Refugees in Europe
A recent study of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) lists facts and figures on the refugee crisis in Europe.
- In 2015 Europe will receive the unprecedented number of up to one million refugees. At the beginning of the Bosnian war in 1992 the number was 630,000.
- Approximately 450,000 refugees may be granted asylum – more than in any refugee crisis since the Second World War.
- Of the OECD states, Turkey is the most affected by immigration. Currently living there are 1.9 million Syrians and a large number of people from Iraq.
- The main destination of choice is Germany – because of the favorable labor market conditions.
- Syrian refugees in particular bring with them good training. One in five Syrians who applied for asylum in Germany between January 2013 and September 2014 has a university degree.
- To help countries especially affected by the influx of refugees, the OECD recommends the development of a Europe-wide distribution mechanism and the providing of access to education (language courses) and to the labor market.