by: Atallah Al-Sarhan, Rasha Istaiteyeh | Hashemite University
The Syrian crisis, which erupted in 2011, witnessed one of the largest displacement waves in modern history, with more than 13 million Syrians forced to leave their homes under the weight of war and destruction, according to Najat Rochdi, the Deputy Special Envoy of the United Nations to Syria. In 2023 alone, the number of internally displaced persons rose to 7.2 million, while the number of refugees and forcibly displaced persons reached 6.5 million, distributed across 137 countries.
Jordan: A Second Homeland Embracing the Syrians
Amid these events, Jordan opened its doors to more than 1.3 million Syrians, including over 671,000 registered refugees with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Although a small percentage of these refugees live in camps, not exceeding 10%, the vast majority are distributed among Jordanian cities and towns, making Jordan one of the most refugee-hosting countries relative to its population.
