Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Libya

Libya: Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of was 17,235 in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
17,235
Change on year
down 4.0%
World rank
17th
of 72 countries
All-time high
19,090
in 2021
All-time low
205
in 1980
Years of data
45
1980–2024

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Libya, 1980–2024

05.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k1980200220241980: 2051981: 2261982: 2591983: 2751984: 2911985: 3271986: 3041987: 2501988: 6591989: 6531990: 5791991: 8411992: 6871993: 5951994: 6691995: 6221996: 2711997: 2661998: 4321999: 5632000: 6032001: 8772002: 1.4k2003: 1.6k2004: 1.7k2005: 1.6k2006: 1.6k2007: 1.9k2008: 2.1k2009: 2.2k2010: 2.3k2011: 4.4k2012: 5.2k2013: 3.3k2014: 4.2k2015: 6.1k2016: 8.8k2017: 11.2k2018: 13.9k2019: 16.0k2020: 17.5k2021: 19.1k2022: 17.8k2023: 18.0k2024: 17.2k

Source: UNICEF.

Analysis

In 2024, refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Libya stood at 17,235.

That represents a change of down 4.0% on the previous year and up 311.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Libya peaked at 19,090 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 205, in 1980.

Libya ranks 17th of 72 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Libya, year by year

Annual values for Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin in Libya, 1980 to 2024.
Year Value Change
1980 205
1981 226 +10.2%
1982 259 +14.6%
1983 275 +6.2%
1984 291 +5.8%
1985 327 +12.4%
1986 304 -7.0%
1987 250 -17.8%
1988 659 +163.6%
1989 653 -0.9%
1990 579 -11.3%
1991 841 +45.3%
1992 687 -18.3%
1993 595 -13.4%
1994 669 +12.4%
1995 622 -7.0%
1996 271 -56.4%
1997 266 -1.8%
1998 432 +62.4%
1999 563 +30.3%
2000 603 +7.1%
2001 877 +45.4%
2002 1,443 +64.5%
2003 1,553 +7.6%
2004 1,696 +9.2%
2005 1,556 -8.3%
2006 1,557 +0.1%
2007 1,939 +24.5%
2008 2,068 +6.7%
2009 2,189 +5.9%
2010 2,297 +4.9%
2011 4,372 +90.3%
2012 5,233 +19.7%
2013 3,298 -37.0%
2014 4,187 +27.0%
2015 6,077 +45.1%
2016 8,831 +45.3%
2017 11,205 +26.9%
2018 13,868 +23.8%
2019 16,033 +15.6%
2020 17,523 +9.3%
2021 19,090 +8.9%
2022 17,811 -6.7%
2023 17,958 +0.8%
2024 17,235 -4.0%

Libya compared with similar countries

  • Libya's 17,235 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 17,235, 1.0× the median. (19 countries reporting)
  • Libya's 17,235 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 6,895, 2.5× the median. (20 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Libya changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1988 +163.6% 250 659

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 344.9 205 659 10
1990s 552.5 266 841 10
2000s 1,548 603 2,189 10
2010s 7,540 2,297 16,033 10
2020s 17,923 17,235 19,090 5

Countries ranked near Libya

  1. 14 Albania 21,875 compare
  2. 15 Croatia 17,891 compare
  3. 16 Belarus 17,704 compare
  4. 18 Georgia 16,554 compare
  5. 19 Armenia 15,933 compare
  6. 20 Morocco 10,609 compare

See the full ranking of 72 places →

More health data for Libya

All data for Libya →

Frequently asked questions

What is refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Libya?
Refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Libya was 17,235 in 2024, according to UNICEF.
What is the highest refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of recorded in Libya?
The highest recorded value was 19,090 in 2021.
What is the lowest refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of recorded in Libya?
The lowest recorded value was 205 in 1980.
How does Libya rank for refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of?
Libya ranks 17th out of 72 countries with data for 2024.
Is refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of rising or falling in Libya?
Over the last ten years it is up 311.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Libya data come from?
The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Libya. Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/refugees-under-the-mandate-of-the-unhcr-by-country-or-territory-of-origin-2/libya/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/refugees-under-the-mandate-of-the-unhcr-by-country-or-territory-of-origin-2/libya/">Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Libya</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin
Source
UNICEF
Licence
UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
72 places, 2,595 data points, 1963–2024
Last refreshed