RIO DE JANEIRO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of refuge requests in Brazil increased 23.6 percent in 2016 from that in 2015, a report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) showed Monday.
The number of refugees in Brazil reached 9,689 in 2016, a 9.3 percent rise from 8,863 in 2015, it said.
Refuge requests increased from 28,670 in 2015 to 35,464 in 2016, according to data from Brazil's National Committee for the Refugees, an agency attached to the Justice Ministry.
Hunger, regional conflicts and civil wars have been the factors making the current humanitarian crisis the gravest since the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, the UNHCR report said.
The number of refugees and people who migrated inside their country rose to 65.6 million in 2016, an increase of 300,000 compared to 2015.
Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Somalia are the four countries of origin that account for most refugees, while the countries that receive the most refugees are Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Uganda, Ethiopia and Jordan.
The war in Syria has been the single most reason for people to seek refuge in other nations. Currently 5.5 million Syrians are seeking refuge in other countries. Syrians are the majority of the refugees in Brazil as well.
