Are Muslims 85% of the world's refugees?

Short answer: that claim is misleading on both parts.

Let’s break it down in plain language.

1. Are ~85% of the world’s refugees Muslim?

No.

Different estimates over the years have shown a high share of refugees coming from Muslim-majority countries (Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, etc.), but not 85%.

  • A commonly cited older UNHCR-based estimate from around 2010 put the share of refugees originating from Muslim-majority countries at about 70%, not 85%. IHRC

  • Today, a huge proportion of refugees also come from places like Ukraine and Venezuela, which are not Muslim-majority at all, so the Muslim share is lower than it was when wars in Iraq/Afghanistan/Somalia dominated the numbers. World Migration Report+1

So: many refugees are Muslim, but the “85%” figure is an overstatement and not supported by current global data.

2. “They do not seek asylum in the 56 Muslim countries”

That’s simply false. A very large share of the world’s refugees are hosted in Muslim-majority states.

  • The UN says just over one-third of all refugees and others needing protection are hosted in countries of the Islamic world (OIC states). United Nations

  • Major refugee-hosting countries include several Muslim-majority states:

    • Türkiye (hosting around 3.3 million refugees/asylum seekers as of mid-2024) UN Refugees+1

    • Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Uganda, etc., all of which are OIC members and/or have large Muslim populations hosting millions of refugees from neighbors. UNHCR+2World Population Review+2

  • UNHCR data shows 67% of refugees remain in neighboring countries, and many of those neighbors are in fact Muslim-majority (e.g., Syrians to Türkiye/Jordan/Lebanon, Afghans to Iran/Pakistan, Rohingya to Bangladesh). UNHCR+1

So Muslims do seek and receive asylum in Muslim-majority countries, in very large numbers.

3. Where does this talking point come from?

It usually mixes or distorts several ideas:

  • Confusing “refugees from Muslim-majority countries” with “refugees who are personally Muslim,” and then rounding up aggressively.

  • Ignoring the millions of refugees hosted in OIC states and focusing only on applications in Europe/North America.

  • Using “56 Muslim countries” as shorthand for “they’re skipping their own region,” when in reality most refugees don’t have the money, documents or safety to travel far, so they stop in the nearest country they can reach — which is often another Muslim-majority state.

4. The real picture, in one sentence

A large share of the world’s refugees come from conflict zones that happen to be in Muslim-majority countries; many of those refugees are indeed Muslim, and a huge proportion of them are hosted by other Muslim-majority countries nearby—so the “85% Muslim and they don’t go to Muslim countries” line is not accurate.


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@1TheBrutalTruth1 DEC. 2025 Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976: Allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research.

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