How do Somali refugee resettlement numbers compare with other refugee-origin countries from 2015 to 2025?
Executive summary
Between 2015 and 2025 Somali refugees remained a large displaced population in absolute terms—hundreds of thousands registered with UNHCR and millions internally displaced in Somalia—but they accounted for a relatively small share of global resettlement placements compared with larger origin countries because resettlement slots are limited and prioritized by vulnerability and political conditions rather than by origin population alone [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Somali refugee stocks and displacement context
The pool of potential Somali candidates for resettlement has been substantial: UN estimates put roughly 2 million Somalia-born people living abroad around 2015 and UNHCR registered some 763,933 refugees from Somalia as of March 2020, down from a near-2013 peak of about 990,000 [1], while internal displacement within Somalia approached multi‑millions—IDMC and Refugees International report internal displacement in the order of nearly 4 million as of late 2025 [5] [6]. These large numbers create demand for resettlement but do not translate directly into proportional resettlement flows because the global resettlement system selects only a fraction of refugees for third‑country relocation [3].
2. Global resettlement trends that shape comparisons
Between 2015 and 2021 the “resettlement gap” widened: the number of people who need resettlement far exceeds places available, and overall resettlement departures shrank even as global refugee numbers rose—meaning origin-country counts are only one factor in who is resettled [3]. In 2024 UNHCR reported that resettlement departures surpassed annual targets, signaling some recovery in capacity, but that does not imply even distribution across origin countries; geopolitical priorities, host-country policies, and vulnerability profiles heavily influence selection [4].
3. Somalia’s share of formal resettlement vs. other origin countries
Available reporting does not provide a full, year‑by‑year table of resettlement placements by origin for 2015–2025 in the provided sources, so precise percentile shares cannot be calculated here; however, historical patterns show that Somali nationals have been resettled to countries such as the United States (more than 111,000 Somali arrivals to the U.S. from 2001–2023 are documented) and to resettlement programs in Ethiopia, Kenya and other states of asylum, yet these arrivals represent a modest slice of global resettlement compared with larger origin groups like Syrians, Afghans or Congolese in many years, because those crises generated both larger recognized refugee populations in need and stronger political commitments from resettlement states [7] [3].
4. Factors that depress or boost Somali resettlement numbers
Resettlement from Somalia has been constrained by proximate asylum options (large camps in Kenya, Ethiopia), voluntary returns and local integration policies in neighboring states, and shifting donor and resettlement state policies; Kenya’s moves regarding long‑standing camps and voluntary repatriation schemes have reshaped where Somalis are registered and thus who is prioritized for resettlement [1] [8]. At the same time, specific national programs—such as U.S. resettlement referrals and community sponsorships—have sustained Somali departures even when global quotas tightened [7] [3].
5. Data gaps, competing narratives and hidden agendas
Public narratives sometimes conflate diaspora size, refugee registration, internal displacement and resettlement departures, producing misleading impressions about “how many Somalis were resettled” unless one disambiguates those metrics; the provided sources reflect this fragmentation and do not give a single authoritative 2015–2025 origin-by-origin resettlement table, so comparisons require caution [1] [3] [4]. Policy agendas matter: resettlement states prioritize political and security concerns, which can skew coverage toward some crises (e.g., Syria, Afghanistan) and away from protracted African crises like Somalia despite large humanitarian need [3].
6. Bottom line: how Somali resettlement compares, and what’s missing
Somalia has been a major source of displaced people and a consistent origin for resettlement referrals, but across 2015–2025 Somali resettlement departures were smaller in aggregate than those from the largest origin crises because resettlement capacity is limited and unevenly allocated; authoritative, year‑by‑year comparative placement data for all origin countries from 2015–2025 are not present in the supplied reporting, so precise ranking or percentage-share statements cannot be made without additional UNHCR operational datasets [1] [3] [4] [7].