Developing countries, not affluent nations, bear the costs of refugees
June 24, 2011
Although politicians in the developed world often call attention to the economic and social costs of admitting refugees, most of those who have fled from war and oppression are actually living not in affluent nations but in the developing world, notes Michael Cook of MercatorNet.
The annual report of the UN's refugee commission shows that roughly 80% of the world's refugees live in less-developed countries, with a heavy concentration in sub-Saharan Africa. In the most recent illustration of the phenomenon, among the estimated 1 million people who have fled the violence in Libya in recent weeks, most are now searching for shelter in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt, with only an estimated 2% having reached Europe.
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