During the past five decades, the U.S. has resettled over 3 million refugees, making it one of the leading countries for finding new homes for people fleeing violence, persecution, and war.
In 2021, then-President Donald Trump lowered the annual cap of refugees that could be admitted into the country to 15,000. Even as the Biden administration has raised the ceiling to 125,000, the annual number of refugees arriving in the U.S. didn’t immediately bounce back to pre-Trump administration levels. The numbers are increasing though, with over 25,000 refugees arriving in the U.S. in the 2022 fiscal year, twice the 2021 total.
Refugee arrivals during the 2023 fiscal year dramatically outpaced the prior two years, reaching over 60,000 from October 2022 to September 2023.
In October 2023, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Congo, Syria, and Afghanistan. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.
For the last three decades, Congo, also called the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been struggling with a series of civil wars and internal battles that have left millions of people displaced, both internally and externally, with many people fleeing to neighboring countries. Syria has seen more than 5 million refugees flee to neighboring nations since 2011 while a longstanding civil war rages, with an additional 6.8 million people forced from their homes and seeking refuge elsewhere in the country. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans.
Stacker referenced data from the Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Oregon in October 2023.
Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock
#1. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Oregon: 24
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,920
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 305
#2. Arizona: 121
#3. Texas: 119
#4. lowa: 109
#5. Michigan: 104
Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock
#2. Burma
Refugees that arrived from Burma since October 2023
To Oregon: 16
To the U.S. as a whole: 309
Top states receiving refugees from Burma
#1. Illinois: 59
#2. Wisconsin: 37
#3. New York: 30
#4. Arizona: 20
#4. Indiana: 20
hanohiki // Shutterstock
#3. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Oregon: 14
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,907
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. Michigan: 277
#2. California: 152
#3. New York: 129
#4. Pennsylvania: 124
#5. Illinois: 105
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#4. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Oregon: 12
To the U.S. as a whole: 744
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. Virginia: 122
#2. California: 103
#3. Illinois: 56
#4. New York: 50
#5. Georgia: 46
Omri Eliyahu // Shutterstock
#5. Kazakhstan
Refugees that arrived from Kazakhstan since October 2023
To Oregon: 10
To the U.S. as a whole: 58
Top states receiving refugees from Kazakhstan
#1. California: 19
#2. Washington: 12
#3. Oregon: 10
#4. Massachusetts: 5
#4. Tennessee: 5
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#6. Kyrgyzstan
Refugees that arrived from Kyrgyzstan since October 2023
To Oregon: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 24
Top states receiving refugees from Kyrgyzstan
#1. New York: 18
#2. Oregon: 6
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#7. Moldova
Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October 2023
To Oregon: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 113
Top states receiving refugees from Moldova
#1. Washington: 39
#2. California: 34
#3. North Carolina: 8
#4. New York: 7
#5. Colorado: 5
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#7. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Oregon: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 232
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 95
#2. Ohio: 17
#2. Arizona: 17
#4. Illinois: 12
#4. Washington: 12
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#9. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Oregon: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 106
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. Virginia: 18
#2. North Carolina: 15
#3. Maryland: 14
#4. Arkansas: 7
#4. New Jersey: 7
Andrew V Marcus // Shutterstock
#10. Iran
Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2023
To Oregon: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 53
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. California: 25
#2. Washington: 6
#3. Georgia: 4
#3. Texas: 4
#5. Michigan: 3
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#10. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Oregon: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 357
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 77
#2. Texas: 28
#2. Tennessee: 28
#4. North Carolina: 20
#5. Washington: 19
Sebastian Castelier // Shutterstock
#12. Armenia
Refugees that arrived from Armenia since October 2023
To Oregon: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 71
Top states receiving refugees from Armenia
#1. California: 70
#2. Oregon: 1
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 37 states.
Stacker
Stacker is a news organization that produces and distributes data journalism to the world’s news organizations. Founded in 2017, Stacker combines data analysis with rich editorial context, drawing on authoritative sources and subject matter experts to drive storytelling. This article has been republished pursuant to a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.