Population figures
Total country population
29,395,334
Forcibly displaced population
Refugees (under UNHCR's mandate):
29,333
Asylum-seekers:
1,578
IDPs (of concern to UNHCR):
0
Other people in need of international protection:
0
Other
Statelessness persons
0
Host community
0
Others of concern to UNHCR
227,172
Country context
Venezuela, located in the northern part of South America, has been a significant source and host country for displaced populations due to ongoing economic, political, and security challenges, alongside climate-related disasters. The country faces large-scale internal displacement, with people migrating to urban, border, and mining areas in search of safety, economic opportunities, or basic services. The country also sees significant cross-border movements, particularly to neighboring countries like Colombia and Brazil.
Venezuela’s legal framework formally recognizes the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, but practical barriers exist, such as admission to territory, access to RSD procedures, backlog of refugee status determination (RSD) decisions and documentation, and prohibitive fees of residency permits. The country’s ongoing economic crisis, reduced public spending, and strained infrastructure further limit the government’s ability to address these challenges.
...Inside Venezuela, there are challenges related to the prevention or mitigation of risks and vulnerabilities, access to rights, and prospects for solutions. According to the HRP, 7.6 million people inside the country are in need of humanitarian assistance, almost half of whom are children and adolescents. Protection Monitoring conducted by UNHCR identifies GBV, children exposed to violence, and family separation as further risks.
These needs and risks are factors that feed into the fluidity and dynamics of population movement trends. According to figures reported by host countries, more than 7 million Venezuelans have moved abroad in recent years. Over the past few years, population movements have become more complex, resulting in a combination of continued outflows, pendular movements along border areas, secondary and onward movements between host countries in the region and northbound, as well as returns to Venezuela.
Population movements are also the result of climate-related disasters, exacerbated by climate change, as well as localized violence and insecurity. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), Venezuela has the second-highest rate of disaster displacement in Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, the presence of illegal armed groups and criminal networks present displacement risks for the population, especially in border and rural areas, as well as marginalized urban communities. These factors feed into further departures from the country and internal displacement.
Show more
