Refugees of Iraq
Throughout the 20th century, Iraq witnessed multiple periods of instability and conflict that prompted the creation and flight of many refugees. Earlier examples include the exodus of Iraqi Jews and the flight of Iraqi Kurds. The Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980 and the ensuing Iran–Iraq War triggered a deterioration of ties among the country's various ethnic and religious communities, and also exacerbated in violent events like the Ba'athist Arabization campaigns in northern Iraq, which led to the killing and displacement of thousands of minorities. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing Gulf War, which ended with Iraq's defeat and the application of United Nations sanctions, also resulted in the creation of many Iraqi refugees. It was not until the beginning of the ongoing Iraqi conflict, however, that sustained waves of Iraqi refugees would be created, numbering in the millions: the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the ensuing Iraq War killed and displaced hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, both internally and externally, and the later War in Iraq forced even more people to flee from the country. Many Iraqi refugees established themselves in urban areas of other countries rather than in refugee camps.
In April 2007, there were approximately four million Iraqi refugees around the world, including: 1.9 million within Iraq; two million in neighbouring Arab countries, as well as in Iran and Turkey; and approximately 200,000 outside of the Middle East entirely. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has led the humanitarian efforts for Iraqi refugees. The number of displaced persons and refugees from the Iraqi conflict is considered to be the largest in the Middle East, though this figure may now be lower than that of the refugees of the Syrian civil war.
, Iraq is experiencing relative stability, but still faces significant humanitarian, development needs, and security challenges. The country has approximately 1.14 million internally displaced persons after seeing 5 million IDP returnees. In 2024, the UNHCR enhanced the transitioning from emergency response to a longer-term development approach, emphasizing durable solutions and strengthening national systems to provide essential services like child protection and aid and assistance against gender-based violence.
Reasons of refugee
Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
Persian Gulf War
On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. The ensuing 1991 Gulf War produced nearly three million refugees, many of them from Iraq. Almost all them left Iraq and Kuwait before the war started or after Desert Storm was over. The largest groups were the Kurds and Shi'as fleeing Saddam Hussein after a failed uprising, as well as the Palestinians. Palestinians were the second largest group uprooted by the war, and 300,000 resettled in Jordan. There were a smaller number of Iraqi Arab refugees, only about 37,000, mostly shia who moved to Saudi Arabia. About 100,000 Iraqis escaped to Jordan and Syria.Shi'ites comprised 47% of the Iraqi population, but were excluded from the government by the Sunni Arabs. There was a Shia uprising in March 1991. Saddam Hussein regained control of the Shia dominated South in mid-March, and his cousin, Ali Hasan Majid, conducted public executions, bombarded city centers, and destroyed homes and mosques. 200,000 people died in the South between March and September 1991 from the violence. By 2003, there were 530,000 Iraqi refugees in Iran, mostly Shi’ite Arabs.
1.85 million Kurds fled to the borders of Turkey and Iran. Unlike the Shi'ites, the Kurds had a recognized political leadership—the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party that took control of northern Iraq. As a result of this formal political leadership, the revolution in the Kurdish north was much less violent than in the Shi’ite South, and produced relatively few refugees and Internally Displaced Persons.
In late March 1991, the Bush administration gave the Iraqi government permission to use helicopters against the Kurds. These were used to terrorize the Kurdish population. About 450,000 Kurds fled to the mountains bordering Turkey and Iran, and the Hussein government had retaken control of the main Kurdish cities by April 3, 1991. Turkey refused to allow the Kurds into the country, but there was significant media attention to the refugee population. The Kurds on the Iranian border were more isolated and received less media attention, but Iran admitted some groups of refugees and the physical conditions were less harsh than on the Turkish border.
In response to this humanitarian crisis, on April 8, 1991 the UN agreed to establish a safe haven in northern Iraq. To this end, two days later the US and its allies established the northern no-fly zone. This was in conjunction with the highly successful British initiative Operation Provide Comfort.
In response to the humanitarian crisis, the US tried to station unarmed aid workers in northern Iraq, but the Kurds refused to return. The US, the UK, France, the Netherlands, and Turkey then created a safe area between the cities of Amadiya, Dihok, and Zakho, and excluded the Iraqi military and police from the area. Near Zakho, the US military built a tent city to hold refugees, but it was not extensively used. The Kurds eventually moved to the safe area.
On February 15, 1991, President George H.W Bush called upon the Iraqi people to overthrow Saddam Hussein, which did not occur until 2003 under the administration of his son, President George W. Bush, and incited the recent Iraq War.
Iraq War (2003–2011) and civil war (2006–2008)
Refugees from Iraq have increased in number since the US-led invasion into Iraq in March 2003. After Saddam Hussein fell in 2003, over 30,000 refugees returned home within two years. But by 2006, they were fleeing again due to sectarian violence that culminated with the al-Askari mosque bombing in February2006. The US occupation and ethnic conflict among Iraqis ended the minority Sunni governance and allowed the Shi’ite majority to regain control, which worried Iraq’s Sunni majority neighbors, including Saudi Arabia. Terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda have taken advantage of the chaos and violence to establish a presence in Iraq.
By February 16, 2007, António Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said that the external refugee number fleeing the war reached 2 million and that within Iraq there are an estimated 1.7 million internally displaced people. The refugee traffic out of the country has increased since the intensification of civil war.
As many as 110,000 Iraqis could be targeted as collaborators because of their work for coalition forces. A May 25, 2007 article notes that in the past seven months only 69 people from Iraq have been granted refugee status in the United States. Roughly 40% of Iraq's middle class is believed to have fled. Most are fleeing systematic persecution and have no desire to return.
Iraqi insurgency and civil war (2011–2017)
The last American troops in Iraq left in 2011. In 2009, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki began targeting Sunni leaders. Thus, militants in Iraq, who had been mostly been driven out by the American invasion, received a surge in popularity and support, and began using this opportunity to rebuild their ranks. Al-Maliki also replaced many military officers with loyalists. Tensions came to a head when al-Maliki arrested Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, the most prominent Sunni politician.The Arab Spring and Syrian Civil War were also ongoing at this time. Many Iraq militants crossed over into Syria, and ISIS, which had formed as an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, seized large amounts of territory in Syria. They then launched an invasion into northern Iraq. They moved quickly, capturing Fallujah in January, Ramadi, Samarra, Mosul, Tikrit, in June, and Sinjar in August. 500,000 people in Mosul were displaced.
On August 3rd 2014, hundreds of ISIS fighters attacked Sinjar in northern Iraq, targeting the Yazidi community. Sinjar is a major Yazidi community. ISIS views the Yazidis as "devil-worshippers". 400,00 Yazidi were forced to flee their homes, with 5,000 men being executed and over 7,000 women and children captured and used as sex-slaves, some to ISIS fighters in Syria. Many boys were trained as child soldiers. ISIS also targeted other religious minorities, including Christians. Despite ISIS losing all territory from Iraq in 2017, many female survivors are unwilling or unable to return to their homes, remaining in displaced person camps.
ISIS insurgency (2017-present)
1 million people are internally displaced in Iraq since 2024 and $158.5 million are necessary in 2025 to make sure that operations and programmes in Iraq are continuous.Internally displaced Iraqis
There is also a significant number of Internally Displaced Persons in Iraq. As of September 2025 International Organization for Migration estimated that there were about 1 million Iraqis displaced within the country. Recent statistics from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees state that as of 2024 there are 1 million internally displaced refugees within Iraq. As the war to eradicate ISIS continues, thousands of Iraqis are being displaced on a daily basis. Many IDPs face difficult conditions, and due to continued instability and lack of resource are unlikely to be able to go home.At the end of July 2007 the NGO Coordinating Committee in Iraq and Oxfam International issued a report, Rising to the Humanitarian Challenge in Iraq, that declared that one-third of the populace was in need of aid. The NCCI is an alliance of approximately 80 international NGOs and 200 Iraqi NGOs, formed in Baghdad in 2003. The report, based on survey research of the nation's civilian population, found that 70 percent of the Iraqi population lacks proper access to water supplies. Only 20 percent of the population has proper sanitation and 30 percent of children experience malnutrition. About 92 percent of children experience problems learning. These figures represent sharp increases since 2003. There is a need to address the elderly, disabled population, and disadvantaged families through physical, mental, and social support to help them return to Iraq once the war ends and conditions are stabilized.
Since 2024 the closure of IDP camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has seen many people to return to their place of residence rashly.