
Syria—which is in the midst of a bloody civil war—is the largest source for these migrants. The conflict has created 4 million refugees.
Of these, 1.9 million are in Turkey (population 75 million), 1.1 million are in Lebanon (population 4.4 million), 629,245 in Jordan (population 6.459 million).
The U.S. has about 1,500—though that number could increase. There are zero in the wealthy Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia.