By the end of 2014, 59.5 million individuals had been displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, violence, conflict, or human rights violations — the most in recent history. More than 14 million people had gained official refugee status as of 2014 and now live in other countries, often as second-class citizens.

Some countries have done more to help refugees than others. The top three host countries — Turkey, Pakistan, and Lebanon — are now home to 30% of refugees worldwide. The top 10 host countries harbor 57% of all refugees. Using data from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), these are the countries hosting the most refugees.

The 1951 Refugee Convention defined a refugee as a person with a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country, and who seeks the protection of another government. Since 2011, the number of refugees globally has grown by 40%, the largest increase since the United Nations began tracking these numbers.

The crisis in Syria is largely responsible for increasing refugee populations in the top hosting countries. More than 1.4 million Syrians sought protection in Turkey and Lebanon last year alone. In total, 3.9 million people had fled Syria by the end of 2014 as the result of civil war and violence perpetrated by the Islamic State group.

Click here to see the 10 states sheltering the most refugees.

Sub-Saharan Africa is another major source of refugees. A civil war in South Sudan, violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and clashes between religious militant groups in the Central African Republic have prompted 3.7 million people to file for refugee status as of 2014. Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda are the primary destination countries for African refugees, hosting more than 2 million by the end of last year.

The responsibility for hosting refugees often falls to more stable neighbors of the countries mired in conflict. Turkey, for example, currently shelters 1.6 million refugees — most of them from Syria and Iraq, which share Turkey’s southern border. Nearly all refugees living in Pakistan, which has accepted the most refugees in the world for 22 of the last 36 years, are from its neighbor Afghanistan. Years of brutal rule by the Taliban and other regional factions have led to the most protracted refugee situation in modern history, with millions of Afghans moving across the border to the south and west.

While proximity plays a major role in determining where refugees go, oftentimes countries with large refugee populations are the least equipped to handle them. In fact, developing countries hosted 86% of the world’s refugees last year. Lebanon, a developing country, and home to the third largest refugee population in the world, hosted more than 232 refugees per 1,000 Lebanese citizens last year, by far the highest rate worldwide.

Many children are forced to leave their homeland without their parents — more than half of all refugees worldwide are under the age of 18. Child refugees are particularly vulnerable in Africa. Four of the top 10 countries hosting the most refugees are African nations. In each, more than 57% of all refugees are children. In Uganda, adults account for just 39% of all refugees.

Ultimately, the goal of the UNHCR is to create “durable solutions” for refugees to either return to their home country or build a stable life in another. The number of people able to return home, however, is quite small. Just 126,800 refugees were able to go home in 2014, less than 1% of refugees worldwide. This was the lowest annual figure in three decades.

Even as countries open their borders to accept refugees, achieving durable solutions may seem impossible. In Lebanon, the government put in place a complicated application process for refugees, attempting to limit their number. Already, refugees are not permitted to work in the country. In Pakistan last year, the government did not renew 136,000 Proof of Registration cards. Because of government actions such as these, refugees often live undocumented in the host country.

Just 267,000 refugees lived in the United States as of last year, or less than one refugee per 1,000 Americans. While it is true the United States’ relative isolation from the Middle East and Africa makes the trek for refugees more difficult, some think the U.S. and other developed countries should do more. Critics claim that if developed nations increase border restrictions or close their borders altogether, then the world’s most vulnerable people — those with no home and no place to go — will likely resort to even more dangerous options to escape persecution.

To determine the countries hosting the most refugees, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a recent report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2014.” Included in the report is data on the number of refugees in each country as well as the number of refugees by country of origin and destination country. Population figures are from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

These are the countries hosting the most refugees.

10. China
> Total refugee population: 301,052
> Total native population: 1.36 billion
> Est. number of refugees admitted in 2014: N/A
> Country of origin of most refugees: Vietnam

More than 300,000 refugees — people with well-founded fears of persecution who have migrated to other countries for protection — currently live in China, the 10th largest such population in the world. Unlike other countries hosting the most refugees, however, the number of refugees in China has remained largely unchanged since the 1980s after a large Vietnamese population settled in the country. Without a steady influx of refugees, it is unsurprising that very few refugees in China are children. Only 27% of refugees in the country were under 18 as of 2014, well below the global average share of 51%.

9. Uganda
> Total refugee population: 385,513
> Total native population: 36.8 million
> Est. number of refugees admitted in 2014: 142,000
> Country of origin of most refugees: South Sudan

Uganda’s refugee population increased by more than 140,000 to 385,513 in 2014. The majority of refugees are in the country to escape the ongoing civil war in South Sudan. In December 2013, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir accused his vice president of plotting a coup. The accusation prompted a number of rebel groups to seize towns, killing thousands in the process. According to the United Nations, more than a million South Sudanese have been forced to leave their homes, with the majority fleeing to Ethiopia, Uganda, and Sudan. In Uganda, more than 60% of all refugees are children, the fifth highest such figure in the world. In addition to refugees from South Sudan, more than 13,000 people from the Democratic Republic of Congo — where militias kill, rape, and destroy the homes of many residents — sought protection in Uganda in 2014.

8. Chad
> Total refugee population: 452,897
> Total native population: 11 million
> Est. number of refugees admitted in 2014: 19,000
> Country of origin of most refugees: Central African Republic

The refugee population in Chad, a country in Central Africa, increased for the 13th consecutive year, most recently as the result of clashes between Christian and Muslim militant groups in Central African Republic. As a result of the conflicts, more than one-quarter of the population in CAR has been displaced, with many fleeing to surrounding countries such as Chad. While Chad receives supplies from the international community to support its refugee population, resources may be further strained if the country’s refugee population continues to grow. As of 2014, there were 34.3 refugees per 1,000 Chadians, the fourth highest such ratio in the world.

7. Kenya
> Total refugee population: 551,352
> Total native population: 41.8 million
> Est. number of refugees admitted in 2014: 79,000
> Country of origin of most refugees: South Sudan

Kenya is host to more than 550,000 refugees, or 3.8% of the world’s refugee population. In 2014, 67,000 refugees fled South Sudan, seeking protection in Kenya. To the northeast, violence in Somalia has been another source of refugees fleeing to find protection in Kenya. Since the 1980s, Somalia has been embroiled in civil wars, clan factionalism, and state collapse. What little government exists, has little authority or ability to protect its citizens. Nearly 12,000 Somalis sought protection in Kenya in 2014.

6. Jordan
> Total refugee population: 654,141
> Total native population: 6.5 million
> Est. number of refugees admitted in 2014: 119,000
> Country of origin of most refugees: Syria

As one of the more stable countries in the Middle East, Jordan has accepted a number of refugees escaping violence and persecution in Iraq and Syria. Roughly 119,000 refugees entered the country from Syria in 2014, many travelling to Amman, the country’s capital. Prior to 2013, Jordan harbored fewer than 100,000 refugees — a small number relative to the number it is currently hosting. Today, more than 650,000 refugees reside in Jordan, or 87.2 refugees per 1,000 Jordanians, the second highest such ratio in the world. Without further support from the international community, Jordan’s capacity to host refugees, given its proximity to areas of conflict, will likely decrease dramatically.

5. Ethiopia
> Total refugee population: 659,524
> Total native population: 88.9 million
> Est. number of refugees admitted in 2014: 236,000
> Country of origin of most refugees: South Sudan

Ethiopia became the top host country for refugees in Africa in 2014, a title Kenya has held since 2010. More than 580,000 refugees have arrived in Ethiopia since 2008, including 236,000 in 2014 alone. This was one of the largest increases in the world over that time. By the end of 2014, a total of nearly 660,000 refugees found protection in the east African country. The majority of the increase was driven by refugees from South Sudan, with refugees from Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudan totalling more than 46,000 last year. As in many countries around the world, children make up the bulk of refugees in Ethiopia. Last year, 58% of all refugees in the country were under 18 years old, the 10th highest such share in the world.

4. Islamic Republic of Iran
> Total refugee population: 982,027
> Total native population: 77.0 million
> Est. number of refugees admitted in 2014: 125,000
> Country of origin of most refugees: Afghanistan

Like in China, Iran accepted a number of refugees in the late 1970s that comprise the majority of the refugee population currently living in the country. In fact, since 1979, either Pakistan or Iran has been the top hosting country for refugees in 33 of 36 years. Turmoil in Iraq and Afghanistan since then has increased the refugee population in Iran to more than 980,000, or 6.8% of the global refugee population, the fourth highest worldwide. Sanctions imposed by the international community in response to Iran’s nuclear program dramatically hindered the United Nations’ ability to provide aid last year. The UN is hopeful that the removal of sanctions earlier this year will improve living conditions for Iran’s refugee population.

3. Lebanon
> Total refugee population: 1,154,040
> Total native population: 4.5 million
> Est. number of refugees admitted in 2014: 400,000
> Country of origin of most refugees: Syria

Prior to the Syrian crisis that began in 2011, Lebanon hosted just 8,000 refugees. By 2014, more than 1.15 million refugees had entered the small Middle Eastern country, with more than 400,000 Syrians registering last year alone. Relative to Lebanon’s native population, the number of refugees is staggering. There are more than 232 refugees per 1,000 Lebanese, the highest ratio in the world. The country with the next highest ratio — Jordan — has just 87 refugees per 1,000 residents. The Lebanese government has recently closed its borders to Syrians fleeing conflict in their own country. Additionally, refugees are not permitted to work in Lebanon, and complicated administrative procedures will likely force a growing number of refugees in the country to become undocumented, which dramatically decreases the ability of humanitarian groups to provide aid.

2. Pakistan
> Total refugee population: 1,505,525
> Total native population: 182.6 million
> Est. number of refugees admitted in 2014: N/A
> Country of origin of most refugees: Afghanistan

Nearly all of the refugees in Pakistan are from Afghanistan, a country mired by conflict for decades. In fact, Pakistan has been the top hosting country in the world for 22 of the last 36 years. Currently, 1.5 million refugees live in Pakistan, the second highest number of refugees globally. Despite the large number of refugees living in the country, the total number actually declined in 2014, as the Pakistani government refused to renew nearly 136,000 Proof of Registration cards for Afghan refugees. Despite the protracted refugee crisis, some hold out hope that U.S. intervention can help stabilize the region, eventually allowing Afghan refugees to return home.

1. Turkey
> Total refugee population: 1,587,374
> Total native population: 76 million
> Est. number of refugees admitted in 2014: 1.2 million
> Country of origin of most refugees: Syria

As the gateway to Europe from the Middle East, Turkey has become the largest host of refugees from Syria. With more than 1 million additional Syrians seeking protection in the country in 2014, Turkey became the world’s top host country with a total refugee population to nearly 1.6 million, or 11% of all refugees worldwide. Within Europe, Turkey has accepted more than half of the 3.1 million refugees fleeing to the continent.

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