With so many people flowing over the borders of our vast nation, it is sometimes difficult to quantify — or even comprehend – how many people we’re absorbing each year, and from where.

First a little interesting perspective. Despite the vast size of our nation, and our concern about exactly who is coming over our borders, let’s first say it could be a whole lot worse.

According to Statista, Lebanon has the highest number of refugees per capita , with 1.15 million in total or 232 per 1,000 inhabitants. Before Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011, there were a mere 8,000 refugees in Lebanon. However, the country’s socio-economic absorption capacity is now being pushed to the limit with an estimated 403,600 Syrian refugees registering in 2014.

One in every 122 individuals across the globe is either a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum, according to a new report from the UN. If this were the population of a country, it would be the world’s 24th biggest.

Source: Michele Hickford, http://allenbwest.com