Refugees of the Syrian Civil War in the context of "European migrant crisis"

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⭐ Core Definition: Refugees of the Syrian Civil War

Refugees of the Syrian civil war are citizens and permanent residents of Syria who fled the country in the course of the Syrian civil war. The pre-war population of Syria was estimated at 22 million (2017), including permanent residents. Of that number, the United Nations (UN) identified 13.5 million (2016) as displaced persons in need of humanitarian assistance. Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011 more than six million (2016) were internally displaced, and around five million (2016) crossed into other countries, seeking asylum or placement in Syrian refugee camps. It is believed to be one of the world's largest refugee crises.

Armed revolts started across Syria in 2011 when security forces launched a violent campaign to halt nation-wide protests. This led to the establishment of resistance militias and the outbreak of a civil war. Assaults on civilian areas by the Syrian Armed Forces resulted in the forced displacement of millions of Syrians and a full-blown refugee crisis. The Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) was established in 2015 as a coordination platform including neighboring countries except Israel. By 2016, various nations had made pledges to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to permanently resettle 170,000 registered refugees. Syrian refugees have contributed to the European migrant crisis, with the UNHCR receiving almost one million asylum applicants in Europe by August 2017. Turkey was the largest host country of registered refugees, with 3.6 million Syrian refugees in 2019, 3.3 million in 2023, and almost 3 million at the time of the Fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.

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👉 Refugees of the Syrian Civil War in the context of European migrant crisis

The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request asylum, the most in a single year since World War II. They were mostly Syrians, but also included a significant number of people from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Eritrea, and the Balkans. The increase in asylum seekers has been attributed to factors such as the escalation of various wars in the Middle East and ISIL's territorial and military dominance in the region due to the Arab Winter, as well as Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt ceasing to accept Syrian asylum seekers.

The EU attempted to enact some measures to address the problem, including distributing refugees among member countries, tackling root causes of emigration in the home countries of migrants, and simplifying deportation processes. However, due to a lack of political coordination at the European level, the distribution of countries was unequal, with some countries taking in many more refugees than others. This translated into a humanitarian emergency due to the poor quality of the infrastructure used to manage migration flows. This endangered the safety of migrants deepening the psychological and physical trauma.

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Refugees of the Syrian Civil War in the context of Demographics of Syria

Syria's estimated pre–Syrian Civil War 2011 population was 22 ±.5 million permanent inhabitants, which included 21,124,000 Syrians, as well as 1.3 million Iraqi refugees and over 500,000 Palestinian refugees. The war makes an accurate count of the Syrian population difficult, as the numbers of Syrian refugees, internally displaced Syrians and casualty numbers are in flux. The CIA World Factbook showed an estimated 20.4 m people as of July 2021. Of the pre-war population, six million are refugees outside the country, seven million are internally displaced and two million live in the Kurdish-ruled Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Most modern-day Syrians are commonly described as Arabs by virtue of their modern-day language and bonds to Arab culture and history. But they are, in fact, genetically a blend of the various Semitic-speaking groups indigenous to the region. With around 10% of the population, Kurds are the second biggest ethnic group in Syria, followed by Turkmen.

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Refugees of the Syrian Civil War in the context of Syrian refugees in Turkey

Over 2.7 million Syrians live in Turkey, many of whom fled the Syrian Civil War in the 2010s. They include Turkish citizens of Syrian origin, Syrian refugees, and other Syrian citizens resident in Turkey. As of November 2025, 2.4 million registered refugees of the Syrian Civil War reside in Turkey, which hosts one of the biggest refugee populations in the world. In addition, more than 76,000 Syrian nationals reside in Turkey with a residence permit. Over 238 thousand Syrian nationals have acquired Turkish citizenship. Many children were born or grew up in Turkey and don't have strong ties to Syria.

Syrians are generally concentrated in the border provinces and major cities in Turkey, and only 1.3% of them live in refugee camps. Istanbul, the most populous city in Turkey, hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees, with more than 420,000 registered people.

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Refugees of the Syrian Civil War in the context of Refugees of the Syrian civil war in Turkey

Over 2.7 million Syrians live in Turkey, many of whom fled the Syrian Civil War in the 2010s. They include Turkish citizens of Syrian origin, Syrian refugees, and other Syrian citizens resident in Turkey. As of November 2025, 2.4 million registered refugees of the Syrian Civil War reside in Turkey, which hosts one of the biggest refugee populations in the world. In addition, more than 76,000 Syrian nationals reside in Turkey with a residence permit. Over 238 thousand Syrian nationals have acquired Turkish citizenship. Many children were born or grew up in Turkey and don't have strong ties to Syria.

Syrians are generally concentrated in the border provinces and major cities in Turkey, and only 1.3% of them live in refugee camps. Istanbul, the most populous city in Turkey, hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees, with more than 415,000 registered people.

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Refugees of the Syrian Civil War in the context of Executive Order 13769

Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, labeled the "Muslim ban" by President Donald Trump and his supporters and critics alike, and commonly known as such, or commonly referred to as the Muslim travel ban, Trump travel ban, the Trump Muslim travel ban, or the Trump Muslim Immigration Ban, was an executive order signed by President Trump. Except for the extent to which it was blocked by various courts, it was in effect from January 27, 2017, until March 6, 2017, when it was superseded by Executive Order 13780, a second order sharing the same title.

Part of a series of executive actions, Executive Order 13769 lowered the number of refugees to be admitted into the United States in 2017 to 50,000, suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days, suspended the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, directed some cabinet secretaries to suspend entry of those whose countries do not meet adjudication standards under U.S. immigration law for 90 days, and included exceptions on a case-by-case basis. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) listed these countries as Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Iraq was also included until it was dropped following sharp criticism from the Iraqi government and promises of improved vetting of Iraqi citizens in collaboration with the Iraqi government. More than 700 travelers were detained, and up to 60,000 visas were "provisionally revoked".

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Demographics of Syria ← Syrian refugees in Turkey ← Refugees of the Syrian civil war in Turkey ← European migrant crisis ← Executive Order 13769
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Syria → Syrian civil war → Demographics of Syria → United Nations → Humanitarianism → Internally displaced person → Right of asylum → Syrian refugee camps → List of largest refugee crises → 2011 Syrian Revolution → Resistance movement → Syrian Armed Forces → Forced displacement → Syrians → Refugee crisis → United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees → European migrant crisis → Asylum seeker → Fall of the Assad regime →