In 2006, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported 9.9 million refugees world wide. A refugee is a person who, "owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country." (1951 Convention on Refugees)

The UNHCR also reported 12.8 million IDPs (internally displaced persons, ie. refugees who have not left their country but who are fleeing their normal residence) for 2006. Along with smaller categories for stateless persons, returned IDPs, asylum seekers, etc., the total number of persons of concern for the UNHCR in 2006 was 32.9 million.

In 2005, Canada accepted for resettlement 10,400 refugees out of the worldwide acceptance total of 80,796.